Gem City Style: December 2024

Jessica Hunter

Owner of local candlemaking company the Candle Box, Leah Show (right) has been making candles since 2015 and was joined in business by her mother Linda Snow (left) in 2020. The two are now business partners and a mother-daughter candlemaking duo.

I recently had the opportunity to speak with local candlemaker Leah Show about the beginnings and growth of her business (Candle Box Company), the experience of being partnered with her mother, and what goes into creating a quality fragrance.

Jessica Hunter (JH): Leah, can you tell us a little bit about The Candle Box Company and how you got started.

Leah Show (LS): In 2015, I started making candles in my parents' basement. I wanted to see if I could turn it into a full time business. I scheduled as many candle events as possible to try to get our name out there. I would go door to door to businesses to see if they would be interested in wholesaling our products. We started seeing a significant increase in sales and decided to open up a small storefront. Our original store was about 500 square feet. It was a place where I could make and also sell my candles. This was perfect timing because during one of our weekend candle events, someone from the department store Bon-Ton came across our products. Bon-Ton placed an order with us to put Candle Box candles in 12 of their department stores. This was huge for our small business. We had continuous business with Bon-Ton until it went out of business in 2018.

Our wholesale orders started picking up after this exposure and we secured another large department store account with Christmas Tree Shops that continued for a few years.

We eventually moved into our current store location and Scent was born. We wanted a store that could house our candle brand but also let customers know that we sell other products. In essence, Scent is the home of Candle Box Company and other complementary products.

JH: What is the story behind the name of your brand?

LS: It took me weeks to come up with a name for my brand. I remember I was trying to think of business names related to "flames" or "light" but nothing felt right. One day I was walking and saw a sign that said Bread Box and it was a business that made sandwiches. I had the instant idea of Candle Box with the tag line "Handcrafted candles." It was a perfect name for us.

JH: You are partners with your mother, Linda Show. Can you share how she got involved and how has it been working alongside your mom?

LS: Our candle business continued to grow and it was time that my mom joined me as an owner and operator of Candle Box. In 2020, we became a mother-daughter candlemaking duo. Together, we were able to bring a blend of experience, innovation, and fresh perspective to the brand.

I absolutely love working with my mom. I think it is very special that we get to be on this journey together. We are constantly making new memories together and we get to do something that we are proud of.

Photo: Jessica Hunter

JH: Tell us about your product and the types of ingredients that you use. What is your favorite candle scent that you've created?

LS: We use all natural ingredients: Coconut wax, cotton wicks and high-quality candle fragrance oils. I wanted to make a product that I was proud of. I am so proud of each one of our candles. Every single candle scent that we sell has been specially crafted and tested. We test each one of our candle wicks with the specific jar size and the fragrance oils to ensure a high quality burn. It was very important to me to create a product that my customers would enjoy.

My favorite candle scent that I've created is Firewood. It was one of the first scents that I introduced back in 2015. When I was first starting to make candles, I wanted to create a scent that captured the essence of walking outside on a fall day and smelling a bonfire. That particular smell is so comforting to me. After a lot of trial and error, I was able to come up with a fragrance blend that resembled the scent perfectly. Firewood has been our best seller for the past nine years.

JH: What's next for the Candle Box Company?

LS: We'll be having a Christmas Open House on Saturday, Dec. 21 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

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Learn more about the Candle Box Company by visiting candleboxcompany.com

Jessica Hunter can be found at jessicahunterphotos.com