Opening of a new candle shop in Colley Gate

A woman who was made redundant during the lockdown has opened her first shop in Colley Gate.

Juliet O’Brien lost her marketing job in 2020 but took the opportunity to start a candle-making business.

She has just opened a Waxy Wix boutique on Colley Gate with her partner Christian Houghton.

The couple have converted the former John Morris electrical store on the corner of Toys Lane into a unit selling candles, crystals and gifts.

Juliet said: “My partner Christian makes wooden products such as tealight holders and after being made redundant I thought I wanted to make tealights so I bought a candle making kit on Amazon.

“I have always loved candles.

“I started selling them on Etsy and it got better and better, taking us a bit by surprise.

“It went ballistic at Christmas 2020. It was hard to follow that!”

Juliet said the old electrical store had been split into separate units.

She said: “It’s a historic building in the area and together with other small entrepreneurs like Flo’s Cafe and Joanna’s Unique Pieces, we plan to make the area a thriving shopping center and improve the community aesthetic.

“All of our businesses were born out of lockdown.”