Illuminate Space | Candle Bar & Clean Scents

✨ WALK-IN DAY IS THIS SATURDAY ✨ Come wander the warehouse, shop our seasonal ready-made collection, or create your own custom candle, spray, diffuser, cleaner + more at the candle bar 💛 PLUS… 👜 The first 15 purchases of $75+ (online OR in person at the warehouse Saturday!) will receive a FREE “Spread Light, Grow Love” tote bag as my little thank-you for being here and supporting this dream of mine 🥹✨(thanks to @arlohendrix_kids for making them!) And guess what’s BACK 👀 Our Apothecary Match Bottles are restocked in Tilly-inspired colors: 🌸 bright pink ☀️ light yellow 🤍 orange cream 🩵 teal See you Saturday!!

Illuminate Space: The Cliff Notes 📝 ✨In December 2016, my friend looked over at a Christmas vignette I made in my living room and said, “Can you make me that? I’ll pay you.” That idea tossed around in my head for days… and Illuminate Space was born. 🕯️By August 2017, I thought, “I wonder if I could make a candle to go with this vignette?” A lot of people told me they had given up on candles because they caused headaches. In my research, I discovered that many candles are made with phthalates—a cheap filler also used in plastics. Determined to make something better, I created candles that are phthalate-free, non-toxic, and safe to burn in your home. 🏘️In June 2020, smack dab in the middle of a global pandemic, my friend and fellow maker Real Happy Space and I opened a brick-and-mortar shop together: Light (me) & Pine (her) Collective. We were part of the first Batavia Boardwalk Shops—an incubator for small businesses. 🏡After the Boardwalk season, we opened a permanent location in downtown Batavia: Wilson Street Mercantile, now home to several women-owned businesses. 🎙️In June 2021, my sister Beautiful Chaos Shoppe and I launched the Small Business Sisters podcast, sharing the real, behind-the-scenes journey of building businesses while living everyday life. 🥂In 2022, I discovered people weren’t just buying candles—they were craving experiences. That’s when I created Pour Parties: private, make-and-take candle experiences for groups. Soon after, Traveling Pour Parties were born, bringing the experience on the road. ✨2024 was a BIG year… 🚌 I launched Tilly, my vintage mobile candle bar, bringing candle-making to events, weddings, and markets in a whole new way. ✨ I stepped down as co-owner of Light & Pine Collective to focus fully on growing Illuminate Space (but still sell there as an artisan 💛). ✨ I expanded into Hudson Design House and began growing wholesale accounts across the U.S. 🏭In 2025, I moved Illuminate Space into a warehouse—creating space for production, private events, and a home base for Tilly. This was a huge step toward growth, sustainability, and dreaming even bigger. Continued in comments ☺️

➡️Where to Find Us Our Geneva warehouse is our cozy candle HQ and event venue—open by appointment only for private parties and workshops. 🕯️ For everyday shopping, you can find our products stocked at Light & Pine Collective in Batavia and Hudson Design House in Oswego. 🛍️ Or, shop anytime online at illuminate-space.com—and check out our Events page to find Tilly and the candle bar popping up near you! 🚐 #illuminatespace #soycandles #candlemaking

Made some candles for our baseball seniors! 🥰 shoutout to @baseball_mama_9 for helping me! Happy Senior Night to my son Elliott and all his fellow seniors! 🎉 #westaurorablackhawks

Happy Baseball Senior Night, Elliott!! I am going to miss watching you play—it’s been such a fun 10 year journey! Everyone says “it goes so fast”, and it really does. But it keeps getting really good too. Like I love being adults with you. 😅 But I’m tucking all the memories of little Elliott deep inside my heart and I’ll cherish them forever. 🥰 Love you and so proud of you! 💓💓💓

Okayyyy my heart is absolutely bursting with joy! I got to do the coolest thing this week— visit an elementary school as Jenni Glow our book character! I read the story with groups of kids, answered all their questions (which were so great!! Ranging from who I married, what my real hair look likes, how old I was when I created our book, to telling me about the books they were going to publish 😭😭) I love kids so much! And then they all got to go out and meet the real life Tilly the Candle Camper. 😍 It brought me so much joy and I’m pinching myself thinking about the evolution my business has taken. To think my roots are in early childhood, and now I created a candle shop that has become a whimsical children’s story of kindness and bravery…I cannot. It’s all too amazing. Thank you to the amazing school and teachers for having me! You all are the real mvps! 💓💓💓💓 And thank you to Kira, our author Maya’s mom, for coming with me! You’re the best assistant! And be sure to grab your copy of Tilly and the Glow Withjn if you haven’t already! It’s such a special story created by me, written by Maya Moneze, and illustrated by Lily Desmond. 🤗 And swipe to see the journal page I created for the kids at the school—if your kids have the book be sure to pass it on to them. 🥰

