A Walk Through 20 Years: Celebrating 1803 Candles

One idea. A lot of testing. A family working together.

Before 1803 Candles had a name, a warehouse, or a line of fragrances, Deb Beach was already running a successful retail store. In the basement of that store, she began experimenting with candle-making alongside her father, Ray Hilton.

They tested wicks, poured candles, and studied how they burned. Deb wanted a candle that performed the way she believed it should. Only after they achieved the results she was looking for did the work move into the garage—and a new business begin to take shape.

Why the Name 1803 Candles?

The name 1803 Candles has its own story, rooted in Deb’s appreciation for the everyday lives and traditions of earlier generations.

Deb was inspired by the diary writings of Martha Ballard, a woman whose accounts of life in early America included the work of making tallow candles and storing them in the cellar. The resourcefulness and hard work reflected in those writings stayed with Deb and helped inspire the name 1803 Candles.

That connection to the past still feels at home in the fragrances and memories behind Scents Reminiscent of Simpler Times®.

From the store basement to the garage

In 2006, 1803 Candles began its journey as a business. The garage became a place to make, store, and prepare candles for customers and independent shops.

Family pitched in, too. This photograph captures the garage's work shelves, with candles, supplies, and Deb’s brother’s daughter helping out—an everyday moment from the company’s early years.

Deb recalls she and her dad poured about 36 candles a day and were pretty proud of the accomplishment. Those modest beginnings make the growth that followed them all the more remarkable.

The Hinckley Years

As more independent stores began carrying 1803 Candles, the business outgrew the garage and moved to warehouse space in Hinckley, Illinois, in 2008.

Shelves of finished candles, rows of glass jars, and wax-melting equipment show how much the operation was changing.

Putting down roots in Waterman

In 2012, Deb and Darryl Beach purchased a 12,000-square-foot manufacturing and warehouse facility in Waterman, Illinois. It was a major milestone for a company that began by testing candles in a store basement.

The company kept investing in its workspace and growing its team. In 2016, 1803 Candles added a 4,500-square-foot building, bringing its combined building space to 16,500 square feet. Additional storage containers help accommodate glass jars purchased in bulk for production.

Still hand poured with care

Today, 1803 Candles pours more than 1,000 candles a day. The scale has changed, but Deb’s pride in the work—and in the people who do it—has not.

Her story is also the story of the employees who support one another, the independent retailers who have believed in the candles for years, and the customers who have made room for 1803 Candles fragrances in their homes.

Scents Reminiscent of Simpler Times®

From the beginning, Deb drew inspiration for fragrances and their names from family stories and memories. That connection between scent and memory remains central to 1803 Candles.

The company’s line grew to include soy wax melts and other fragrant goods, while its candles continued to reach homes through independent retailers and the company’s own store.

Behind the fragrances are real people and family stories—including Ray, whose contribution to the company's founding is a legacy.