From new storefronts to online shops, the candle business is booming.<\/p>\n
Driven by unique, eco-friendly, handmade wax creations, Yahoo! Finance reported<\/a> in February that the candle business in the United States will be a $13 billion industry by 2030. And with more than 10,000 scents available to consumers (according to the National Candle Association<\/a>), even the pickiest nose can choose something to burn in their home.<\/p>\n In Southwestern Pennsylvania, many boutique chandlers have popped up in the past decade with their own identities and candlemaking capacities, many moving from hobbyist to businessperson.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I was staying home with my daughter, I started making candles, baking, just little hobby things, and I really, really liked the candles,\u201d said Amanda Hosner, who now owns North Ave Candles. She does a bustling online wholesale business and has a storefront in the Allentown neighborhood.<\/p>\n Like many others in her field, she went from small batches made for friends and family to selling at farmers markets and artist marts to making a go at a full-fledged shop.<\/p>\n \u201cThe business just kind of started going and I was running alongside it,\u201d Hosner said.<\/p>\n Brynn Edelmann is still in the early stages. She started making candles for fun about two years ago and just opened her Etsy shop, emBErs Candles By Brynn. It started as a pastime, but quickly turned into something more.<\/p>\n \u201cI started getting interested in it and getting high-quality wax and \u2026 messing around with it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n With so many inspirational wax pourers across the region, you may be tempted to see if you have what it takes to light the world on fire. Here\u2019s what the experts had to say.<\/p>\n Dollars and scents<\/p>\n Especially in the internet age, the key to making cash is finding a niche while making room for the classics. For example, while PSquare Scents in Bellevue offers living room mainstays such as banana bread and honeysuckle, you can also purchase scents including \u201cGraveyard Dirt\u201d and \u201cJag Off.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe have some crazy fragrances, but they\u2019re cleaner fragrances that don\u2019t have all the chemicals and additives to them,\u201d said PSquare owner Paul Barnard.<\/p>\n Some of their best sellers are teak wood and \u201cVolcano,\u201d a summery, tropical fragrance. He especially extolled the virtues of their \u201cFruity Cereal\u201d candle.<\/p>\n \u201cIt smells like Froot Loops,\u201d Barnard said.<\/p>\n Hosner saw her popularity explode with her book-inspired line of scent combinations. Her Banned Books Collection includes a \u201cCatcher in the Rye\u201d candle (bourbon and tobacco flower), a \u201cTo Kill a Mockingbird\u201d candle (mint sweet tea) and a \u201cBeloved\u201d candle (blackberry pie), among others.<\/p>\n \u201cThe first book candle I ever came up with was \u2018The Great Gatsby,\u2019 \u201d Hosner said. \u201cIt was a gift for someone who was having a \u2018Gatsby\u2019-themed birthday party. The scent is gin, juniper and daisy.\u201d<\/p>\n Then, you can\u2019t discount the classics. At Oakmont Candle Works, owner Tabatha Flanick is already preparing for the August start of the fall candle buying season, one of their busiest times of year.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the fragrances that\u2019s coming up that\u2019s a true favorite is our Fall Leaves and our Pumpkin and Spiced Pear,\u201d she said. \u201cOne of the top scents that we sell all year would be our Warm Apple Pie or Cinnamon Honey Butter.\u201d<\/p>\n At Rustic Smoke Candle Co. in Greensburg, owner Samantha Dascenzo also sells lots of the cozier candles.<\/p>\n \u201cFarmhouse Morning was the very first scent I ever made. It is maple butter, caramel and vanilla, and it remains our best seller all year round,\u201d Dascenzo said. \u201cI don\u2019t think we could ever get rid of it.\u201d<\/p>\n For something a little lighter, Edelmann has seen a lot of demand for her Lemon Cream scent emBErs \u2014 but she\u2019s got a lot of variety up her sleeve.<\/p>\n \u201cI have a sampler, a four-pack of three-ounce candle tins that I put different scents in, so if people want to smell my different scents (they can),\u201d she said.<\/p>\n The magic is in the making<\/p>\n Market research says that candle consumers have an eye on being eco-friendly. As a result, many makers have moved toward soy wax or paraffin-soy blends, as well as using all-cotton wicks and essential oils for fragrance.<\/p>\n In fact, Barnard started making candles more than 20 years ago to fit his own health needs.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m allergic to a lot of corporate companies\u2019 fragrances and candles. \u2026 Any of the corporate stuff will give me really bad migraines,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Despite the challenge of getting good \u201chot throw\u201d (the amount of scent a candle gives off while burning) with pure soy wax, Barnard and many other local makers get compliments on how strong their scents are.<\/p>\n Dascenzo started making candles in 2017 and opened her storefront in 2024 in Greensburg.<\/p>\n \u201cI was a person who always had them burning in my home. Then I started to do a little bit more research and I just realized that what I was burning in my house wasn\u2019t up to what you should be consuming daily,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n She pours about 300 candles per day on pouring days in her home workshop.<\/p>\n \u201cI love it. \u2026 It\u2019s not the neatest process,\u201d she said. \u201cI think it\u2019s one of those things where I go over there and I don\u2019t even think about time because I\u2019m just kind of in there.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite what she laughingly referred to as \u201cwaxidents\u201d \u2014 a constant menace for any candle maker \u2014 she loves what she does.<\/p>\n Flanick has been making candles to sell since before the pandemic.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s very relaxing. \u2026 I can put my heart into it without having to worry about all of the home stuff that you worry about,\u201d she said. \u201cI like being able to make fragrances and scents for people who are maybe looking for a memory.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s also a good outlet for creativity. Edelmann purchases many of her candle containers at thrift stores and finds fun ways of presenting her candles, such as pink-and-orange ombre color schemes or candles topped with cute wax succulents. She even sometimes adds mica powder to her candles for a bit of glittery sparkle.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s so pretty when it burns,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Hosner summed up the joy of the hobby-to-business pipeline: \u201cYou just make this functional thing, and it\u2019s this little delight that usually $20 or less,\u201d she said. \u201cI feel like the world needs all the $20 delights we can get right now.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"From new storefronts to online shops, the candle business is booming. 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