VENDOR FEATURE 🕯️@illuminatespace has the best candles, cleaning and air freshener goodies that are handmade and perfect for every season and mood! Open 10-6pm Located: 74-76 Main St Oswego IL Social Media by: @hillarymelissa @curatedaesthetic_ Come see what she has in stock! #Candles #handmadecandles

It’s your last week of school. 💛 I’m equal parts “that went so fast” and “how are we already here?” The second time around has been so different for me. When your oldest brother graduated, I was basically lying on the ground in sackcloth and ashes convinced my life was over 🤪. But this time, there’s a peace in my heart that I think only comes from living through the hard parts before. It’s like my soul already knows: “No… it’s going to be okay. It’s actually going to get even better.” Motherhood is so weird. It’s painful and brutal and heartbreaking sometimes, but also exhilarating and overflowing with joy and love. It’s basically feeling every emotion possible all at once. I love my boys more than life itself, and while it’s always bittersweet to leave a stage behind, somehow each new stage keeps getting fuller and sweeter too. And honestly, I think part of why this transition feels easier is because of you, Elliott. I’m so proud of you. Ever since you were little, you’ve been brave, confident, and willing to try new things. Your easygoing approach to life is basically the exact opposite of my “anxiety + worst-case-scenario” approach 🤪, and somehow you’ve balanced me out so many times over the years. You give me peace. I’m proud of you for having the wisdom to admit you’re still figuring things out. Maybe engineering. Maybe something else. Choosing community college first so you can explore before making a huge commitment is perfect for you. I’m proud of you for loving work, for wanting to save money, and for thinking ahead in ways I definitely didn’t at your age. And my heart burst a little (okay, a lot) when you said you might want to start your own business someday like me. You’re just such a good human, and I’m so grateful I get to be your mom. I’ll cheer for you every step of the way. I’ll always be here for squeeze hugs when life feels heavy. Let’s go on lots of breakfast dates. And if you ever need a small business mentor, I happen to know a pretty great sister duo who could help with that. (@_smallbusinesssisters & Son reboot anyone? 🤓) Happy graduation week, Elliott. May your hat fly as high as your dreams. — Michael Scott

Sending out the Spring Glow Boxes has given me so much joy!! 🥰🥰 Thank you so much to those of you that have ordered them! It’s been really therapeutic for me to put them together. And I’m going to do a new one each season! Stay tuned for: ☀️Summer Glow Box 🍂Fall Glow Box 🌲Holiday Glow Box 🌑 Winter Glow Box Each one is a bundled savings price, 4 full size products in 4 seasonal scents, notes from me about each one and some encouragement for that time of year, plus free shipping. They’re a mystery until you receive it in the mail so it like an extra fun surprise gift 🥰

Ever wonder what a weekend looks like for a small business owner? It’s *usually* not resting 🤪 But we had a great weekend joining up with so many great small business owners like @hoof_and_horn and @mabelsmarket ! Thank you to all the fellow small businesses AND all of you amazing customers that continue to support us on our journey! We love you!! If you’d like to book a party with us, or find more info about where we will be popping up next make sure to follow our page for updates! xo Jenni

Hey, hey! We have two big events this weekend and would love to see you! ✨Sat 5/2 12-6pm May Day Festival at @hoof_and_horn in downtown Aurora. We will be outside with the candle bar and there’s lots of vendors and activities inside too! ✨Sun 5/2 9am-3pm Market on Canal in downtown Lemont with @mabelsmarket and so many amazing vendors! Oh- and gold lids on are on me this weekend at both events! I finally learned that the dust covers don’t do well outside so I’m gifting you these 🥰

last call, on our spread light, grow love merch! 🫶✨ we’re clearing out our merch and once these pieces are gone…they’re gone for good. think: cozy, throw-it-on-and-go, candle-bar-approved fits styled a bunch of different ways by me + izzy so you can see how easy they are to wear 🤍 ✨ maroon or navy sweatshirt (reg $38) ✨ oatmeal tee (reg $26) ✨ pink, blue or gold trucker hat (reg $32) all $20 each 👀 shop online now or grab one in person at Market on Canal by @mabelsmarket this sunday! don’t wait on your size…we won’t be restocking these 🫶