Andrea and Austin Shaull, along with their two children, stand in front of the future location of Woven Co. Candles Studios Plus Collective. The brick-and-mortar location is expected to open in April.
Submitted photo
A Franklin small business is growing up.
Woven Co. Candles Studios Plus Collective recently acquired a house at 200 E. Jefferson St. and is undergoing renovations to open their business. The company, which specializes in custom candles, has a goal to open in April before the total solar eclipse.
Austin and Andrea Shaull started Woven Co. Candles in 2022 in the Emerson Heights neighborhood in Indianapolis. They have participated in two farmer’s market seasons as well as numerous events and craft shows since their opening.
Opening a physical storefront has been an exciting and humbling experience, said Austin Shaull.
“We have been tossing around the idea of making this next leap forward for the company,” he said. “We felt very confident that the next step would be a physical location. We absolutely fell in love with the Franklin area, so we prayed and hoped that something would be available.”
Customers will be able to choose their own candle “vessel,” mix their unique fragrances and pour wax to create a personalized candle.
“It is so much more fun to make your own custom fragrance than buying something that someone else made,” Andrea Shaull said. “Being able to make something that is unique and special to yourself is really important.”
The owners have a goal to offer over 100 total fragrances aimed at conjuring memories. They intend to attract every customer’s unique “smell-er.”
Customers that contact Woven Co. Candles are often looking for scents that bring back fond memories from their past 90 percent of the time, said Austin Shaull.
“Smell is incredibly nostalgic,” Andrea Shaull said. “It is fun when people smell a candle and they say, ‘This reminds me of my grandpa or this one place we used to go as a kid.’ It is just really neat when people do that.”
The location will include candle display areas, a room for larger parties and private events and an area where various merchandise will be sold including leather goods, hand-crafted signs, textiles, baked goods and body care products, Austin Shaull said.
Over 30 vendors have committed to supply merchandise to Woven Co. Candles. They will also have pre-made “signature blends” of their candles available for purchase.
The Shaull’s credited God for their success and the business gives 5% of every purchase to nongovernmental organizations that serve women through their Woven Co. Women’s Initiative. These funds address issues such as sex trafficking, women’s rights and practical support for new or expectant mothers.
Both owners are excited to become members of the Franklin community, they said.
“The local business community here has been super supportive and welcoming,” Andrea Shaull said. “Our existing customer base here has been really excited as well. Someone reached out to us who said that their grandparents used to live in this house and swing on the front porch, so that was such a sweet moment.”
Woven Co. Candles’ products can be browsed at wovencocandles.com or on their social media pages.
