Mokena Candle Makers Dip Into 46-Year Tradition

There isn’t anything quite like indulging in a scent that reminds you of your favorite season, holiday or food. For instance, in the fall, you can come home after a long day of work and be greeted by the aroma of pumpkin spice.

Coincidentally, pumpkin spice candles are on special at Marley Candles in Mokena this month. Each month, the family-owned business provides different specials for their customers to enjoy, which is helpful when it comes to choosing one aroma from a multitude of options.

Three women from the small town of Marley started the company in the 1960s. They purchased an antique candle mold from a flea market, which sparked the idea of making candles. What began as a hobby soon turned into a business.

In 1965, the women built the house that Marley Candles resides in now, located at 12525 W. 187th Street in Mokena. According to Nancy Fixari, one of the current owners, these women built the business to look like a house, so that if the business went under, they could sell the property as a house.

More than 40 years later, the business is still going strong. Fixari's parents bought the business from these women in 1979. Now Fixari and her sister Kathy Chapleau run the business alongside their 89-year-old father.

“Dad is still there every morning, working with the women who make the candles,” Fixari said.

Though her family had no background in candle making, Fixari said her dad was a man of all trades and caught on quickly.

Fixari and her sister know how to make the candles if they need to, but their father and a couple of employees regularly make them. This work is done right on site in a separate addition that the dad built.

Because of the economy, they’ve had to let several candle makers go. Right now, they employ nine, including her father.

You can take a tour and watch the candles being made if you go when the store isn’t busy, especially in the morning when her dad and the candle makers are there, Fixari said.

Marley Candles' website provides a whole slew of photos and information about the types of candles they sell, but Fixari said this is only about 5 percent of their merchandise.

“On the website is items that we always have in stock and in bulk, so people can make orders online,” Fixari said. “In the store, we have one of this, or one of that, just really interesting, custom-made stuff.”

Fifty percent of the candles in the store are Marley Candles, according to Fixari, which are only sold here. Yankee Candles are the second most popular candle sold, followed by numerous other brands.

The Marley candles come as pillars, from 2 x 3 up to 8 x 8, jar candles, soy jars, votives, floaters, melts, stars, octagon twists, chunk candles, scented oils and hand-dipped tapers. Scents range from fruity and/or spice, to woodsy and bakery goods.

If customers have a knack for color and scents, they can also custom order the candle they’d like made, according to the website.

“People are really hot on jar candles,” Fixari said. “It used to be 3x5 pillar candles that were most popular, but now, they just buy the jar candles and then throw them in the recycle when they’re done.”

These candles are also available in soy, which is a renewable resource and cleaner to burn, Fixari said.

Still, Fixari said she is a huge fan of the pillar candles, because not only do they cost less for the customer, but they also are a finer grade of wax and are cleaner, not creating as much soot as the jar candles.

“You could invest in a really pretty container and fill it with pillar candles over and over,” Fixari said.

Aside from candles, candle containers and candle rings, which Fixari said are one of the store’s most popular items and are hard to find elsewhere, Marley Candles also sells an assortment of seasonal accessories and decorations.

You still have one week to check out the miscellaneous Halloween items in the store. Fixari said these include costume accessories and home decor, such as black glass decanters with crossbones on them.

“The decanter has been so popular, especially with the male customers, that I’ve had to reorder them three times,” Fixari said.

Fixari said that they travel to gift shows twice a year and buy stuff that is really edgy and not mainstream. For this reason, they have customers traveling from Chicago, Champaign and elsewhere to visit Marley Candles.

“We’ll get groups of ladies traveling here once or twice a year, and they are some of our best customers,” Fixari said.

To attract customers, they offer monthly specials, such as the pumpkin spice scents this month, have a presence on Facebook, keep the website updated and keep up with what the customers want.

“You’ve got all your big boxed stores, and they have nice stuff, but everything is kind of the same because it’s all mass produced,” Fixari explained. “At Marley Candles, you’re not going to find this stuff anywhere else.”

For more information, visit www.marleycandles.com or call 815-485-6604.