starting a candle making business at Catskills Candle Studio in Tannersville NY

We Are Upstate NY With Nicole Andrick of Catskills Candle Studio

April 29, 2024

Nicole Andrick started creating her love-infused candles for friends and family years ago. Then, the COVID-19 pandemic gifted her a silver lining: more time to immerse in nature and pursue her passion project – making candles in the Hudson Valley. Soon, her Catskills Candle Studio blossomed into a full-fledged and much-adored woman-owned and run company, merging fun with her dream in ways that have felt a lot less like work. Today, Nicole’s Tannersville-based studio offers locally made, hand-poured lux candles at affordable prices to a growing base of devoted consumers. Her rich line of swoon-worthy candles is made with 100% natural, non-toxic/paraffin-free, US-grown soy in scents that pay homage to nature and the Catskill Mountains. In addition to candles, diffusers and other gifts for sale in their shop, online and at other retailers, their clients also enjoy hands-on candle-pouring workshops in their lovely hub on Main Street. Make your reservation or plan your special private event, choose your vessels and labels, and then go wild! You can also create your signature nature-inspired olfactory feast from a selection of over 50 scents. Who knows what your budding exploration may also burn in you…

Let’s get to know Nicole Andrick and how she launched her dream!

INSIDE+OUT: Where are you originally from and how did you wind up in the Hudson Valley?

Nicole Andrick: I grew up in the Pittsburgh suburbs, then went to college in Ohio before moving to New York City (right out of college) for a career in the fashion industry. My husband and I loved to take weekend trips to towns in the Hudson Valley and after renting for years in the City, we finally wanted to own something. We blindly bought our pre-pandemic house just outside Tannersville, a weekend home until the pandemic made it our permanent home.

What inspired your interest in candle making and how did it lead to a business? Are you primarily a wholesaler?

I’ve always been a candle lover, constantly buying candles on trips to new towns. When I started my brand, I wanted to create a lux candle at an affordable price. I started candle making as a craft project when my sister visited the Catskills for the first time with a kit from Amazon. I immediately loved it. I started talking to local candle makers about where to buy supplies and tips. I made candles for holiday gifts for my team at work and family in 2019, and everyone asked me when I’d start to make these to sell. I just laughed.

Then, the pandemic happened. I had a little more time and really started to give it more thought. Before I knew it, I was beginning to daydream about a brand. I gave a few scent ideas to my friend Katie from Kaaterskill Market, who was opening her first brick and mortar store. Katie told me that I should put a label on them and drop them off for her launch. We dropped off that first batch for Black Friday 2020, and it’s been a whirlwind ever since. Never could we have expected that a small passion project would get such an incredible response and have brought so much joy to so many people. We sell our candles direct-to-consumer via our website, markets and studio location. We also have 30 incredible retailers in six different states. In addition to our candles and diffusers, we offer candle-pouring workshops at our studio and at different hotels in the Catskills.

Is there a connection to nature for you and what is your philosophy?

Most of our candle scents are inspired by nature and the Catskill Mountains. Think lots of woody, earthy, floral, herbal scents. I don’t have too many sweet scents and like to keep my scents as clean and authentic as possible. Our Campfire + Fir candle is the “Scent of the Catskills.” It is one of the first candles I created. It combines the pine and fir of the woods with the subtle scent of the smoke. It makes you feel like you are sitting around a campfire in the Catskills surrounded by the pines, no matter where you are.

Tell us more about your shop and your candle-making workshops.

Our studio is on Main Street in Tannersville NY. First and foremost, it is a working studio where we make all our candles and diffusers. We are also open to the public on Fridays and Saturdays for people to stop by, see, smell and purchase our full collection. We offer private candle-pouring workshops by reservation for small groups and special events. Each person gets to make their own 9 oz custom-scented soy candle. First, choose their vessel, create their own label and then design their signature scent with over 50 scents to choose from and combine. The workshop takes about 45 minutes to 1 hour, depending on how decisive you are at picking your scents. The workshop is great for girls’ weekends, bachelorette and birthday parties or a fun family activity.

Where do you source your products?

My product design/development background as a fashion designer allows me to use my experience to create beautifully designed and executed products. They are also natural and toxin-free. I use US-grown soy wax and source my fragrance oils from trusted suppliers, all paraben and phthalate-free and infused with essential oils. My glass vessels are made in the US. And, I support and use as many local women-owned businesses as possible for photography, marketing, and retail partners.

How do you define wellness and self-care? What does it mean to you and how does your candle-making contribute to this?

Candles themselves are self-care, and for many people, lighting a candle is a way to unwind and relax in the evening or create a vibe while working from home. Pouring candles is also self-care for me, as it is relaxing and meditative. During the pandemic, pouring candles brought me a sense of calm. Pouring candles after working my day job was self-care.

What is one question you’re constantly asked or the biggest misconception about what you do?

During Markets and when people come into my studio, I am always asked if I actually make all the candles! Yes, our head chandler or I hand-pour all of our candles.

How do you grow your business and how do your clients find you? Do you leverage social media to get work, and how is that working for you?

Our business has grown organically thanks to our loyal customers. People find our candles in shops in the Catskills, markets or stumbling upon our studio. A scent can be such a powerful aspect of our senses and it creates a lot of nostalgic feelings. Once someone finds a signature scent or a candle they like, they are repeat customers. I always bought the same candles for my home to have a signature smell, so that is what I believe our customers are looking for and I always reorder them. Currently, we are concentrating more on growing our social media channels and looking to share our story and the brand with more people–not just people in the Catskills but also in the surrounding Tri-State area!

What is the most rewarding and most challenging part of your job?

There are so many rewarding parts. From bringing joy to customers who say they love a specific candle and how it reminds them of something nostalgic to teaching workshops and seeing how excited and passionate people get when they create their own scent. People bringing our candles into their homes is one of the greatest honors that we can be given. There are also challenges. Inventory management involves ensuring we create enough inventory to meet all of our business channel needs, yet not too much. Also, time is a challenge.There is not enough of it to do everything we want to do with the company.

Are there any new developments or upcoming projects you’d like to share?

We are releasing a new candle, Kaaterskill Falls, inspired by the famous waterfall just minutes from our studio. We are also working on a candle subscription box, so look out for it this fall.

What about the Hudson Valley makes it unique to live and work here?

It’s a beautiful area rich with history. Being in a tourist town, one that every season brings new and different tourists, gives us the same energy as New York City while allowing us to slow down midweek and enjoy all of the beautiful nature that is only minutes from our studio.

What impact does your business strive to have on your community?

We hope to have a positive impact on the community. We want our studio to be an interesting place for people to look in, have their curiosity piqued, then open our door and introduce themselves. Our business started with the wish to create a beautiful-looking and smelling product at an affordable price point so that tourists to our town and locals alike can bring us into their homes and give us the honor of being a part of their lives.

What local businesses do you rely on to be successful?

All of my wholesale partners, Sundry, Scribner’s Catskill Lodge and especially Kaaterskill Market, gave us our first opportunity to sell our candles, Also, all of the other businesses with which we have formed such a tight-knit community in Tannersville and within the Catskill/Hudson Valley.

What is missing in the area that you wish we had?

More diversity in terms of food and types of businesses, as well as the conveniences of Target.

Tell us something about yourself that people might be surprised to know.

I am actually terrified of fire, which makes it crazy that I have a candle company.

What would be your dream Staycation?

Waking up in a beautifully designed boutique hotel with my pups and husband. Taking a walk with a coffee by a lake and then reading and laying by the pool all day. Dinner with a view and then cuddling up by the fire and making s’mores.