Briefing

Damian Chapa opened his specialty boutique, Candlemania, on Ventura Boulevard in Studio City two years ago, just as a craze for scented and other designer candles was in full swing. Chapa spoke to reporter Jennifer Netherby recently about staying afloat as a boutique with fierce competition from big and little players. “We started out with candles and essential oils and incense. Now we’re starting to build up our offerings in ceramics, pottery and candleholders. It’s sort of evolving into a spiritual place. We’ve got things with Buddha, the Star of David, crosses. The Circle of Friends is our bestseller. It’s a group of people holding each other, it’s based on an Indian legend. It’s a candle and when you turn the lights out, the shadows dance on the walls. “I’ve always loved candles. My living room is filled with candles. They’re very serene and they make you feel very comfortable. And in this town, there’s a lot of stress. “I’ve been here, it’ll be two years in June. I’m in the entertainment business. I write and act. I was in ‘Blood In, Blood Out.’ I was looking for something to do in the down time. I took the money I made from my acting career and opened the store. “I want to open four or five more stores eventually. We have three or four employees now. We’re a small shop. But our doors are still open. “There’s a lot of competition. When we moved in, there was a candle shop across the street from us that we didn’t even know about. We’re different from Kmart and other stores that sell candles. All of my candles are made with essential oils. We make a lot of the candles ourselves. And I have friends that make the other candles. They range in price from $3 to $29. “We get a lot of young people coming in. The store is very eclectic. The walls are midnight blue. We’ve got the religious items. We never really planned that, it just kind of evolved. I study religions, and every religion has a bit of intrigue to me. “When we first started, it was kind of difficult being on the boulevard. We’re a little set back from the street. We don’t get much walk-in traffic. It was hard to get word out about ourselves. “The thing about candles is, they burn out, so you have to come back. That helps with repeat business.”