Personal trainer Crystal Wheeler needed an outlet for her energy during the COVID-19 pandemic. Wheeler had studied and gone to grad school to become a personal trainer, and with no public contact, she wasn't sure what to do. That's when she discovered candle making.

"I just went on YouTube and learned as much as I could [about candle making] in about a seven to nine month period, threw all of my energy into that," said Wheeler.

At first, she didn't even consider the possibility of her hobby becoming a business. She didn't even know if she could get back into personal training or how the world was going to be after the pandemic.

"After about maybe six months of making candles, I went ahead and decided I'm going to do something different and go ahead and make it a business."

Her new business: Light of Mine (LOM) Candle Supply.

Around a year and a half later, as the stigma around COVID began to die down, Wheeler started attending local markets.

"I started doing markets every weekend. I was going Friday and Saturday. And it kind of grew from there, really."

Wheeler loves attending events put on by a local organization called Blax Friday. Their markets and app are "a place that Black-owned small businesses in Tucson can be found," according to Wheeler.

"I believe in more of a micro versus macro. I'm more of a people person. I think that's one of the strengths that I have... that's how I've had the most community outreach."

Wheeler considers her clients and other vendors at the markets friends. She is currently working on getting her candles into boutiques around Tucson.

"I firmly believe that I have candles for each room, and I have daytime candles and I have nighttime candles."

She tries a variety of scents that she thinks will go well together through trial and error.

"Sometimes it works out perfectly, and sometimes I'm like, whoa, that was a really, really bad idea. Time to start back over."

Wheeler is usually at Blax Friday events in Tucson and has an Etsy store and a website. She is also on Instagram and Facebook. Her next market is the Summer Night Market on May 25, 2024.

"We're kind of like a little family, all the market vendors in Tucson. So those have been my favorite things, really the people."