Woman makes fragrances from soybeans

Iowa abounds in soybeans, so it?s no surprise that the state?s residents have learned to make just about everything under the sun from the crop. Washington resident Crystal Davis uses soybeans to make soy melts, a waxy substance that gives off a fragrance when heated.

Davis started making the melts a few months ago when she bought a candle making business from Molly Pence. Davis asked friends of hers for advice about how to expand her new business. Her friend Jay Santana has helped her market the product by contacting people who are interested in fragrances.

Santana was at the Washington Farmers Market Thursday with a table full of Davis? soy melts.

?It is essentially candle wax,? said Santana. ?It?s soy based. It?s not beeswax. You put it into burners, and it melts down the wax.?

Santana explained that soy melts give off their fragrance even when heated to mild temperatures such as 70 degrees.

?During the summer in Iowa, you don?t need a warmer,? he said. ?You can just set them out on a tray.?

Soy candles have several advantages over traditional beeswax candles, Santana said. He said they do not give off the soot associated with other candles. And since the soy burns at a lower temperature than other candles, there is no need for an open flame.

?There is no danger of a fire hazard,? said Santana.

The soy melts come in a box divided into six cubes. Each individual block of soy melt lasts a week to 10 days.

Davis remarked, ?Once I had them in my van and I forgot there was still one in the bag. When I opened the bag, it filled the van with the aroma.?

Davis has greatly expanded her line of fragrances since taking over the business. She now has 60 scents and plans to have as many as 100 in the near future. She makes her scents by mixing flavors together, such as vanilla and raspberry.

?One of our scents is called maple bacon,? she said. ?It smells just like you?re cooking maple bacon in the house. Another one we have is called cucumber melon.?

Santana said that of the many fragrances Davis offers, many are specific to a particular time of year.

?Some are seasonal, such as ?snowflake? and ?gingerbread,?? said Santana. ?Gingerbread wouldn?t really work in July.?

A few of Davis? other scents are wild berry scone, hot cocoa, forest pine and chocolate mint.

?The chocolate mint smells just like the Girl Scout cookies,? said Santana. ?Some of the scents are pre-made. There are basic ones such as vanilla and chocolate. If you put ?chocolate? and ?leche? (milk) together you have hot cocoa. Some of the stuff we just created in the mad science lab in her garage. The wild berry scone started off as raspberry with fresh bread and a little bit of vanilla.?

Santana said he and Davis spend time trying to replicate the smells their customers request.

?People come and say, ?I smelled this somewhere else. Can you get close to that?? We?ll mix and match scents to see if we can,? said Santana. ?They?ll say, ?I want something with a little bit of citrus and a lot of wood. Can you work with that???

Max Valdez and his mother, Karen Kirkpatrick, were at the farmers market Thursday. They asked Santana if Davis made a fragrance called ?birthday cake.?

?We can?t find it anywhere, and it?s one of the best fragrances,? said Valdez.

Davis said in an interview Friday that she is preparing the birthday cake fragrance. She said she often gets special requests like that.

?People have asked for black cherry and chocolate caramel,? said Davis. ?I?m in the process of getting the caramel.?

Kirkpatrick said she loves soy melts.

?One little cube is good for the whole house,? said Kirkpatrick.

?We have a three-bedroom house, and it covers it all,? said Valdez. ?It doesn?t leave the soot from a burnt candle.?

Kirkpatrick said she puts the soy melt in a hot bowl of water and then sits back and enjoys the aroma. Valdez said he appreciates the fact that soy melts do not require an open flame. His young son has really gotten into the fragrances. His son touched it once, and while Valdez said ?it hurt a little,? the soy melt didn?t burn his hand.

Kirkpatrick added, ?If it spills on the furniture, it comes right off.?

?If it goes on the carpet, you just steam it out,? said Valdez. ?There?s no stain.?

Santana?s friend Dee Eston visited Davis at her house recently, and she was blown away by the scent of Davis? soy melts. Eston was so enthralled with the melts that she agreed to purchase the product in bulk and sell it in the Washington, D.C. area. Davis said Santana has a friend in Hawaii who may be interested in selling soy melts there.

Davis is selling the soy melts from her home, but she hopes to open a store for her products if business goes well.