LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A Las Vegas businesswoman's shop is shining bright and she's thrilled to be thriving in her hometown. 13 Action News anchor Tricia Kean takes you inside, Simply Pleasing Candles.
OBSESSED WITH CANDLES
"I'm obsessed with them," says MaKayla Shorts, owner of Simply Pleasing Candles.
You could say MaKayla has a burning passion for candles.
"When I go home I have to light a candle to start dinner. If I'm cleaning, I have to light a candle," says MaKayla.
PURSUING A DREAM
MaKayla says she was buying three or four candles each time she went to the grocery store. But that changed last year after having a dream about a candle on a store shelf with her name on it.
"So I called my stepdad to tell him that dream. I was like dad, I think I want to make candles," says MaKayla.
Her dad encouraged her to chase that dream. But it's what happened next, that really put MaKayla on the right path.
"I didn't know that would be the last time I got to speak with him. The following morning he actually passed from a heart attack," says MaKayla.
RESEARCHED & PRACTICED
From that moment on MaKayla says she was on a mission!
"I researched. I practiced. I played around. I burnt some things. But it was also therapeutic for me," says MaKayla.
SCENTED CANDLES WITH WOOD WICK
With a burning desire to succeed, MaKayla created some unique scented candles.
"A lot of people are used to the cotton wicks, the white one. We use a wooden wick. It's a natural wood that we use. It has a clean, very nice burn. So with our candles you get an even burn," says MaKayla.
Last November MaKayla launched her website, Simply Pleasing Candles. She personally makes every single scented candle, up to 400 each month.
SEE THE PASSION
"I truly believe people see the passion... Then when you take the candle home, you're also getting that same experience at home, just with your candle. It's like me in a candle," says MaKayla.
Business is going so well, in April she opened this shop on South Rainbow and Oakey boulevards. MaKayla says she's already outgrowing the space.
"I'm still kind of, pinch me, because I'm not sure if I'm still dreaming. It feels good just to be somewhere I was raised, somewhere I went to school, I'm raising my kids, and I can say I have something in Vegas that people can remember me by," says MaKayla.
