Visitors to Chicago following their noses will inevitably stumble upon Edgewater Candles at some point during their stay: arguably the most fragrant business in the city, the gay-owned brand had humble beginnings, as owners Mark Towns and Stephen Pearlman share with OutThere.
“Chicago is made up of all these neighbourhoods,” says Edgewater Candles’ co-owner Mark Towns, “and it feels like everyone wants their neighbourhood to be as fun and special as possible. So people are really enthusiastic about supporting interesting local businesses. I think the city also has an unusually strong maker culture, everywhere you go there are little shops selling things that are hand-made and locally made, as well as community spaces where you can learn crafts. I think a creative, DIY spirit is part of the American Midwest’s DNA.”
Mark’s own crafty leanings – and those of his husband Stephen Pearlman – put the couple on a new career path at a difficult time in 2016. “Too broke to shop” when their previous work as healthcare education consultants dried up, Mark took to scouting Craigslist for free items, and one day scored a candle-making kit, and then hundreds of jars from wedding table centrepieces. Both already keen fragrance fans, Mark and Stephen took to their new hobby with zeal, and before long were invited by the Edgewater Chamber of Commerce to sell their wares at a craft festival. “We sold 100 candles in two days,” Stephen recalls. “And when a store owner asked if he could stock them, we thought, ‘Could this be our job?’ It’s been all gas and no brakes ever since.”
Street fairs and pop-up markets all over the city – another Chicago cultural hallmark, says Mark – were key to building their customer base, until in July 2022 they moved into their first bricks and mortar store, in the North Side neighbourhood Edgewater, also offering candle-making classes. “Since then, our customers from all over the city come to Edgewater to buy our candles here,” says Mark.
“Edgewater is a historic neighbourhood, very fancy in the 1920s, Al Capone would come to the beach here,” says Stephen. “But over the Covid lockdowns, so many places closed down, it was brutal. So while there were hipper neighbourhoods we could have opened our store in, we wanted to do it right here, and be part of the neighbourhood’s revitalisation. And today it’s thriving, with a real mix of ages and nationalities living here, and a strong queer community with more and more businesses identifying as gay-owned. For me, that’s been the most rewarding part of our journey.”
Photography courtesy of Edgewater Candles
