Close your eyes. You’re outside, beside the crackling of a campfire. The air smells like pine. You take a deep inward breath. Exhale. Relax. Open your eyes.

You’re not outside at all. You’re in your living room. The source of the crackling and the smell of pine? It’s one of Maegan Reynolds wood wick scented candles from her shop, Earthy Little Scents.

Reynolds, a fourth year sociology student at Oregon State, custom makes her own wicks and wax for her products. Earthy Little Scents is her Etsy shop, which she opened last September. She’s currently working on growing her business in and around the Corvallis area.

“My initial idea was to do custom photo based candles, then it turned into simple candles so I could sell them in some of the local coffee shops,” said Reynolds. “It was going to be a hobby for me, but it became really fun for me and a nice way to earn an extra income.”

Reynolds’ candles aren’t your run of the mill candles. She uses a soy base for her wax, which is supposed to cause fewer headaches and other adverse side effects to scented candles. She also uses a wooden wick in all her candles, which is what produces their signature crackling sound. 

Reynolds is constantly experimenting with new scents to add to her scent catalogue. Some scents she sells year-round, some she’ll sell seasonally, such as her recent Valentine’s Day scents or her upcoming spring scents, Island Cotton, Japanese Cherry Blossom and Lavender Apricot. 

“Oregon Pine is definitely the best seller, because of the name and it smells like pine trees, just like Oregon,” said Reynolds. “Vanilla is also a super clean scent so everyone loves that, and honeysuckle jasmine if they like floral scents.”

Operating your own business can be scary and challenging, but it can also be incredibly rewarding, especially when it’s work you can enjoy.

“I love being personal with customers, especially at craft fairs, I love getting to know people and getting to know the different scents that they like,” said Reynolds. “I have a few local customers who are buying candles from me once a month. During the holidays they love doing custom photos so I think my favorite part is getting people’s pet photos.”

Reynolds is about six months into selling her candles and plans on growing bigger and better. 

“I just started working on wholesale and consignment stores, so far I’ve gotten into six stores in the last two months.” said Reynolds. “In the next three years or so I’m hoping to have a little store at the Madison plaza in Corvallis.”

Any eight ounce candle from Earthy Little Scents costs $20, plus an $8 flat rate for shipping if it’s required. You can get candles from Reynolds’ Etsy shop, or one of the several coffee shops she’s partnered with in the Corvallis and Philomath areas. For more information, visit etsy.com/shop/EarthyLittleScents.