- [Guest] Coming to the Yakima Valley provides a different experience.
- [Guest] I look forward to relaxing.
The views of the valleys are incredible.
We just love it here.
- [Guest] The peacefulness, the relaxation and the wines are fabulous.
- I fell in love with the wines from Washington, moved up here without having a job and I've been here since then and I just love it.
- Agriculture is really how we connect with the earth and wine is how we connect with one another.
(upbeat music) - I'm Chantel Ramirez.
I'm a mom, a teacher, a wife and a candle maker.
So I own Wild Wickzology Candle Company.
I am based here in Yakima.
(upbeat music) I love so much about Yakima.
It's like a cozy feeling.
It's very outdoorsy.
There's just beautiful natural scenery.
You just get to see all the mountains and all the farmland and the crops and everything.
It has like that small town, lovey feeling.
So yeah, I love Yakima.
So my business started right when COVID hit.
I had my first child and she was an easy baby.
I got blessed with an easy baby.
She would sleep literally all day.
But that kind of made me start going into a depression 'cause I was such a workaholic.
And so I just felt like I didn't know what to do.
And so my doctor was like, you just need to find something to keep you occupied and something that's gonna make you happy and like a creative outlet.
And I saw candle making and I'm like, oh I love candles.
Like let's try it out.
And so that kind of made me really deep dive into what is really in a candle and how can I make my own that's more safe and healthy and that my daughter can be around.
So when I start my candles, I get an apron.
I make sure I lay out all the candles that I need.
We choose containers that can be repurposed or refilled and then I put the wicks in and then I just have the wax melting and then I'll get my pitcher.
I pour the wax in there and then I just pour the candle.
And then I leave them there until they solidify before I move 'em or trim the wicks.
Our wax is a coconut beeswax.
Candles are so sensitive.
If it's too hot it can make them sweat or they won't solidify evenly and it causes air bubbles.
If it's too cold, they get air bubbles.
So I try to keep my house the same temperature all the time.
We use wooden wicks, so they have a really crackly, romantic feel and they help you relax a little bit more.
We do blend our own scents.
We smell two at a time sometimes they're three scents at a time and we just make sure they blend well together.
I feel like being here inspires a lot of my scents.
So there's a few scents I have that I got from little hikes I do here in town.
I love statement pieces and I loved flowers.
And so I usually go to Flair Farm and she'll put whatever flowers she has in season.
She'll put in a little jar for me so I can have like local flowers in the candles.
I guess whatever's going on around me helps bring inspiration to what I can create next.
And I also try to do things that I feel like are a part of me.
My goal when I made a candle was to have someone be like "Oh yeah, that's from her."
Recently my daughter had told me, "Mom, you work too much."
So I started contemplating that.
I want her to be able to grow up with, okay, well like if I wanna own a business I could.
I let her help like put the diffusers on the racks and like little things like that.
And she just feels so happy that she gets to help.
And so at the same time I'm like, "Okay, I'm working, but we're still having that interaction where she gets to help and bond with me."
My business has literally been like another child to me that I raised from the ground up.
I'm the first person in my family to do that.
And so I had no insight on how it was gonna go.
My mom was like, "Why don't you offer classes?"
And I'm like, "That's a good idea.
I don't know.
But I also don't know if I'm ready for that."
And so like talking to my mom really helped 'cause she's like, "You're a teacher, you can do this like you teach people all the time."
So I decided to just go for it.
I feel like I get to have my teacher hat on and I'm getting the best of both worlds right now.
So it's been really fun getting to kind of meet my customers and get to talk to them and they've been enjoying it.
(upbeat music) So candles are beautiful and they always make a good gift, but you have to be sure to follow the proper candle safety tips.
You wanna make sure you never move the candle while it's lit and needs to stay put.
That way you don't dropping it.
You wanna make sure you're always attending the candle.
Don't leave it unattended, especially with children or pets.
And an important role is to always trim the wick before relighting it.
This helps maintain the flame at a controllable height.
So when you use the wick trimmers, you just hold it up to the wick and you go across the charred wood.
If you don't have wick trimmers, you can still follow the candle safety by pinching off the charred wood and you wanna make sure you do this before relighting the candle, so the wick is cool and it doesn't burn you.
Now you're burning your candle safely.
You can sit back, relax, and listen to the crackle.
I've grown as a person.
I'm more willing to take risks and not as afraid of failure.
When we started our business, I didn't expect to have it this long.
It was just something that I started as fun and then now I look back and I'm like, "Oh my gosh we've come a long way."
(upbeat music) - [Narrator] "Made There" is made in part with generous support from Yakima Valley Tourism.