A retail business incubator opens in the Grove to help support minority female entrepreneurs

For years, Joi Riley burned soy wax candles throughout her home to create a warm ambiance and a familial smell for her family to enjoy. She burned traditional candles and scented ones. Riley had to stop using traditional candles because she noticed that some of her children who suffer from asthma began wheezing and coughing when she burned candles. This spurred her to research the ingredients used in some of her favorite candles. She began to source materials and make her own. First, Riley gave them away as gifts, which people loved, and after two years of research, she started JR Candle Company in 2019. “I had no idea there were different waxes, different wicks, so I found coconut apricot wax and experimented with that,” Riley, 39, said. “I found out there’s a lot of toxins in the great smelling candles that we use every day.” The mother of five ran her business out of her home over the past five years. She worked as a nurse in the day and created candles and other smell goods at night. She sells candles, diffusers, room sprays and soaps on her online store. The products are free of toxins and made of...