September 2024 marked the one-year anniversary for the business, which offers classes to create custom scents from over 80 options, with prices ranging from $25-$65 depending on the size and style of candle.
How it works
Ochoa encourages guests to “let their nose be their guide” as they navigate various fragrances, dyes, glitter and crystal combinations to create their own custom candles. The experience is open to participants of all ages, she said.
Ochoa’s said her favorite scents are earthy, but other scents include floral, dark and herbal. The mixture of creosote plants and petrichor—or the way it smells after it rains—reminds her of her childhood home in El Paso.
In this way, Chandlery provides a space where its guests can draw on good memories from their past, but also create new lasting moments and connections, she said.
“We even had a couple who wanted to create a scent for their wedding,” Ochoa said. “They combined creme brulee and flannel and put them in gold tins with labels. So when you go home, you burn it and remember.”
The inspiration
Ochoa was encouraged to open her business after the owner of Soulfreak coffee shop asked her to sell her candles at the shop’s monthly market. Not soon after, her candles were being sold at eight different stores around the Clear Lake area, she said.
That’s why she keeps products from other local entrepreneurs in Chandlery’s gift shop. It’s also why she and other owners in the small strip where Chandlery is located organized a wine walk to promote other local businesses, Ochoa said.
“[Because] someone did that for me, I try to have local vendors provide me [with] … jewelry, … soaps and … crochet items [to show] support and give back,” Ochoa said.
Through her connection with other woman-owned, small businesses in League City, she said she has gained mentorship, friendship and a new perspective.
“Bringing people together for the same reasons, being a part of something bigger and having the support of other women who have your back and you have theirs … it’s just really important to have that sense of community,” she said.
