On a dark and stormy night, it's good to have candles.

Better yet, a premium hand-poured candle (or three) for daily enjoyment – one that lasts a long time, smells great and burns cleanly with a strong light – plus a bag of richly scented fire starters perfect for gift giving.

In three years Stormy Mountain Candles of Meriden, Connecticut, has quadrupled product sales and is looking to expand into a new building to house all of the manufacturing operations, according to Jim Cosenza, who owns the business with his wife, Jennifer.

“My wife opened her salon, Jennifer's House of Hair, and was looking for a quality candle to use in the salon and also sell to her customers. We tried Yankee Candle but found that if we were low just one or two products on the shelf, the minimum order had to be from $1,500 to $2,000. We tried New England Candle and several others.”

Then they found Stormy Mountain Candle, a husband-and-wife operation in Berlin, founded 24 years ago by Brian and Sharon Nelson in their Berlin garage.

“The quality of their candles was second to none. After carrying the candles in our salon for three years, the Nelsons called us to say they were closing operations. We knew we wanted to continue that tradition of excellence.”

(The name, Stormy Mountain Candle Company is now owned and trademarked to the Cosenzas, but originally was sparked on a long road trip somewhere in Virginia with a dog named Stormy – when the sky lit up behind a backdrop of mountains, the company was born.)

Cosenza then did an internship to learn formulas and methods.

“From there we hit the ground running,” he grinned. “Our passion for making candles is strong and we've continued making candles the old-fashioned way without the use of automated machines. Hand pouring candles assures quality control throughout the entire process. We are so sure that you will love our candles that we offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee with each purchase.”

A note for chocolate scent lovers – Stormy Mountain Candle Company’s chocolate candles are featured in all of the Hershey Company’s retail locations – including the most famous one in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Yes, a candle as aromatic as a chocolate kiss.

Using 100% all natural soy wax and a 100% cotton wick, with all jars, lids, labels made in the U.S. The 16-ounce jar candles are vibrant colored and topped with a black metal lid.

“The majority of our candles are made with essential oils, a very true and pure oil,” he explained. “We also sell a fire starter, which is a wax cup with wick to place inside a fireplace or wood burning stove. Within minutes you have a rip-roaring fire going without newspaper or kindling.”

Right now more than 14 retail locations carry products lines and that list is growing. On-line sales are strong. And Grand Union carries Stormy Mountain Candle's fire starters in 30 stores.

Cosenza's personal favorite scents are Juicy Mac (Macintosh apple) and black raspberry vanilla, which also are two of the top sellers.

“We have about 121 different scents and those selections rotate with the seasons.”

He relies on three perfumists to create scents. “Pomegranate Cider” begins with cider notes of apple, sugar and cloves then adds the tart and tangy pomegranate. “Pomegranate & Sage” offers tangy plus green notes.”Twigs & Berries” is spicy with fruit and woody undertones.

Grouped by scents into collections, which include kitchen, fruit, florals and others, other options to enjoy these clean aromas include reed diffusers (no flame involved), melters, tea lights, sprays, goat milk soaps, organic lip balms and custom candles.

The company offers a 100% satisfaction guarantee.
For locations on where to find products, specials or new scents visit www.stormymountain.com. The company is also on Facebook.

Field test: During the recent storms and ensuing power outages, the jar candles I tried from Stormy Mountain Candle Company burned clean and even, smell great (not overpowering) and last a long, long time. The fire starters have a spicy pleasant scent that has become a personal favorite – not only is this product useful for a quick start to the stove, but the aroma of it also adds to the coziness of a room. As we continue our countdown-to-the-holiday quest for wonderful products and useful things for barn and home, we'll include entrepreneur profiles behind each of these creations.