A former Ohio University student has used a spark of imagination to turn her college hobby into a wholesale and retail business venture.
Kristy Bales, 28, made and sold candles to help pay her way through school at OU until she graduated in 2001. That same year, she and friend Marie Williams founded Succulent Sundays, a wholesale bath and body business that combined Bales' candle skills and Williams' passion for creating lotions.
With Williams pursuing other interests, however, Bales recently decided to expand into the retail market, opening a store at 9 Mill St. in early April. Bales said the store is a test, and, if successful, might lead to the opening of stores in other cities.
Bales, who makes the natural products with the help of her husband and an employee, previously had run the wholesale business out of her duplex.
The store sells a number of lotions, candles and other bath and body items, as well as jewelry made by local artists. Bales said she plans to offer more products in the future.
The store's most original item is the lotion candle, which can be burned before the owner uses the warm soy wax as a moisturizer. The creative candle also was featured in a list of gift ideas in Shape magazine last year, Bales said.
Another business is bringing a different flavor to Athens.
Abrio's restaurant, which opened last month at 270 E. State St., offers a selection of Italian dishes in a café setting with outdoor seating.
Specialties include handmade gelato and brick oven pizza made from authentic Italian recipes. Owner Joe Limoli, a Cleveland native, said the restaurant offers a European flare for Athens residents and OU students and faculty.
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Kantele Franko
