Operating out of her home in Maraval with tools that her husband Adriel Salandy bought for her, Tonya-Leigh Salandy created Scentileigh – a scented-candle line.
Salandy said her husband, who is a photographer, is the reason she began making candles for sale.
“While he’s editing his pictures, he likes to light a candle. So, we were grocery shopping a day together and he went to the aisle with candles and picked up a prayer candle. So I asked, ‘What are you going to do with that?’ and he said, ‘Well, I just light these when I’m editing so it’ll make me feel relaxed.’”
She said the bright colour of the candle threw her off and so she promised him that she’d make one for him with no knowledge of candlemaking. After doing some research, she came across a fall-themed candle-making kit that produced 12 candles.
Salandy then gave her husband one of the candles and the remainder to her mother and aunts. After they told her how much they loved it, she decided to make this a part-time hobby.
“Into the pandemic with nothing much to do, I ordered more things and played around with candle-making. Then my husband asked, ‘Why not try making this into a business since you’re enjoying it so much and people are liking it?’ That’s how it started.”
As for the locally themed names of her candles, Salandy said she wanted something that people of TT can relate to and can connect with.
[caption id="attachment_992194" align="alignnone" width="806"] Tonya Leigh-Salandy melts wax to make her scented candles. - SUREASH CHOLAI[/caption]
Some of her candles have names such as Tobago Love, Mango Season, Granny’s Grapefruit, Coffee Peong, and Doux Doux Darlin’.
“Some people think Tobago Love represents the meaning of the term, where you like someone, but there’s a pull-and-tug kind of vibe and you’re not sure if they like you or not. For me, it just embodies my love for Tobago, so it has a dual meaning.”
Tobago Love has a tropical smell, and this is because when Sandy thinks of her love for Tobago, she immediately thinks of the beaches, the sun and the sand. She said she wanted the smell to encompass all those aspects as well as make people feel calm like she does when she goes on her Tobago trips.
As for Doux Doux Darlin’, while she was experimenting with her essential oils, she found a scent that reminded her of a baby hence the name. And there's Coffee Peong.
“In Trinidad, when you’re obsessed with something like fellas who like to game a lot, we’d call them a gaming peong. So I said there are so many obsessed with coffee like can’t start their day without coffee, so I created Coffee Peong.”
On to Mango Season, which is Salandy’s favourite season of the year and of course, favourite scent.
“I am obsessed with mangoes, my grandmother Shirley, when I was very little had a Julie mango tree in her front yard and every mango season we would just go. Sometimes we didn’t even have lunch, we would just eat the mangoes all day.”
She said ev
