Meet Michelle Vincent of White Street Market and Wisp Candle Studio

Today we’d like to introduce you to Michelle Vincent.

Michelle, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I bought the White Street Market from its previous owner last July, and then opened our second location in Garner in November. My sister has actually been in the candle business for years, and when the opportunity to own my own store came up I jumped on it! We have moved away from the original store’s market-based approach of selling multiple home products and focused just on our core experience of in-store custom candle making. Our hope is to grow both studios for regular candle-making guests as well as to expand into doing more custom wedding candles and exploring farmers’ markets and other outside venues.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The road has been relatively smooth thanks to inheriting a great storefront in Wake Forest and having a team of super employees come on board to make a great customer experience. Our biggest challenge has been in cleaning up some business practices and software we inherited from the old business, and improving on some of the candle-making techniques to produce a higher quality and more consistent product. We’ve experimented with different sizes and vessels for our pre-made candles and room sprays, for example, and with our 3rd version just launched in spring we think we really have a winner on our hands!

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about White Street Market and Wisp Candle Studio?
The White Street Market is our Wake Forest studio and Wisp Candle Studio is our new location in Garner. Both have their own unique vibe, with WSM being more of an upscale spa-like setting and Wisp being a comfy make-yourself-at-home vibe. In fact we modeled our Garner studio after an urban coffee shop energy, with comfy seating and more of a conversational, low-key atmosphere. Both studios specialize in DIY candle-making, where customers can choose their vessel, blend their choice of luxury fragrance oils, and create a custom candle that’s uniquely crafted just for them. What sets us apart is our carefully curated products, which are always changing and include the most sustainable, environmentally friendly and safe ingredients and materials. We are proud to be working with local experts to improve our environmental footprint as well as make our studios more accommodating to those with disabilities, mobility issues or sensory challenges. We’re also excited to be launching our new custom wax melts, room sprays and diffusers for those who want a flame-free product.

Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
Well a lot of people don’t even know that a custom candle experience exists! I think it’s always surprising for folks to see how easy it is to do, and how much fun they have sampling all the scents and vessels. Since most groups are seated together, it’s a lot more of a social activity than a lot of people expect — I compare it to going out to a hibachi vs. a regular restaurant. You get to share the fun with new people and customers have so much fun seeing what everyone else is making! We just recently had a booking of two couples, totally unrelated, who just happened to both be there celebrating their first anniversary– they were BFFs by the end of the workshop and everyone had a great time!

Pricing:

• regular pour – $35

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.thewhitestreetmarket.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewhitestreetmarket/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thewhitestreetmarket/
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/wisp-candle-studio-garner