Expanded Simply You reopens in Elizabeth
By CHRISTINE HAINES
chaines@yourmvi.com
It started with a candle-making class in the state of California and has turned into a thriving specialty soap and candle shop in Elizabeth.
Simply You recently held its grand reopening in the historic Elizabeth train station, expanding its display and production areas as well as adding a workshop area where events can be held.
The business has been around since 2011, opening in a rented storefront in downtown Elizabeth in 2017. The move to the larger facility is a major change for owners Stephanie and Steve Ziacan and Cheryl McNulty, Steve’s mother.
“We bought the building in December 2019 and started the remodeling plan,” Stephanie said. “We were shooting to have our grand opening in April, but COVID slowed that down a bit. We were in the old space three years and we grew out of that space quickly.”
“It gives us a chance to continue to grow so we have classroom space where we can have workshops and ‘make and takes’,” Steve said.
Simply You is offering a variety of classes, including how to make bath bombs, lip balm, specialty soaps and essential oil blending. Events have been held for Girl Scouts, baby showers and birthday parties. There are plans to offer candle-making classes in the future.
The business started 10 years ago after McNulty took a candle-making class in California and started making candles to sell at craft shows. She got her son and daughter-in-law involved and the three of them did shows on weekends while working full-time jobs.
Eventually, specialty and decorative soaps were added to the offerings and they decided to take the plunge to open a store. While the soaps and candles make one-of-a-kind gifts, Stephanie said the store has been seeing more repeat customers buying for themselves.
“We still get a lot of people looking for the perfect gift, something different, but we have a lot of customers who have used our product and just don’t want to go back to commercial, store-bought products,” she said. “We wanted to get into more natural products.”
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