Flame continues to grow for one Essex specialty candle shop

Nestled away in a suburban strip mall in the heart of Essex, is a little treasure that is gaining recognition nationwide.

Crafty Candles is a locally-owned factory-direct candle store, offering richly scented, lead-free and hand-crafted candles. But they are more than just a little shop selling candles.

“We also have the factory right on sight, so if you ever come into our store, you can take a tour of the factory in the back,” said Kellee McIntyre, production manager.

Candles offered at the shop are unique, locally-inspired and often times look good enough to eat – everything from candles commemorating Canada 150 to ice cream sundaes, cakes and pancakes, to holiday-inspired milk and cookies candles.

McIntyre loves the response from the community and has extended her product line to offer candle making classes.

“So we do candle classes for people of all ages and we create lots of cool different things,” she said.

The next class will take place this Saturday where kids of all ages are welcome to sign up to create a ‘glass of milk’ candle surrounded by wax cookies. Perfect for the big guy in red on Christmas Eve.

“If we have a very big class we usually invite the fire department in to talk about fire safety,” said McIntyre.

The response has been positive.

“Brought my 7 year old granddaughter to make the popcorn cupcake. She loved it. Will definitely be doing more with her,” said Irene Fillion in a Facebook review.

In addition to their retail store, Crafty Candles supplies nationwide through Amazon and their website.

Though still a little hush hush until the air date, this quaint little shop recently caught the attention of a nationally syndicated TV show out of Toronto. They were commissioned to create 210 pillar candles for the set of an upcoming episode. Crafty Candles was approached for its ability to create a beautiful large flame that will give the right ambiance to the set.

McIntyre is hopeful this is the big break that puts this little shop on the map and opens doors for further contracts.