Wicker Park's Black Luxe Candles brings light in the shadow of unexpected loss
CHICAGO (CBS) -- We've got something that'll warm your home, hearth, and heart.
It's the story of how a local couple's candle-making business was kept alight in the face of unexpected loss.
CBS 2's Jamaica Ponder has more from Wicker Park.
He used to be a middle school science teacher and she was in real estate marketing. Today, Brittany Taylor and Julius Dease are the couple behind Black Luxe Candles in Wicker Park.
"Everyone gets to choose the vessel to the fragrance and just go through the entire candle-making process," Dease said.
They teach candle-making workshops, an extension of Brittany's original online candle business.
"We wanted to capitalize on that idea. So we turned it into a full-blown experience," Dease said.
And since opening their current location, the full classes, stocked inventory, and decorated shop…
"Like doubled what it is we've done like two or three years in a row now. I sit and marvel at the fact that we were able to turn these things around as fast as we did," he said.
And they did it all while managing Brittany Taylor's sudden loss of hearing.
"I have a genetic condition which is called NF2. It's the ability to grow tumors on your hearing nerves. So I have tumors on both hearing nerves," Taylor said.
The diagnosis came in just a month before they'd planned to open up shop.
I said 'I can't hear people. I'm extremely concerned,'" she said.
But Julius was positive they'd be able to pull it off.
He said 'Well, we're going to you're going to have to figure it out because we're in the space,'" she remembered.
At first, Brittany was not convinced.
"But, how am I hearing them," Taylor asked.
They set her up with a voice-to-text app so that while people are talking, her phone will transcribe it and she can read along.
While it's not perfect…
"Sometimes it freezes up," noted Dease said.
It does make it possible for Brittany to still teach.
"I do like the smaller classes because of my hearing loss, but I will still do it," she said. "We don't know if one day I may eventually become completely deaf."
Though her hearing grows progressively worse, business continues to heat up, with packed workshops nearly every weekend.
And just because they're luxury, doesn't mean these candles are out of reach.
"Sometimes luxury isn't attainable for most and I wanted people to feel like this is very attainable," Taylor said.
For $60, you can go through the entire workshop, and leave with your own hand-poured candle.
"You come here and you feel good. That's my number one goal for people to come in here and have an excellent experience," added Taylor.
