Red Raven Candle Co. opens in Chatham

Colleen Walraven crafts blueberry waffles topped with whipped cream, banana cream pies and strawberry shortcakes that look mouthwateringly realistic – but actually are made out of wax.

Walraven is the owner of Red Raven Candle Co., which opened up shop in Chatham on Oct. 10. The store carries the dessert-lookalike candles along with other items such as handcrafted bodywash and handwash, laundry scent boosters, aroma beads, wax melts and standard candles. The store also features a dirty soda bar where customers can mix their own specialty drinks while browsing.

All the dessert candles at Red Raven are handcrafted by Walraven, who said she has made “thousands and thousands” of these candles since she first came across the idea while scrolling online.

“I actually started making candles in my kitchen just because I saw a video, and I was like, ‘Hmm … I want to try this,’” said Walraven, who added that she has never been a baker but was intrigued by the idea of creating candles that looked like baked treats.

“I saw it as a challenge,” she said. “I picked up my first piping bag and tried it, and it did not go well. It looked awful.”

But Walraven was undeterred and kept working at it. “I tried and tried and did not give up,” she said. “I’ll never forget the moment I piped my first whipped candle that actually looked good.”

She started selling the candles out of her Pawnee home to family and friends and then added an ecommerce site. Now she’s added a brick-and-mortar location with the store at 602 E. Walnut St.

Red Raven’s most popular products are the blueberry waffle and fruit loops cereal candles. Walraven said the wax melts such as the cinnamon bun, chocolate chip cookie and caramel apple also are popular because they come in food containers and often are mistaken for real food.

In fact, Walraven said one man came in the shop and asked whether Red Raven also sold candles. “Because he saw the wax melts and thought they were real food,” she said. “It’s fun to think I created that and you thought it was really something you could eat.”

Red Raven Candle Co. is open on Sundays from 2-5 p.m., Mondays from 10 a.m.–4 p.m., Thursdays from 4-8 p.m., and Fridays and Saturdays from 10 a.m.-6 p.m.