Holiday Spirit Aglow at Freedom Candle Co.

Sales have been brisk this holiday season at , located at 569 Salmon Brook St. in Granby.

“This year has been better than the past three years,” said West Suffield resident Jerry Crane, who has owned the independent candle and gift shop with his wife, Janeene, for the last nine years. “People are really getting in the mode of shopping locally.”

Jerry Crane said one customer from Simsbury told him that she wasn’t going to the mall this year.

“She said was going to shop up and down Route 10 from Farmington to Granby,” Jerry Crane said. “She said, ‘I’m finding all of these charming stores that I never knew about.’”

One of those stores is Freedom Candle Co., which has about a third of its floor space dedicated to the candles that Jerry Crane makes himself on site.

Though the entire process, including cooling, takes about 18 to 24 hours, Jerry Crane said that he puts in a grand total of 20 minutes of labor to make a candle.

There are myriad scents to choose from, though the most popular candles around the holidays, according to Jerry Crane, are Holly Berry, Candy Cane, Christmas Bliss, Hot Apple Pie, and Christmas Tree.

During the spring, patrons tastes, or, in this case, noses, change to lavender and lilac.

“It’s like beer,” Jerry Crane said. “You don’t drink the same beer in the summer as you do in the winter.”

The candles made on site range in price from $13.95 for 9 ounces to $19.95 for 25 ounces, and the Cranes fill special orders and do custom labeling for events like weddings, anniversaries, and other special occasions.

So what separates a candle from Freedom Candle Co. from one, say, offered at Yankee Candle?

The secret, Jerry Crane said, lies in the candle’s ingredients. Just like food, there are additives that can be put in a candle’s wax that speeds up the manufacturing process.

“The candles here are hand-crafted, so it’s a better product,” Jerry Crane said. “There are a lot of shortcuts when you make a candle. It’s all in the ingredients. Many candle makers these days us single-pour wax. I use pure paraffin wax, which requires two pours to make the candle level.”

Jerry Crane also studiously matches the wicks to the various candles that he makes. The scents are oil-based, and different wicks are used to match those oils for optimum burns.  

And the candles are heavily scented, according to Jerry Crane.

“The industry standard, if there is one, is 5 to 6 percent volume of scent to paraffin,” Jerry Crane said. “All of ours are at least 8 percent.”

Each candle sold comes with a book of matches as well as instructions on how to properly burn the candles to get the maximum amount of usage out of them.

In addition, patrons are treated to a different shopping experience than they would get at larger outlets. The Cranes guarantee every one of their candles.

“We tell people who come in our doors, you’re not customers, you’re company,” Jerry Crane said.

That includes getting the loving once over from Skeeter the Greeter, a sweet 3-year old Schnauzer who roams the store.

The other two thirds of the store is stocked by Janeene Crane with high-quality candles made by other vendors, as well as knickknacks, jewelry and cards. There is a popular “Happy Hour” that is stocked with wine racks, glasses, Corona lime cutting glass boards and other accessories for your libations.

Jerry Crane said that Janeene “tries, feels and touches” every item to ensure it’s quality before they consider stocking their shelves with it.

“We go out of our way not to buy lesser quality stuff,” Jerry Crane said.

It’s the high quality that led Charlotte Rosow and her brother, Richard, of New Hartford to search for a gift for their mother.

“I like it here because the stuff is homemade and its nicer and the stuff it’s made from is good for the environment,” Charlotte Rosow said, adding that she wanted to do something special instead of just going to a big box store. “We used to do that when we were little.”

The Freedom Candle Co. also does a healthy on-line business, as the tiny shop has customers all over the country as well as far-flung locations like France and Japan.

All of which has added up to a pretty nice career for both Cranes, who previously worked in the corporate world before taking over the shop from its original owners.

“We had never been in retail before,” Jerry Crane said. “I don’t have to go to work. I get to go to work. We’re in our mid-60s, so we have to stay busy. This keeps us active. We make enough money here. But trust me, we ain’t getting rich. We’re doing OK. It’s paying the bills. It’s like a hobby that pays for itself.”

For more information, visit www.freedomcandleco.com.