To us it's not JUST about candles

Okay yes, we LOVE making candles here at Homemade NJ. But if you ask us on a deeper level, what we REALLY are going to tell you, is there is more to it than just wax & jars. When we first started making candles here at Homemade NJ, it truly was just a hobby. I had absolutely NO idea as a candle maker what it would become.

It started off as a box of wax from my boyfriend Brett for Christmas. He had been telling me for YEARS to try to make some candles.

I used to work in a local small business in college, just to make some extra cash while I was in school. I used to sit on the phone with Brett, spending my days unloading merchandise into the little gift shop, going on & on about how amazing this one candle company was.

We would walk through Target & Walmart, and I would drag him to the candle aisle, making him smell every single one.

I was stubborn every time he brought it up at first, he would tell me just to try it out, look up the candle making process! Who knows what will happen. I rolled my eyes, telling myself I was never good at those things.

At the little small business I worked at, they used to have what she called "trunk shows," now called pop-up events. I used to sit there watching all these local artists come in, showcasing their beautiful products they made. I wanted to be like that, I wanted to do something that cool.

I watched my boss prepare for girls' night out town-wide shopping events, Christmas tree lightings, and Small Business Saturdays. I remember thinking to myself, I love this feeling, this sense of home, this sense of belonging, like this store was not just a store but part of something bigger in the town.

I didn't know it then, but that would be the start of me ultimately creating the Homemade NJ brand.

As I really started to grow my candle business, I ultimately wanted to foster that same sense of community. Even though I was not a brick-and-mortar store, I wanted to still hold the same values and give people who were buying my product that same feeling.

That was one of the biggest reasons that I decided to grow Homemade NJ and reach out to other small local businesses in NJ to work with them!

We are so proud of the fact that Homemade NJ is in 15+ retail locations across NJ!

It really was a dream come true, coming to the realization that at one point in my life, I was working in a small, local NJ business, putting other people's products on shelves, dreaming about what it would be like to make my own. And now MY products are in multiple locations across NJ!

Working with other local NJ businesses is everything to me. Not only do I get to put my products in their stores, but I also get to share about them and their incredible business with my community as well!

As of right now, I still personally drop off every single wholesale order. I LOVE getting to go to all of these stores across NJ, walk in, catch up with the employees, owners, and even get to do a bit of shopping of my own! Getting to grow that close personal connection with these local NJ businesses is part of my reason for being obsessed with this business.

It's that feeling of community that I found when working at that little store in college. It's that feeling of getting to know that I am not only selling my products for me, but now for someone else to grow THEIR business as well.

We are so grateful for all of our retail stores that we wholesale with here at Homemade NJ Candles, as well as the multitude of stores & local NJ businesses that host candle-making classes for us!

What makes me SO passionate about this business is the aspect of the community I am building here in New Jersey. I will be ever-grateful for that.

Here is a list of our wholesale stores in NJ if you want to check them out! Keep an eye out for any new stores we may be adding to the list this year!

• Ocean Flower & Gifts (Point Pleasant, NJ)
• Artemis Studios (Matawan, NJ)
• Flowers By Melinda (Lavallette, NJ)
• Atlantic Farmers Market (Manasquan, NJ)
• Come What Made (Howell, NJ)
• Enchanted Blossoms (In Bell Works, Holmdel, NJ)
• Coastal Pilates (Toms River, NJ)
• Yaatree Bazaar (Barnegat Light LBI, NJ)
• Totally Distressed (Point Pleasant, NJ)
• Salon 812 (Sea Girt, NJ)
• Boho Beach Shop (Multiple Locations across NJ)
• Firefly Gallery (Ship Bottom, NJ)
• Kased Clothing (Asbury Park, NJ)
• Ocean Brew Coffee (Spring Lake, NJ)
• Born To Dye Hair Studio (Hazlet, NJ)
• Cabana 19 (Red Bank, NJ)
• Paws Pet Boutique (Asbury Park, NJ, in Shops at the Arcade)
• Gifted (Robinsville, NJ)

If you know of any stores you can see Homemade NJ Candles in, or if you are a store that would like to carry Homemade NJ, please do not hesitate to reach out!

We are always looking to grow into new areas in NJ and looking for new stores to work with and grow with! It's been a dream on my heart for a very long time, and I am so excited and grateful to slowly start seeing that dream come true!