This holiday season warms up at Fire of Sandia, a candle bar

A novel idea with community burning at its heart, candle bar Fire of Sandia is at 1710 Central SW Suite C. It is owned by Marsha Souers, a retired nurse and burgeoning business owner.

Souers was the guest on this week's edition of the Business Outlook podcast, which focused on small business. Souers discussed her path from working as a medical professional on the East Coat before retiring to New Mexico and opening up a do-it-yourself candle bar.

Business Outlook podcasts are released on Monday afternoons and are available on YouTube, Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Here's a preview of the conversation, which has been edited for clarity.

I know Fire of Sandia is a candle bar, but tell me how that works.

“It is a place where people can come in and make their own fragrance candles. I have fragrances like the spa, calming, relaxing kind of scents. I have holiday and winter scents. I have the ones that I was calling setting the mood. Those are things like whiskey and bourbon and a library that really does smell like old books. People come in, and I have candles made of every fragrance. They smell the candles to get an idea of what fragrances they would like to experiment with.

Then they go into the room where the real action happens. I bring them the fragrance oils that they have chosen, and they start mixing those oils together to get the smell that they want in their candle. Once they have that, I’ll bring them the melted wax. They pour the fragrance into the wax and make a candle.”

What if I mix scents and hate how they smell?

“That has happened. I actually recently had a women who kept smelling and I could just tell by the look on her face it was not going anywhere. I smelled it and agreed with her; 'this is not working.' She said it smelled like a sweaty old man, so we just tossed those oils and she started over again and came out with what she wanted.

(So,) no, you’re not stuck."

Tell me about the candle bar that inspired you.

“Shout out to Penn and Beech (Candle Co.) in Indiana. These are two sisters-in-law who were making their own candles and they’ve grown exponentially. What I loved about it was people walking in and out and sharing their fragrances. It was a sense of, 'This is a community gathering space. This is where people enjoy coming, kind of like Cheers.'”

Tell me about retiring and opening a business.

“Yes, I was a labor and delivery nurse for the first half of my career in Virginia. And then the second half of my career was here in New Mexico and I was a family practitioner — which is a great career, but going from medicine to retirement is like going from 100 miles an hour to zero. And I knew I would be bored because I’m a multitasker, just as most medical people are.

I thought I could travel; I could pack up my mountain bike and go to Moab or wherever, but you can’t do that 365 days a year. So when I decided I’d hit on this idea of a candle bar, I went to WESST — Women's Economic Self-Sufficiency Team — here in town. I said to the business consultant, 'I know nothing really about owning a business. I know nothing really about making candles. So tell me I’m crazy and I’ll walk out now.' And she didn't. So here I am."

What are some highlights of starting your own business?

“You have these moments when you wake up at 3 a.m. or 4 a.m. and you think, 'Oh my gosh, what am I doing with my life? This is crazy.' Every time I bought a house, that's what I’ve done. I would meet with Valeria, my business consultant, and I’d walk out being energized and confident and the classes did that too. They make it so you learn and you keep learning and you can take classes with them and just keep learning even after the business (opens). So I say the high point was, every time I had a low point, they would bring me back up again.”

What are some of those low points?

“The daunting aspect of the finances. Of course, I think that would be what would stop a lot of people. That, 'Oh, my idea is not really viable.' Money can be very scary and we have gone through a pandemic where small businesses ended."

How did you decide your shop location?

“I started looking around Downtown, Old Town areas and I realized that there are some properties for lease in the Country Club Plaza, which is right at the entrance to the Country Club on Central. Vinaigrette had just relocated there and I sent an email saying, 'Hey, can we talk about one of your places?' They answered right away. They really liked the concept of the candle bar and it just happened. I have to tell you, it is not where I would have first picked but I’m so happy to be there. I have the best neighbors."

How did you end up in New Mexico?

“I spent my adult life in Virginia. It is where my children grew up. During those years, I was a labor and delivery nurse and over time, I began a relationship with one of the OBGYNs, which, I know all you L&D nurses out there, that is something you should never let happen. But it did. When my younger child was graduating from high school, I told Frank, my partner, that I was going to go somewhere to get my experience. I need to go someplace else. I started talking to some nurses with whom I worked, whose husbands had been in the Air Force, and they said go to New Mexico. They had been based here in Albuquerque. The kids and I came out, and we all loved it. I told Frank, 'I’m moving to New Mexico.' Frank was not ready to retire but he came out with me. He took one look at the Sandia Mountains and the golf courses and he said, 'Forget it, I’m retiring and I’m coming out with you.' We did that in 2005."

If someone was walking by your store, what would you say to get them to come in?

"If you love fragrances, if you love candles, this is where you want to at least try it. You will walk away with your very own. Yes, this is the perfect candle."