Courtesy of Erika Strassberg
Audio By Carbonatix
Customers enter an industrial yet cozy space with a long bar lined with stools, a wall of a variety of scents and glass jars and even a dedicated photo station with a ring light. They are invited to choose their favorite scent combination and create their own custom candles to bring home.
Tucked down a side street in LoHi, the Weathered Wick is a cozy haven for crafters and fragrance lovers across the Denver metro area. The studio offers custom candle experiences for individuals, friend groups and corporate events.
Owner Erika Strassberg opened the studio in January of 2021. She was a corporate event planner until the pandemic moved everything online. Her favorite part of the job was interacting with people in person, so she decided it was time for a career change.
“ When I was growing up, my mom and my uncle both owned a business, so I grew up around entrepreneurship,” says Strassberg. “This kind of concept was popping up across the country in other major cities, and there wasn’t one in Denver, so I just saw a perfect opportunity. Someone was going to open it in Denver, so may as well be me.”
Strassberg added that she aimed to create a place that she would want to visit for a unique date night. She developed candles that are fun to make and aesthetic to keep out in your home.
“ For me, the big thing about this is you leave with something you’re actually gonna use,” she says. “I’ve done paint and wine, but I’m not Picasso, so it’s not going to get hung up in my house, and if [my husband and I] go together, we have two of the same things.”
The Weathered Wick has steadily increased its clientele by word of mouth and customers sharing their experiences on social media, Strassberg says.
Courtesy Erika Strassberg
The custom candle process begins with a customer donning a black apron and choosing from fifty different scents and four types of glass vessels. They narrow down their selection to between five to ten scents and find a spot at the bar.
Strassberg’s advice: “Give them all a fair shot because some will definitely surprise you.”
Then, customers stick their wick onto a pre-outlined spot on the bottom of their candle vessel. An employee will go through the scents they chose and help them find a combination of up to three scents that they enjoy.
“ I am partial to the more musky, woodsy, warm types of smells,” said Strassberg. “Two of my personal favorites out of all the fifty that we have are palo santo — that one’s a classic fan favorite — and then white tea. It’s just really clean and fresh.”
The customer then measures out their final scents while an employee fills the vessel with wax. The customer pours their scent in with the wax and mixes it up as evenly as possible. Next, they use one of the 3D printed wick holders that Strassberg’s father developed to make sure the wicks stand upright while their candle dries.
Strassberg chose the studio’s location in LoHi because the candles take three hours to cure. While customers are waiting, they can visit other local shops, cafes and restaurants in the area. The Weathered Wick also develops wholesale candles and has worked with some of the nearby businesses, including apparel brand Jiberish, to create custom scents.
With Strassberg’s background in event planning, the business is rooted in connection.
“ We have always, from the very beginning, aimed to create a warm, welcoming space for everyone to come into, and when you come in, you’re an extension of us and our family,” Strassberg says.
The Weathered Wick is open to appointments, walk-ins and private events. Along with the main bar, the studio includes a large workspace in its loft that supports up to twelve people. Pricing starts at $30 for a one-wick eight-ounce candle, and customers can also create a twelve-ounce or twenty-ounce candle.
