Blue Pearl Candles, a candle shop that uses all plant-based ingredients, relocated to downtown Homewood on Saturday, Aug. 3.
“Traffic. Partnerships. Location,” Blue Pearl owner Kim Rowe said of the store’s move to 2050 Ridge Road in downtown from the northern end of Dixie Highway. “We’re going to be working with some of the other businesses to bring in more tourism dollars.”
Rowe said that as the Homewood Metra station’s renovations near completion and with the upcoming Homewood festivals and events, downtown “is where the action is.”
Blue Pearl opened in Homewood almost three years ago, selling candles with a variety of signature scents. The scents include but aren’t limited to Blood Orange, the Perfect Man, My First Love, Sweet Tobacco, Baby Powder, Sea Salt and Yes, Queen. Many of these scents are also available as wax melts, body washes and air fresheners.
Blue Pearl also sells candles with the Homewood-Flossmoor High School logo on them.
In addition to selling candles and candle-related products, Blue Pearl hosts candle-making classes. Attendees at these candle classes learn how to make their own candle in a jar for them to take home. These classes are $45 per person.
“You get to decorate it however you want to do it and whatever scents you want in it,” former Blue Pearl candlemaker and social media manager Christina Franklin said.
Terrianna Rowe, Rowe’s daughter, has been Blue Pearl’s director of operations since it first opened. She’s a senior at Homewood-Flossmoor High School.
Blue is Rowe’s favorite color and Pearl is Terrianna’s nickname – hence the name “Blue Pearl Candles.”
“I built this for her,” Rowe said, referring to her daughter.
Blue Pearl initially struggled financially, Rowe said, adding that she and her daughter had to live on noodles and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches at one point. Rowe said that about five months after opening Blue Pearl, she lost her day job as a sales rep.
“I was too determined to fail,” Rowe said. “I didn’t get another job. My thought process was: I’m either going to go all in and make it happen or I’m just going to be okay with working for someone else.”
Rowe began promoting her business and networking. The business also became more well-known after participating in community events.
Rowe said that she received mentorship from Uptima Entrepreneur Cooperative, a nonprofit organization that supports small business owners, which was critical to Blue Pearl’s success. Uptima put Rowe in touch with an investment group that granted her commercial funding, she said.
Rowe said a new part-time employee is starting in September.
Blue Pearl Candles is open Wednesday and Thursday from 1 until 6:30 p.m., Friday from 12:30 until 7:30 p.m., Saturday from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m. and Sunday from 2 until 6:30 p.m. The store is closed on Monday and Tuesday.