This content was originally published by the Longmont Observer and is licensed under a Creative Commons license.
Saturday, July 1st saw a little bit more sparkle return to Main Street with the help of some fairy dust. The original store which many Longmont locals know and love, Magic Fairy Candles at 634 Main Street, has now split into two sister businesses, with Magic Fairy Gifts taking over the shop front.
Magic Fairy Candles on Main Street was opened by Kim Sorden in June 2015 after it outgrew its previous location and it hasn't stopped growing since. The main focus, as the name suggests, has always been hand crafted and blended candles with a distinctly organic, local and eco-friendly focus in terms or ingredients and packaging, but the range also includes fragrant sprays for the body and home, bath bombs, soaps, scrubs, and lotion bars. The wholesale side of the business has continued to expand with them making thousands of candles a month, but Kim was keen to maintain a shop within the Longmont community. Friend and product photographer Lisa Patchem saw Kim struggling to maintain both sides of the business. She told the Longmont Observer how she came to be the new face of Magic Fairy Gifts to free up Kim to focus on the wholesale side of Magic Fairy Candles.
"We grew too much, too quickly, which is an awesome problem so we have a wholesale side of the business and keeping the gift shop side for the community was getting to be too much on the wholesale so we divided the two so we can actually concentrate on getting our Magic Fairy Candles and home body products into national establishments such as Lucky's and Wholefoods. Kim Sorden, the owner wanted to make sure we had an opening for the community in Longmont but she just couldn't run it so I happened to be around. I was actually a client of hers, I do the product photography. I saw the struggles that she had and I said 'You know, I always kinda want to open a shop' Isn't that every little girl's dream, to have a cute little shop? I was a huge fan, I always had been so it's a big dream to come in and put all the effort that it deserves into this company"
The shop closed for the refit of the new look store and Saturday saw it open it's doors to the public once again with an even more magical feel brought about by twinkling lights, ivy woven ceilings and even a live budgie or two. Along with the candles and body products, the store stocks whimsical gifts including fairy doors, colouring books and even fairy themed terrariums. Despite the update one original item from the founding of the company still exists, the original magic fairy wings worn by Kim in the early days of the business when she was out promoting her candles at local farmers markets. The wings have now been passed on to Lisa to add a little magic to the Longmont store.
You can find out more about the businesses on their website and Facebook.
