Freeport resident opens candle business in Saxonburg, sells local vendors products

A Freeport resident was able to turn a fun bonding activity with her daughters into a family-owned candle business in Saxonburg.

In August 2019, Miranda Virone had the random idea to make candles with her daughters, Maggie and Abbie Watson, as a fun way to disconnect from the digital world.

The trio gifted the candles to friends and family. The reactions they received prompted the creation of their candle business, Blue Candle Jar Co. The name was inspired by the aqua-colored Mason jars Virone bought.

“People were like, ‘You should sell these! They’re so great,’ ” Virone, 43, said.

By the Christmas season that year, they sold 700 candles. To get word out about their business, they advertised on Facebook and sold the candles through their website. The candles were made at their home. The bustle of business became too much to handle in their house by January this year.

“We were bursting at the seams with boxes of jars and wax everywhere. It got to be too much,” Virone said.

Virone found a home for the business after a night out in Saxonburg. She called buildings in the area to request tours and received an answer for a space on 231 W. Main St.

She and her husband, Joe, loved the charm of the space and its location. After two months of renovations, the business officially opened in May.

The hobby-turned-business is a side job for Miranda Virone, who is a full-time professor at Carlow University and an occupational therapist. Her family helps run the store to keep the business running.

Virone refers to herself as “chief chandler and chaos coordinator.” Maggie, 15, is the “scent chemist extraordinaire” and Abbie, 8, is the “quality control aficionado.” Joe is dubbed the “maintenance man.”

Dusty Olczak of Chicora saw the new business recently while riding down Main Street. She said she loves the variety of items offered in the store.

“I have been here several times,” she said. “They have such cute things.”

Virone said the family wanted to keep the candles clean, so they use soy wax and chemical-free fragrance oils. They offer 10 signature candle scents along with seasonal scents and monthly feature scents. Customers can earn store points by using their jar-return program.

“So I can keep upcycling the jars. I love the sustainability and love that it’s eco-friendly,” Virone said.

Candles are not the only things sold at the store. Virone expanded the offerings by inviting local merchants and vendors to sell their items at her store. So far, 17 vendors have their items displayed in the store for customers to buy, including cookies, kitchenware, sweatshirts, teas and baking mixes.

Workshops are offered for people to learn how to create a variety of the different products.

“That’s really the purpose, to support the community and support the makers while we are living out our hobby together,” Virone said.

Virone said she and her daughters continue to make candles at their home because the store space is largely dedicated to vendors. She is eyeing a larger space for production in Saxonburg to continue their grind of making 70 candles in a day. She has ideas of adding an apprentice and hiring employees by next year.

“I am hoping 2022 will bring us that opportunity for growth and give some people some employment that are looking for it,” she said.