Sea Love, the newest addition to downtown Naperville, lets you make your own candles and shop for bath items
Sea Love, a do-it-yourself candle making store, has opened in downtown Naperville.
The Maine-based business launched its first Midwest location at 120 Water St. last weekend. Tucked between Trails & Tides and Ben & Jerry’s, Sea Love doubles as both a “candle bar” and a boutique.
At the bar, customers can curate their own candles — from scent to size — for a fragrant keepsake that’s uniquely personal. Or, for quicker, ready-to-take options, a boutique of bath-related products are available for purchase.
So far, owners say they’ve been overwhelmed by their Naperville debut.
“We’ve had a lot of traction,” said Shefali Patel, who runs the hands-on operation with her husband, Kal.
“We have bookings well into October, November and the holidays,” she said Friday. “The support and response has been overwhelming.”
Candlemaking caught Patel’s eye last year while on a short visit to Indianapolis. The Patels and their two teenage sons made the trip for a family birthday celebration. The highlight of the day? Handcrafting their own candles.
Patel didn’t think the experience would be such a hit.
“I walked in expecting hemming and hawing (from my sons),” she said. “But to my pleasant surprise, they were so excited to do everything, from start to finish.”
Patel left wishing there was something similar back home.
“On our way back, my husband and I started thinking about how nothing like that exists in Naperville,” she said.
She wondered if there could be.
Over the next few months, Patel explored her options, and in February, came across Sea Love, a candlemaking business primarily based in New England. As luck would have it, Sea Love was looking to franchise. Patel met with the owners — a fellow husband-and-wife partnership — and made the pitch to add a spot in Illinois.
Naperville is Sea Love’s fifth location. While only a week in, Patel thinks the store will be a good addition to the city, she said.
“Naperville is so full of these sorts of small businesses … but there aren’t too many that are experience-based,” she said. “I think (Sea Love) really offers a unique environment to bring families and people together.”
Open six days a week, Sea Love’s candle bar offers a new pour-your-own experience every hour on the hour, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday through Sunday.
Customers can reserve a place online or just drop by. Patel said walk-ins are welcome as long as there’s a free seat. Sea Love’s candle bar sits 16 at most.
“Scent stylists” guide the pouring process, which Patel says takes about 40 to 45 minutes. Customers start by choosing one to three scents — there are more than 100 available — for their custom candle’s blend. They then pick a vessel to pour into.
Once their candles are cooked up, customers have to wait two to three hours for their handiwork to cool. Just enough time to grab dinner or take a walk around downtown Naperville, Patel said. Sea Love also ships across the country.
Experiences start at $42 a person. Sea Love candles toxin-free, made with soy wax and cotton wicks.
