Candle-making business is Simply Beautiful for Albany family

ALBANY – For Darrell Lewis and daughters Hannah and Olivia, their craft is a process that yields great candles every time. But it wasn’t always that way.

“They were terrible,” Darrell said of their initial attempt, some of which he has kept on hand in their candle-making area at their house in south Albany. “They didn’t burn well. We didn’t know what we were doing. We thought we could just put a wick in a jar and make a candle. … And the journey began.”

Now the family’s business, Simply Beautiful Candle Co., has regular customers who pick the specialty candles up one or two at a time or subscribe for regular deliveries. And the father and daughters take them out to events around Albany. The trio have perfected their craft and now have a loyal following of customers.

The candles also are available at the Albany Welcome Center and at a consignment shop in Sasser. They also can also can be purchased in wholesale volumes.

At the family’s home this week, Hannah, 11, and 14-year-old Olivia demonstrated the process of pouring the wax, heated to 180 degrees, into the jars. Olivia filled the metal container with 34 ounces of wax, with Hannah adding 3.4 ounces of fragrance before pouring it into five 8-ounce jars with wicks held in place by a plastic holder.

When the girls were asked whose idea the venture was, Olivia pointed at her dad.

“He just wanted us to learn about business and have something to do,” she said. “And it’s fun. We like it.”

There also was a practical side, according to the Darrell, of creating a better candle that didn’t irritate the family’s noses and throats.

“We used to buy the candles from the big box store,” he said. “We found we had allergies from the chemicals. We started making our own.”

The candles are available in several scents, with “Sea Salt & Orchid” a customer favorite.

Currently, a number of those customers have been asking for a vanilla version, so the trio have been experimenting with various vanilla scents to see which one is the most popular.

“We’ve got to get the right one,” Darrell said. “This vanilla has been grading pretty well. We’ve got another one we’re going to try.

“We’ll give them out to friends, family members and loyal customers and see if they like it.”

A coffee scent also has been popular lately.

For Hannah and Olivia, the profits go toward keeping the business going, putting up money for college and charitable giving.

“They take a certain amount to Open Arms,” Darrell said. “I told them we need to give back to the community because the community has been so good to us. They chose the Open Arms organization that helps children and mothers. Education and helping people, that’s been one of our goals. The community has really helped us.”

Olivia said she has not decided what major she will pursue in college, but she’s considering attending Albany State University.

“I like making candles,” Hannah said. “It teaches us about how to handle our money and how to be creative when making them. It’s just really fun.”

Over the summer, the family takes a bit of a break, mostly just filling orders. That gives the two girls time to enjoy the time off from school to do things like swimming, their father said.

“Fall is the time when our business picks up big time,” he said.

The 8-ounce candles sell for $18, while the 16-ounce candles are $24. Scented wax melts are available in sets of six for $5.

Individuals can place orders at https://simplybeautifulcandles.com/ and the business has a Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/SimplyBeatifulCandleCompany/.

Staff Photo: Alan MauldinAlanMauldin[email protected]
Staff Photo: Alan MauldinAlanMauldin[email protected]

Staff Photo: Alan MauldinAlanMauldin[email protected]