BEHIND THE BRAND: SURAIYA NANJI OF HOMECOMING CANDLES
BEHIND THE BRAND: SURAIYA NANJI
This Journal series brings you inspiring founders and creators of brands we admire. From ceramics to accessories, we hope these interviews give you an informative peek into the entrepreneurs behind these businesses.
Meet Suraiya, the visionary behind the fragrance brand Homecoming Candles. Based out of Vancouver, BC, she creates the most captivating scents and encapsulates them into candles, incense, and home mists. Inspired by her mother's candle business, Suraiya blends nostalgia with modern creativity, crafting products that bring wonderful aromas into every home.
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We’d love to learn about your beginnings, and what/who shaped the person you are today.
For as long as I can remember I have always loved creating and making things and grew up crafting with my mom. She is actually the original candle maker in the family and had her own candle business when I was growing up. Whether I realized it or not I’m sure those early crafting days planted the seed for Homecoming and a future of entrepreneurship.
As a teen and early adult I had many side hustles while in school and was making and selling greeting cards, jewelry and hair accessories to local boutiques. As soon as it was possible, I applied to design schools which lead me to move to Los Angeles to study Visual Communications. My time studying and working in the design field greatly influenced where Homecoming is today; visual communications is all about creating unique spaces and scent is another layer that when added can completely transform an environment.
What influenced your decision to start Homecoming?
I spent the majority of my career working in the corporate fashion industry designing visual displays and windows for retail spaces and travelling internationally to open stores. Candle making was a hobby that provided a moment of calm between work trips and a way to meet and connect with other creatives in the city. After almost a decade in LA I decided it was time to return to Vancouver and began job hunting. Initially I thought I would continue in the same field but while searching and interviewing I began making candles again. After a few months of running my own business I realized I could never go back to a corporate 9-5 job and actually ended up turning down a role which would have put me in the same position I previously had. It was a scary and risky decision but I’m so happy that I took the chance!
What does a day in your life running your brand look like?
The thing that I like the most about running a business is that everyday is different. Some days are full of production since everything is made in-house and some are filled with sourcing supplies and testing fragrances, calls with vendors, emailing with our stores, merchandising our shop or even hosting workshops. I feel like each day at Homecoming pulls from experiences at my previous roles (management, events, marketing) and I really enjoy that there are moments of both creativity, hands on making and more structured business elements each day.
What is something unexpected that you have learned after starting your business?
How physical it would be! Our wax comes in 50lb boxes so it is a lot of heavy lifting. We also spend a lot of time running around town picking up supplies, dropping off orders and rearranging the studio to make room for new products. I think most of the small business owners I know have been surprised at the amount of preparation and coordination it takes before you can finally start creating!
Tell us about the decision to use glass jars for your candles.
I love that our jars can have another life after a candle is finished. We hope that our candles are something that are used daily but also understand that people don’t want to be left with a bunch of empty containers. It was important for us to use something that can be recycled, repurposed or returned to us.
I use my jars to store teas and spices, and have seen them used as planters, paintbrush holders, jam jars etc. If you’d rather return them we are proud to offer a recycling program through our studio. Customers can bring their clean and empty jars in and then get a discount on future orders.
A little birdy told us you are re-launching a past collection very soon – can you tell us more about it?
We are very excited to be re-releasing our gradient collection in the next few months! This has been a project that we have been working on for the past year after the candles initial release. We wanted the candles to be the best they could be and offer them at a more accessible price. We decided to spend a few months reworking them to meet these goals. They will look, burn and smell better than ever with scents designed to evoke memories and daydreams of places far and wide.
Who, what, or where inspires the scents you choose to encapsulate in your products?
We are always seeking out unique scent combinations for our candles, mists and incense and we want to make sure there is a scent that works for every room in your home. For example, I love burning Lemon Rind + Honey which is bright, fresh and green in the kitchen after cooking and Amber + Bitter Orange a soft dreamy scent is my go-to wind down scent. The inspiration for our scents can come from all over, places we have been, interiors we have seen, but ultimately we think about how we want people to feel when they are using our products and the mood we are hoping to create and work back from there.
We keep your Oakmoss + Sage home mist at our shop for a little elevated refresh once in a while; how do your harly jae pieces elevate your day-to-day?
My harly jae Aura Pants are in constant rotation both in and out of the studio. I love how comfortable they are for production days but still look put together on days when we have meetings and shoppers in the studio. I currently have three pairs and would still love to add to my collection. The Esme dress has so many pretty details like the embroidery and scalloped hem, it’s truly a special piece that’s easy for everyday or a special occasion. I will definitely be reaching for it during our market season.
Can you share what someone might experience during a studio visit?
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Suraiya wears our Esmé Dress Noir Embroidery / Aura Pants Stone Stripe & hj tee
You can shop Homecoming Candles through her website and follow the shop Instagram for new arrivals and updates.
Find her shop at: 1871 Powell St, Vancouver, BC
Photography taken by Shelan Markus
Meet Suraiya, the visionary behind the fragrance brand Homecoming Candles. Based out of Vancouver, BC, she creates the most captivating scents and encapsulates them into candles, incense, and home mists. Inspired by her mother's candle business, Suraiya blends nostalgia with modern creativity, crafting products that bring wonderful aromas into every home.
