Sweet Smell of Success, Handmade in Springs

Brittany Torres’s candle business, Hamptons Handpoured, began as a side project, driven by her passion for aromatherapy and essential oils, but it quickly developed into a full-time job. 

The turning point came when Ms. Torres realized she could no longer continue her day job in retail and also fulfill the increasing number of orders for her scented candles.

A Southampton native who now lives in Springs, she produces the candles herself in small batches of 12. She also packages, delivers, and ships them, and runs all of the company’s social media accounts. 

Made from American-grown soy and plant-based oils, the candles come in a wide array of scents, including a series inspired by the villages and hamlets of the East End. The East Hampton candle features scents of cashmere, fig, and strawberry, while the Springs candle smells of lily, lemon, and sandalwood.

Ms. Torres sells them in businesses across the East End. Her retailers include Petit Blue, the Golden Eagle, Hildreth’s Home Goods, Simply Sublime, and the LongHouse Reserve in East Hampton, and the Springs General store. The candles are also available online on the e-commerce site Etsy. Eight-ounce candles in glass tumblers coast $28 on Etsy, with smaller votives selling for less. 

Ms. Torres has developed the company’s social media presence to mobilize the market of online shoppers who are unable to smell the candles. Hamptons Handpoured’s Instagram and Pinterest page are filled with images of both the candles and the East End, which helps in creating a brand and lifestyle behind the product. The company’s social media accounts “are an extension of myself, and what I think about it out here,” Ms. Torres said earlier this month. 

Etsy has provided a platform for the company to grow beyond the local market, and by the spring Hamptons Handpoured will have its own e-commerce site, too.

While discussing her experience as a fairly new business owner, Ms. Torres emphasized her surprise in the support and willingness of other local businesses to make connections and help one another. There seems to be a mutual understanding of the pressures of running your own business here, specifically the financial burden and urgency to create enough revenue to support yourself year round despite the seasonal economy.