The Making of Our New Candles
Good Things Take Time
Can you believe it’s been six years since I first set out to create candles for The Neighborgoods? It’s true, these sketches and mockups below are from 2020 and have been hanging by my desk ever since, serving as a constant reminder to bring this vision to life.
Creating a new product category is no small feat. It’s not just about brand fit; we have to balance production costs for both wholesale and retail, we also have to think about how it will ship, it can't be too heavy, or breakable. For a long time, these hurdles were exactly what kept our candles on the drawing board.
After years of research and evolution, I am so glad I waited for the right moment to bring this dream to life. By partnering with the perfect local manufacturer, at the right time, we’ve finally created a candle line that is uniquely fit to our Neighborgoods community, and it was worth the wait!
Things come together When it's meant to be
Over the years I became friends with a local candle maker, Ferzan Jaeger, who ran Kin and Care (among other businesses). We sold her candles in our airport store, we both exhibited at our local holiday market, we were booth neighbors at a trade show in New York, and we even tried to make candles together back in 2023.
This first photo is from 2023 when I went to Ferzan's store, Olive & Loom, to work on making candles together. It just wasn't the right time because I couldn't find the vessels I wanted, for the right price, and shipping glass seemed like a whole new ballgame.
Good thing we waited because we opened our airport store in 2024, which eventually gave me the idea for smaller travel candles, and where we carry Kin and Care candles as shown above. These are our trade show booths that were right around the corner from one another and where everything finally came together.
During some downtime at our trade show this past summer, things finally clicked. Ferzan and I were chatting about how our new DC Landmark design would make for a perfect custom collab, and I noted they needed to be small and transportable for our airport shop. From there, the scent ideas matched with our current Neighborgoods collection flowed so naturally: basil, lilac, fig...oyster! After what felt like a 30-second brainstorming session, our new candles instantly began to take shape..
It was finally the right time when everything came together. I am so lucky to have found such a great local manufacturer who is not only great to work with but was also ready to move fast. She helped us get finished products in time to debut at the annual Downtown DC Holiday Market just a few months away. 
We moved quickly on every detail—from selecting the tin colors and shapes to designing the labels and perfecting the scents. The team at District Candle Lab jumped right into production, hand-pouring the first batch just in time for set up day for us to sell out just one month later.
After six long years of research and dreaming, it all came together perfectly in just three months.
Meet the Maker
I sat down with Ferzan for you to get to know her background and find out a little more about how are candles get made.
1. Tell us how you got into candle making?
I started making candles in 2016 as a hobby, something creative to do with my hands after long days while I was still working at NASA and was contemplating my whole life. What began as a small side project quickly grew into something bigger, and by 2018, I had launched Kin & Care, a candle brand with a mission at its core.
Kin & Care hired exclusively refugee women who had recently resettled in the DMV area. The goal was to provide meaningful employment for women rebuilding their lives in a new country. We weren't looking for prior job experience or customer service skills, just people who were willing to learn and who enjoyed working with their hands. It was about creating opportunity and stability for families navigating a major transition, and candle making turned out to be the perfect vehicle for that.
So I've been doing this for about ten years now, though the form it's taken has evolved quite a bit over that time.
I love the mission behind Kin & Care and also can't believe Ferzan's background was working at NASA! You never know where life will take you. These are photos from @KinandCare's instagram showing off their beautiful candles and the candle making process.
2. Why did you decide to open your current candle store, District Candle Lab? Can you tell us a little more about what it is?
I also own Olive & Loom, a Mediterranean lifestyle brand with a retail store in Kensington, Maryland. For years, all the candles we sold in the store were made by the Kin & Care team in our open studio space at the back of the shop. Customers could browse towels and linens in the front while watching us pour candles in real time, it was a completely open floor plan, and people loved being able to see the process.
What we didn't anticipate was how many people would ask if they could learn to do it themselves. Every single day, someone would stop and ask if we taught candle-making classes or hosted workshops. At first, I'd politely explain that we didn't. But after hearing the same question hundreds of times, I realized there was real demand, not just for candles, but for the experience of making something with your hands, learning a craft, and walking away with a product you created yourself.
That's how District Candle Lab was born. It's a candle-making workshop space where people can come together, make candles, and leave with something they're proud of. We have two locations now, one in Union Market in DC and one in Mosaic District in Fairfax, and we host everything from date nights to corporate team-building events to solo creative sessions.
Having been to both of Ferzan's stores, Olive & Loom and District Candle Lab, they are beautiful and you should definitely plan to stop by and check them out. (Photo on right © District Candle Lab).
3. We have gotten a lot of compliments on our candle scents already! What makes your candles different from others out there?
Candles are deceptively simple. You need three main components: wax, wick, and fragrance. But the quality of each ingredient makes all the difference.
We use soy wax because it burns cleaner than paraffin-based waxes and offers a better balance of scent throw and safety. Our wicks are 100% cotton and lead-free, which ensures a clean, even burn.
But where we really differentiate ourselves is fragrance oil. This is the element we refuse to compromise on, and it's where most candle brands cut corners. We use high-quality, often custom-designed fragrance oils that are significantly more expensive than standard options. The ingredients are more complex, the scent throw is stronger, and the fragrance itself has depth and nuance that cheap oils just can't replicate.
In a market flooded with candle brands, this is our niche. Our customers recognize the difference immediately, not just in how the candle smells when it's burning, but in how long the scent lasts and how unique it feels compared to what's widely available.
It's true! I was adamant about having to include a tomato candle, and that it actually smelled like a tomato fresh from the vine. Ferzan and her team nailed it, and it is indeed our top seller. You can pick up your own here.
4. What is your favorite Neighborgoods Candle scent?
Tomato, hands down.
It's a great example of what collaboration can look like when the brand owner has a clear vision. Jodi knew she wanted a tomato-scented candle, which isn't something we'd ever carried before. We didn't have a tomato fragrance in our catalog, so we had to build it from scratch, experimenting with different notes, testing blends, refining the balance until we landed on something that felt right.
It was a challenge, but the fact that it became one of her best-sellers makes it a real success story for us. There's something incredibly satisfying about creating something new that works, not just conceptually, but commercially. That candle represents what's possible when you're willing to take a risk on an idea that feels a little unconventional.
Tomato is my favorite too, and I love it paired with our tomato potholder to make the cutest gift.
5. Where can everyone find you online and in person?
District Candle Lab has two locations: Union Market District in Washington, DC, and Mosaic District in Fairfax, Virginia. You can book a candle-making class or browse our schedule at www.districtcandlelab.com.
Whether you're looking for a creative date night, a unique team-building activity, or just an afternoon doing something with your hands, we'd love to have you.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Stock up on these cutie candles today (before they sell out again)
Thanks to Ferzan and her team, we have a candle for every mood (and more to come). They're easily transportable in their super cute sardine-like tin with sliding lid, great for gifting, and smell so good!
You can find all of our candles here, and thanks for supporting small, woman-owned brands!
Jodi
Leave a comment