PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Alyssa Sena loves scented candles. But she found lighting them in her home was aggravating her asthma. 

 

So she set to work to find a healthier option for herself, and her home. 

 

"I realized how bad they are for you and the paraffin and how harmful it is to your lungs, and I have asthma, and I've always had issues with that," she said. "And apparently, the candles were contributing to it, which I didn't know. So I kind of started test playing around with the idea of making my own."

 

Sena has been making candles from home for about two years, trying out recipes and wicks that would also not leave sooty residue on walls and cabinets. 

 

The result is the newly opened Holmes Candle Co., named after the street she lives on. It sells hand-poured, 100 percent soy candles that Sena described as paraben- and phthalate-free. Other products include wax melts, car air fresheners, room and linen sprays, perfumes, and home décor.

 

Sena said she taught herself to make candles by testing different ratios.

 

"I researched and tested for probably a year and a half to two years before I launched. Because it's as weird as it sounds. I feel like people think you just buy some wax, dump some oil in it, put it in a jar, call it a day," Sena said. "But there's actually a science behind it. 

 

"You have different ratios and fragrance loads, and there's so many different types of waxes and different size wicks that are in relation to these different size jars. And so it took quite a while to test that."

 

Her lineup includes 13 core year-round scents and usually six seasonal scents, using fragrance oils from several suppliers, and cotton wicks for a cleaner burn. She tests each new scent for both its cold throw (a sniff) and it's hot throw — how it smells while burning — before putting it on the shelf.

 

She said she has always wanted a storefront but it had been hard to find a place in her price range until her husband had stumbled upon the storefront at 210 Elm St., next to Cravins Ice Cream, in August.

 

Other items in her store include wooden car air fresheners made by her father on a laser engraver. The business also carries vintage finds and goods from local makers, including reclaimed-wood charcuterie boards and bowls, and local floral and resin artwork.

 

Sena sources vintage inventory from flea markets, estate and tag sales, online auctions, vintage sales, and Facebook Marketplace. 

 

She had previously gained a following through her home-decor account "House on Holmes" and her thousands of followers have been supportive of her new shop.

 

"I've been posting my house there for years. It started because I started like an online vintage shop, an Etsy shop. So it kind of kind of just went from there. I've got now I have a little over 30,000 followers," Sena said. "So it was really helpful when I launched this because my followers on there were super supportive." 

 

She hopes to bring in more local vendors and host pop-ups, hoping more people come to shop local.

 

"I would like people to just shop local more. We live in a world of Amazon and Target and Walmart, which is great. Like you can get great stuff there, but I feel like it's sad that so many places aren't doing well anymore," she said. "So, hopefully, people can come and find gift stuff and not go to Home Goods, come here instead." 

 

Future plans include candle-pouring classes and collaborative workshops.

 

The shop's hours are Wednesday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Find more information at holmescandlecompany.com.