Hello! My name is William. Along with my partner Shari, we are the owners of Stone Candle Makers. The inspiration for these special candles came in a unique way and I would like to share the story with you. As it is with most stories, this one has a beginning, middle, and ending. So here goes…

When I was 16 and just starting out in the workforce, I worked at an extermination company based in Orange County, California. With that job came a lot of driving. One day, I was sent to Silverado Canyon to do a job. As I drove into the canyon, I couldn’t believe how beautiful it was. I never realized this place was so close to me, and I immediately fell in love with the area.

After high school, I joined the United States Army and left California. When I returned, I settled in Huntington Beach, where I lived for almost 30 years. I loved the beach and rode my bike on the shoreline trails and hiked the HB Wetlands. Silverado isn’t that far away from Huntington Beach, so I often went there to ride mountain bikes, fish at Irvine Lake, and hike the trails. As a musician, I even had the opportunity to play at Cook’s Corner, a well-known venue near Silverado in Trabuco Canyon.

Shari and I moved to Foothill Ranch in 2017 and we love it. Now, I live a stone’s throw from the canyon and it’s pure joy. Recently, a friend (and good neighbor) and I went to the Silverado Cafe for lunch. We talked about how beautiful it is, how cool all the people are, and how the general vibe is soothing and life-affirming. We both work in the gig economy, so we also touched on entrepreneurship. That’s when I stumbled upon a novel idea

I’m always looking for creative outlets, and the idea for Stone Candle Makers suddenly came to me. After doing a little research, I knew right away that I wanted our candles to reflect a sense of being in the canyon. The fragrances, I felt, should be totally based on the canyon. After a few weeks of research and development, I started to get a feel for what would work and what would not. Low and behold, the “Silverado” was born.

The first candle I created reminded me of a beautiful day in the canyon. When Shari came home that night, she loved it and was very enthusiastic about the idea. We decided we would give away the first batch of candles as Christmas gifts to family and friends. That’s when it dawned on us that we were on to something good because they were an immediate hit.

Next came the “Modjeska,” inspired by Shari and her take on the canyon. After that, it was “Trabuco,” followed by “Black Star”. All of the candles were inspired by the canyon, going all the way back to my days as a young exterminator.

Our mantra is to “Keep it simple.” We have four unique candles in our lineup, all 100% soy wax, hand- poured, and carefully assembled in our kitchen. At Stone Candle Makers, we do it all — design, create, package, and market every aspect of our products. Our hope is that everyone who buys or receives one of our candles shares the love of the canyon as much as we do.

We would love to hear from you. It can be something you love about the canyon or, if you have one of our candles, a photo and a story about how our candles are doing in your home and enhancing your life.

Thanks for reading and welcome to Stone Candle Makers

~William