Christina Cooper has been making candles by hand for more than 20 years. She got her start making them out of her garage and selling them at craft fairs. From there, her candles started appearing in restaurants and bars. And now they’re in her new store, The Candle Factory at 5340 E. Broadway.
When customers walk in, they are greeted with a menagerie of scents, dim lighting, music and a friendly hello from the store’s husband and wife owners, Christina and Dominique Cooper.
“Christina and Dom are awesome,” said Kristy Belone, a regular customer of the store. “They are very personable and help you pick a scent that suits your likes.”
The store not only has a wide inventory of already made candles — which the Coopers pour themselves in the store’s factory — but it also offers custom candles and handmade potpourri.
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Customers can create their candles by picking the color, scent — there are 60 to choose from — and size. They can even choose to bring in their own holders to have new candles poured into them. Colors can also be matched to fabric or paint samples.
“We carry 100 percent oils, which are rare in this industry,” Cooper said. “We have the top- of-the-line fragrances, so you won’t get a headache.” And, she says they’re cheaper than most places as well, with prices ranging from $1.25 to $60.
The Candle Factory also serves as a location for parties after hours, where guests get to go behind the factory counter to pour their own candle for $16.
The Candle Factory has one location in Tucson, but the Coopers hope to start a corporation and open some stores in San Diego, where they are from.
Christina’s parents are also involved in the shop. Her mother makes all of the gift bags and boxes, and her father built all of the store’s furnishings. About 95 percent of everything in the store is handmade, Cooper said.
The shop is decorated in a vintage car theme, with a 1952 Packard convertible parked against the east wall, in front of the factory, which serves as a prop and location for seasonal decorations. Old license plates adorn the walls, and upbeat music plays on the stereo.
Belone said she likes to stop in periodically to see what’s new, since the Coopers are always changing the decorations to match the season.
“It’s all about atmosphere,” said Dominique Cooper. “You don’t get across that threshold without a little smile and a little dance. When you have that energy and you have a product that does what you say it’s going to do, you have a friend for life.”
Contact reporter Angela Pittenger at 573-4137 or apitteng@azstarnet.com. Follow her on Twitter @CentsibleMama or on Facebook at facebook.com/centsiblemama.
