Candle-making classes at She’s Home Soaptique have become very popular. So popular in fact that Detroit entrepreneur Wanda Curdez had to make a change — she had to move some of her manufacturing back home to make a space that could accommodate the growing classes of instant artisans.
Enveloped in the aroma of earthy, fruity and floral tones with walls that are bright pink, the space accommodates up to 16 people at a time to participate in the classes, called Sip and Pour events.
The immersive experience for regular customers and newcomers alike involves picking a candle vessel and two fragrances in order to make one 10-ounce candle and one 4.5-ounce wax melt.
“And then you have the opportunity to customize your candle and wax melt exactly how you want,” said 33-year-old Curdez. “We have dehydrated botanicals, we have glitter and we also have labels, so it’s going to be yours. When you leave here, you’re going to be a professional chandler.”
Vegan hors d’oeuvres, wine and nonalcoholic beverages are included with the two-hour experience for a total cost of $65. The candle-making class slots start at 11:30 a.m. and end at 10 p.m. The store’s busiest days are Fridays and Saturdays, but weekdays are beginning to pick up because customers book for birthday celebrations.
“I have had people book — it was only two or maybe one person,” Cordez said. “I’m never gonna turn anyone down. We’re always ready, so we don’t have to get ready.” This means that if someone is interested in a solo class, it is possible to do so.
In addition to the classes, Curdez sells homemade vegan soap, body butter, body polish, body oil, home decor, hand-poured candles and sage from her store. Some of the most popular scents are tea tree, lavender and sandalwood. The business has been operating since 2019, and is now located at 15607 Grand River Ave. This is its second location. The other is no longer open.
Curdez has eczema and said that her aloe vera, cocoa butter, turmeric and vitamin E products are able to help with inflammation, itchiness and dark marks.
“I want my community to be able to have natural alternatives for skin care products and vegan soaps, so they don’t have to drive 30 minutes out their way,” Curdez said. “They have someone right here that looks like them, that talks like them, that can relate to their skin care.”
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Over the past year, she had been hosting her Sip and Pour events in the store space, and she would have to move all of her products out of the way to do so. But in October, she decided to clear out her former workspace to make room for the Sip and Pour classes. She is now making her products at her home — where she started in 2019.
In her own community
Curdez said she started making soap in the kitchen with her grandmother when she was 7 years old. And she spent a lot of time shopping at the intersection of Greenfield Road and Grand River Avenue, at Greenfield Center Shopping Center and Tower Center Mall. She grew up in the Schoolcraft and Greenfield roads area, which is near where she now has a storefront.
“I suffer from eczema, and so me and my grandfather, we would go to the African herbalist store,” Curdez said. “And we would always grab ingredients. He always had a Mayo Clinic book. We will literally do our research on different oils, and different botanicals, and the properties and what they do. So, at a young age, I was experimenting with skin care products, so the passion started a long time ago.”
This inspired Curdez to take the science and chemistry route. She graduated from Cooley High School, has an associate’s degree from Wayne County Community College and will have a bachelor of science degree — double majoring in public health and global health and social science medicine — from Wayne State University next year.
Five years ago, she began to think about how it could become a business.
“I started with first coming up with the name,” Curdez said. “And then doing my legal documents, my LLC, my EIN. Then I also had to do my research with the IFRA, which I have to know exactly how much essential oils you can put in a product and the liabilities behind it. And also the insurance that you need and the proper labeling of body butter.” The IFRA is the International Fragrance Association.
She first opened her business in Greenfield Plaza, which is a building in Oak Park that holds several small businesses. She decided to move the business to Detroit in 2020.
“It’s important for me to keep my business in the city because I grew up in the city, I still live in the city and my sons go to school in the city,” Curdez said. “So the money that I pay in taxes for my business, I wanted to go to my community. I want it to be beneficial to them.”
In the future, Curdez wants to purchase her own building and hire people that live in the community. She also wants to start a nonprofit that will provide candle-making classes for people with different abilities, people who experience anxiety and children.
For more information, go to the store’s website at shes-home.myshopify.com.
Contact staff writer Chanel Stitt on Twitter: @ByChanelStitt. Become a subscriber or gift a subscription.