I’ve had a longtime love of candles since I was a Girl Scout. One of the may things I learned from being a Scout was basic candle making. In my home candles are a longtime staple be it tea lights for morning meditations and prayer as a symbol of faith, hope, healing or simply gratitude for another day.
A longtime lover of candles with favorites for splurging like Diptyque Paris, Jo Malone, Votivo and other countless other brands. Yes, I also buy even inexpensive ones from Target every now and again. My home and travel lifestyle has always included candles. Not only for making everything smell good but for bringing a sense of comfort, calm and peace. When my children were growing up The Watley house was always known as ‘the peaceful house’ – yes as I wrote for the song – “Sanctuary is my home..’
It made sense to eventually start developing my own line 6 years ago after the release of my “Paradise” EP giving me the idea for my first two signature candles “Paradise” and “Sanctuary.” Fast forward to 2022, other candles in addition to the new “CALM” in my line include “LOVE”, “COMFORT”, “HOLIDAY” with more to come. Be sure to subscribe to JodyWatleyShop.com so you don’t miss drops since most items are released in limited quantity – we are not Amazon selling in large bulk. Support small business.
My online shop was started 20 years ago as a source for limited edition Jody Watley music items and merchandise. In recent years especially during the pandemic, I decided to change the business model into more of a wellness lifestyle boutique with specially curated items, including my candle and home line and now branching out to adding other select items from other small owned – women owned businesses. One of the first jobs I had was working in a gift shop a friend of my Dad owned for a few hours a week when I was around 12.
I’m still learning, while enjoying the process of the desire I’ve always had since 5 years old as my Mom says to have my own store, my own business. Being an artist is a business in itself, though it’s really nice to get away from that at times to focus on my other interests as an entrepreneur.
