CLINTON – Like so many others, Elisha Goulet was looking for something to keep herself and her family entertained during the pandemic. And like some, Goulet is now turning that into a business.
Goulet is a lifelong Clintonian who recently created Northern Woods Candles and Soaps.
“Like everyone else who was looking for ways to entertain themselves during the COVID pandemic, I was also looking for fun activities to do at home. At the beginning, my daughter Liz and I, like so many others, tried to keep busy” said Goulet.
“I decided to buy some sewing machines and we both had our own sewing machines on our kitchen table. We spent hours sewing and eager to learn. It was well worth the money to spend time together doing fun projects and shopping for nice materials,” she said.
By the end of 2021, she was looking for ways to make Christmas gifts instead of buying them for friends and family.
“I decided I wanted to learn a new craft and that was candle making,” she said. “I started researching candle making in late October 2021 and got the supplies I needed in November. There was a lot to learn but I had so much fun making candles for Christmas and I even designed beautiful glass jars covered with snowflakes and twine and berries for decoration.
“I also made snowman candles,” she added. “They came out really nice and smelled so good too.”
Making candles became a big distraction.
“I could spend hours in the kitchen doing this craft and I would even forget to eat at times when I had so much fun making them,” she said. “I became very interested in delicious food scents, probably because I’m Italian and had a lot of fun shopping for these scents.”
The first candle was scented almond biscotti.
“It smelled exactly like almond biscotti,” said Goulet. “I also made sugar cookies and then I also made scented candles from Fruit Loops and bayberries.”
After Christmas, she continued to enjoy making and giving away candles. But the candles started to pile up in her kitchen.
She started thinking about setting up a business, but ran into an interesting problem.
“I started daydreaming about having a name for my small business and started playing around with cute names. I chose so many cute names, but every time I googled the name I found that it had already been used by another candle maker, ” she said. “This happened over and over again. There are so many small candle companies that you can’t even imagine how many there are and it was hard to find a name that wasn’t already in use.”
It took some effort to find a unique name.
“Finally I decided to imagine what I was imagining when I thought of candle,” she said. “I pictured myself in a cabin somewhere in the woods to the north, cuddling by a fire with a warm blanket wrapped around me and a lit candle beside me while holding a nice cup of herbal tea. Then Northern Woods came to mind. And this one stuck.”
A friend was doing a pop up at an art event in Worcester and she told Goulet to bring some candles and sell them.
“I decided to check it out and see how people would react to my candles and if they sell,” she said. She made “just enough money to pay my table money that night and I felt so excited after selling some of my candles that I decided to host another event.”
Goulet also learned to cast soap and now also makes soap. Since then, she has been participating in pop-up events and has recently become a regular at Sterling Street Market on Saturdays.
“I’ve also designed labels on Canva and I’ve made a lot of improvements and changes to my candle labels over time. I know the changes will continue because I’m still learning,” she said, adding : “I’m not sure if I have more fun pouring candles or designing the labels now.”
A website about to launch at www.northernwoodscandles.com and people will be able to purchase Goulet’s creations online.
“If anyone wants to buy them, they can find me at Sterling Market on Saturdays or other markets and local craft fairs. She posts her upcoming events on Instagram @Northernwoodscandlesandsoaps.
Goulet said her favorite scents so far are Almond Biscotti, Blueberry Cobbler, and Lemon Cookie.
“I’ve been working on the fall scents and now I have Marshmallow Pumpkin for a fall sample and I really like this scent too,” Goulet added.
