Fire & Wixx candle-making bar opens in Patchogue
Fire & Wixx in Patchogue offers creative candle making classes for all ages. Photo Credit: Christine Brennen-Chanowsky Credit: Fire & Wixx /Christine Brennen-Chanowsky
They say it takes a village to manage certain aspects of life, like raising a family or starting a business, but for Christine Brennen-Chanowsky, it took some fellow teachers to help kick-start her candle shop.
As an elementary school teacher in the Connetquot School district, Brennen-Chanowsky of Bohemia shared her dream of opening a candle-making bar with a few of her colleagues. She discovered the hobby as a way to relieve stress during the pandemic and a possible way to help pay off her children’s student loans.
Her aspiration became a reality when she opened her shop this past spring in Patchogue with the support of some influential women in her life.
“They quickly became my team. Each of the teachers has special talents and I used that to help get my business off the ground,” Brennen-Chanowsky says.
Some of the teachers would buy the candles she made which propelled her into a small business. Others helped plan events at the space when it first opened; another helped her figure out costs of goods versus a profit margin. Her niece runs the social media accounts while her daughter assists around the shop.
“The women in my life have not only empowered me to jump in and start up Fire & Wixx but Fire & Wixx has empowered many of them as well," she says.
Some of the women took their hobbies or areas of expertise and created their own businesses as a result. "One has started a baking business, another a charcuterie board business. We now have this incredible tribe that builds each other and the business up," says Brennen-Chanowsky.
Owner Christine Brennen-Chanowsky at her candle-making bar, Fire & Wixx in Patchogue. Credit: Christine Brennen-Chanowsky
She explains that because of the pandemic, “people wanted more socialization” and that’s why she wanted to introduce a candle-making bar to the village when the opportunity arose.
“Candle-making provided me with therapeutic benefits that helped me heal when faced with some health challenges in 2021. I began putting affirmations on the lids of my candles and meditating. Each affirmation candle was created after someone in my life,” she notes, referring to her Abandon Anxiety, Self-care, Protection and Giver candle names.
Fire & Wixx hosts a range of events including the bestselling Medium and Mixings, where a medium does a reading while candles set. Other events have included a women’s self-defense and candle-making event called Empower and Enlighten, Witches and Wixx (oracle card reading and candle-making), dessert candle night, sessions for kids and a couple’s night.
The shop sells specialty candles, sun catchers, keychains, jewelry and crystals. Jewelry and keychains start at $5, while candle-making sessions are $50 and run about 90 minutes. The sessions include a 12-ounce deluxe vessel, all-natural soy wax and a choice of more than 60 scents that customers can blend into their candles.
Fire & Wixx, 8 W. Main St., Suite 7, 631-209-7997, fireandwixx.com
