When you shop at Conroy’s Apothecary, you can’t help but look around and see what else you might need. One day while shopping for cold medicine, I noticed these sleek modern candles on the counter. Of course I felt compelled to smell them.
I was really impressed with the scents. The candles smelled so fresh and close to the real thing. The Black Cherry brought me back to days of camping with my parents in the Adirondacks when I had Black Cherry soda as a treat.
I was even more interested in them because they were made by Vineyard Wick & Bath. I had heard of this candle, but had also heard it was just a manufactured candle with a Vineyard label on it. Paula, who was helping me with my cold medicine said that was NOT the case.
Each candle was handmade in Oak Bluffs by Beth Thigith. She creates the scents, hand pours them, stirs each one. These candles ares so far from being mass produced. They’re small batch and made with care.
Paula sold me. I needed to find out more. So, I reached out to Beth to find out more about these heavenly scented candles.
Scents Of Genius
Beth moved to Martha’s Vineyard in 2011, after her husband lived for four years in Afghanistan, and having traveled and lived all over the world (military family). However, she had been coming to the Island since she was little, so her love of this small little part of the world ran deep.
Moving to the Island can be challenging, especially when you’ve lived in some exotic places, but it just so happens to be a great place for artists. Not that Beth knew she was an artist, but it happened.
She had always liked candles, and thought to herself one day about a year and half ago, why not make one? She began to research how to make candles on Youtube, and after some trial and error, she created the perfect candle.
Now a large area of her basement is her studio, devoted to her art work. Beth likes clean, simple things. She found a company to make her label early on. That part was easy. She didn’t want anything fussy, just simple, yet eye catching. Her labels certainly caught my eye.
Making candles is a sort of therapy for Beth, who has a panic disorder. It is a calming processes, yet one that allows her to be creative. She has a number of different scents. The website only represents a fraction of what candles Beth has created.
Her candles are handmade, and each one has to be stirred by hand to capture the scents from the fragrance she uses. She also uses some essential oils in her candles. Never did she think she’d become a scent alchemist, yet fantastic things happen on the Island.
The skies the limit, and the adventure of new scents is like an addiction. New ideas just come to her, and she has in amazing ability to really capture the scent in a candle. The Limoncello candle smells exactly like limoncello. You feel as though it should be served with a side of ice.
The Black Raspberry Vanilla candle smells like it should be an ice cream flavor. It actually made me hungry when I smelled it. I could go on and on about how good they smell, but you need to discover these candles for yourself.
Currently, you can find them at Conroy’s but I think Vineyard Wick & Bath is going to be popping up in a lot more places. Beth’s candles are really lovely, and after this summer, she’s going to be known as the candle maven of Martha’s Vineyard.
Not only does she have a booth at the Chilmark Flea this summer, but she is donating products to the Martha’s Vineyard Film Festival and the MV Wine Festival (think cabernet scented candles, yum)! You can also get Vineyard Wick & Bath products on the website, click here.
Vineyard Wick & Bath has different sizes, including adorable tins which are perfect for traveling, gifts, and more. I know I am going to be bringing one with my on my next vacation.
Beyond The Wick
In addition to the soy candles, Beth has also started making goodies for your body, like scrubs and lotions. Her Whipped Coffee Sugar Scrub smells so good, it’s like a latte for your soul. To add to its awesomeness, it’s made with Chilmark Coffee.
How about Lemon Poppyseed? This just happens to be my favorite muffin flavor and boy does it smell good as a scrub.
Her body butter is so silky and fluffy. It feels so luxurious to the touch. Her secret? Her Kitchen Aid mixer. I love it. I can barely make a good buttercream frosting, and she can whip up crazy good body butter.
She even has fragrant bath salts to add to the ways to spoil yourself. How about Pink Berry Mimosa?
There’s lip balm and lotion sticks, to tackle the driest of skin, and these things feature Beth’s fantastic scents.
Everything she makes is made with as pure and simple ingredients as possible. Another great thing, is that Vineyard Wick & Bath is super affordable. Candles range from $12.00 – $25.00, not a lot for handmade candles. Lotions and scrubs are $10.00 – $20.00.
Authors note: In addition to all the scents Beth has, she can do custom scents for events. The bride loves pina coladas? She can have pina colada candles for her wedding. Basil and lemon transports you back to Italy? Not a problem, Beth can make it happen.
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