---
We’d love to learn about your beginnings, and what/who shaped the person you are today.
For as long as I can remember I have always loved creating and making things and grew up crafting with my mom. She is actually the original candle maker in the family and had her own candle business when I was growing up. Whether I realized it or not I’m sure those early crafting days planted the seed for Homecoming and a future of entrepreneurship.
As a teen and early adult I had many side hustles while in school and was making and selling greeting cards, jewelry and hair accessories to local boutiques. As soon as it was possible, I applied to design schools which lead me to move to Los Angeles to study Visual Communications. My time studying and working in the design field greatly influenced where Homecoming is today; visual communications is all about creating unique spaces and scent is another layer that when added can completely transform an environment.
What influenced your decision to start Homecoming?
I spent the majority of my career working in the corporate fashion industry designing visual displays and windows for retail spaces and travelling internationally to open stores. Candle making was a hobby that provided a moment of calm between work trips and a way to meet and connect with other creatives in the city. After almost a decade in LA I decided it was time to return to Vancouver and began job hunting. Initially I thought I would continue in the same field but while searching and interviewing I began making candles again. After a few months of running my own business I realized I could never go back to a corporate 9-5 job and actually ended up turning down a role which would have put me in the same position I previously had. It was a scary and risky decision but I’m so happy that I took the chance!
What does a day in your life running your brand look like?
The thing that I like the most about running a business is that everyday is different. Some days are full of production since everything is made in-house and some are filled with sourcing supplies and testing fragrances, calls with vendors, emailing with our stores, merchandising our shop or even hosting workshops. I feel like each day at Homecoming pulls from experiences at my previous roles (management, events, marketing) and I really enjoy that there are moments of both creativity, hands on making and more structured business elements each day.
What is something unexpected that you have learned after starting your business?
How physical it would be! Our wax comes in 50lb boxes so it is a lot of heavy lifting. We also spend a lot of time running around town picking up supplies, dropping off orders and rearranging the studio to make room for new products. I think most of the small business owners I know have been surprised at the amount of preparation and coordination it takes before you can finally start creating!
Tell us about the decision to use glass jars for your candles.
I love that our jars can have another life after a candle is finished. We hope that our candles are something that are used daily but also understand that people don’t want to be left with a bunch of empty containers. It was important for us to use something that can be recycled, repurposed or returned to us.
I use my jars to store teas and spices, and have seen them used as planters, paintbrush holders, jam jars etc. If you’d rather return them we are proud to offer a recycling program through our studio. Customers can bring their clean and empty jars in and then get a discount on future orders.
A little birdy told us you are re-launching a past collection very soon – can you tell us more about it?
We are very excited to be re-releasing our gradient collection in the next few months! This has been a project that we have been working on for the past year after the candles initial release. We wanted the candles to be the best they could be and offer them at a more accessible price. We decided to spend a few months reworking them to meet these goals. They will look, burn and smell better than ever with scents designed to evoke memories and daydreams of places far and wide.
Who, what, or where inspires the scents you choose to encapsulate in your products?
We are always seeking out unique scent combinations for our candles, mists and incense and we want to make sure there is a scent that works for every room in your home. For example, I love burning Lemon Rind + Honey which is bright, fresh and green in the kitchen after cooking and Amber + Bitter Orange a soft dreamy scent is my go-to wind down scent. The inspiration for our scents can come from all over, places we have been, interiors we have seen, but ultimately we think about how we want people to feel when they are using our products and the mood we are hoping to create and work back from there.
We keep your Oakmoss + Sage home mist at our shop for a little elevated refresh once in a while; how do your harly jae pieces elevate your day-to-day?
My harly jae Aura Pants are in constant rotation both in and out of the studio. I love how comfortable they are for production days but still look put together on days when we have meetings and shoppers in the studio. I currently have three pairs and would still love to add to my collection. The Esme dress has so many pretty details like the embroidery and scalloped hem, it’s truly a special piece that’s easy for everyday or a special occasion. I will definitely be reaching for it during our market season.
Can you share what someone might experience during a studio visit?
We love having visitors to our studio and it’s the best way to come and choose a new scent. Our studio is stocked with our full line of products; candles, incense, home mists, accessories and some home goods from local brands we love. You may also get a sneak peek of new scents that we are testing out, prototypes of new accessories and get a look behind the scenes of candle making. It will be a little messy but that is part of the process!
We are looking forward to our candle making workshops returning in the fall and will offer them through the winter. We also have great neighbours like the Pie Shoppe so you can pick up a candle and a sweet treat :)
We are looking forward to our candle making workshops returning in the fall and will offer them through the winter. We also have great neighbours like the Pie Shoppe so you can pick up a candle and a sweet treat :)
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Suraiya wears our Esmé Dress Noir Embroidery / Aura Pants Stone Stripe & hj tee
You can shop Homecoming Candles through her website and follow the shop Instagram for new arrivals and updates.
Find her shop at: 1871 Powell St, Vancouver, BC
Photography taken by Shelan Markus