Have you ever walked into a room that smelled like your grandmother’s kitchen and been whisked back in time to feel the warmth of her love? Have you ever smelled the flower most abundant at a loved one’s funeral and felt suddenly grief-stricken? This happened because smell is the sense most tightly woven to memory. Unlike our vision that fades or becomes confused with similar images as we age, and well beyond our sense of touch which begins to dull in minutes, our sense of smell can transport us across our entire lifetime in an instant. One whiff is all it takes.
Moe Simmons understands this on a whole different level, and she is using your sense of smell to create lasting memories for you. Memories that are infused with her gifts of love and healing.
Moe Simmons stands in her own Wax N Scent Studio with a scented candle she made, and she invites you to make one, too. Photo by Kristina Gibb Photography.
I have to admit that when I walked into Wax N Scent Studio, I was not expecting what I found. Nothing even close to the contrived, crafty but commercial look we have come to expect in the new market of strip mall creative spaces. Instead, I walked into an energy that felt more like an excited spa – both exuberant and calming. The aromas, the colors, and the room itself are welcoming and immediately inspiring. Then, Miss Moe grabs your hand and smiles at you. Exuding warmth and sharing her centeredness, Moe knows why you’re here. It might not be what brought you through the door – which could’ve been your girlfriend, a family gathering, or a shrug and a “sure,” but she knows you’re here to make a candle.
For us creative types, that might sound like a fantastic way to spend the next 90 minutes. For others, it is something you might not yet have realized that you’re going to enjoy. Either way, Moe is ready for you.
“We know that what we are doing is making memories,” Moe explains. “We all take pictures, but if the cloud ever crashes, you don’t have it; but when you go home, you have that candle. You know where you made it, and you remember the time you had. That’s important to me because I’m in everyone’s house who ever came here and made a candle. I have put a smile on everybody’s face who ever made a candle here.”
Decorated for Halloween, Wax N Scent Studio offers guests several candle making experiences and over 170 scents. Using her unique process, Moe is able to have candles ready in less than 2 hours. Photos by Kristina Gibb Photography.
Knowing this, Moe and Ningi, her husband and business partner, make sure that they and their staff deliver their absolute best. They know that every time you light and smell that candle, you’re going to be taken back to when you made it. Subsequently, you’re going to experience the emotions tied to that memory, and they want to make sure that is a beautiful moment for you. What’s more, they believe that candles are more than just a small source of light and aroma.
Throughout history, candles have been symbolic, significant, and therapeutic. Like miniature versions of a memorizing campfire, candles can be captivating. Our eyes fix, and our minds wander. There is a unique mental freedom when we gaze into the fire, we – the only animals ever to tame the beast. Candles symbolize our very soul. We refer to our inner light and frequently use the image of a candle to represent that light. We picture deities of all faiths holding candles. We light them in ceremonies and to honor our dead. We use them to celebrate and decorate. We light them to create mood or to help us relax. Now, Moe and Ningi want to show you one more way to use them: as a source of happiness and healing. It is an application Moe learned first-hand.
Moe’s husband, Ningi Simmons, an educator, coach, and the Athletic Director at Beacon High School in NYC, is more than Moe’s husband and business partner. He is her biggest supporter and can be found in the studio most weekends. Photo by Kristina Gibb Photography.
Moe wasn’t always involved in creative arts. She was running from something when she opened Wax N Scent in 2020. In a way, she was running from herself and the life she had created.
A “burner” in the Air Force, Moe entered at just 19 years old and went from “slick sleeve” to a sergeant almost overnight. She was secretary to the Commander by the time she was 20, was a field secretary stateside during Desert Storm, and loves having served her country. Upon the conclusion of her service, Moe returned to her native New York where she had been raised by a single mother. She became a Surgical Assistant in the Dentistry field, but eventually she shifted to Practice Administration. After serving in clinics and with a practice to the stars, Moe took her experience into academia where she ran a practice associated with an Ivy League university.
Despite her success, the income, and the excellent benefits of working for a prestigious institution, Moe was feeling the pressure. For decades of her life, she had been living and achieving at a breakneck pace. When she reached one goal, she immediately raised the bar for herself. Nonetheless, she enjoyed what she did and was excellent at it, but when an email with racist comments about a recently fired coworker was leaked to her and her staff (which included many people of color), her heart went completely out of her work. She was conflicted about her employer and struggled to see her team through their heartache while contending with her own. Needing an outlet for peace and rejuvenation, Moe began making candles as a way to soothe herself and to process through the challenges.
“For me, this is cleansing,” she says. “I could put whatever I was feeling into that candle, and light it, and all my problems would melt away.”
SLIDESHOW: There is magic in candle making. The kind of magic that calms the mind and body, and brings the maker into the moment. Photos by Kristina Gibb Photography.
With stress mounting, passion waning, and Covid looming, Moe decided it was time to make a change. So, she left it all behind and began looking for a place to share her art and healing with others. One afternoon, she and Ningi walked around New Hope, searching for a storefront where Moe could bring her style of healing to others. They noticed a For Rent sign in the window of 15 North Main Street, called the number, and signed a contract by the end of the day.
It is here, in her studio space, that Moe is open to the public every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, and spends two days a week filling orders. Some are online orders, and some are for clients who receive regular shipments of custom scents Moe has helped them design. She has over 170 scents to choose from. Guests can select one or blend their own. Moe also offers some of her own original blends, like her breakout “Girl Boss,” which smells somehow both delicate and empowering. Her shelves are loaded with items to purchase in case you want to just buy a candle instead of making your own, but Moe is really hoping you’ll stay and make one.
With several candles and methods to choose from, Moe offers seats and guidance to anyone who walks in off the street. She also books private parties and offers tons of special events. Licensed as a BYO, guests are invited to bring libations while Moe is happy to provide a variety of food spreads and desserts to those booking privately. Whether you show up alone on the spur of the moment or with 20 friends for a prearranged celebration, Moe is there for you, offering food, fun, relaxation, creative inspiration, and a memorable experience. The nicest thing she has to give, however, is her service.
Moe, Ningi, and staff offer more than wax, wicks, and a pretty smell. They offer a unique and fun experience with a level of service they are proud of. Photo by Kristina Gibb Photography.
“I won’t give anything but the best,” Moe says, “because I want you to have a memorable moment. Even if you don’t take a picture, you’re going to remember us. Every time you light that candle, you’re going to remember Wax N Scent Studio. You’re going to remember the ambience. You’re going to remember the music. You’re going to remember the people that waited on you, because we strive to make sure you’re going to have a good time. That’s a big deal to me. Subpar doesn’t work here.”
The pride that Moe takes in the level of service being given in her studio is critically important to her, and it comes up time and time again. Her staff is just as carefully trained in the processes and methods of candle making as they are in how they serve the guests.
“I want people to come here and get that old school customer service,” Moe says. You remember that… That was when you walked into a business and found smiling faces expressing genuine interest in you, your time, and your needs. For most of us, that is almost hard to recall. We vaguely remember being greeted with direct eye contact, a friendly voice, and a few simple questions to help guide our experience. Staff would go out of their way to accommodate needs they anticipated, and you left having achieved what you set out to do. If you’re struggling to remember, it’s because it’s been a while and because, until now, that kind of experience didn’t have a scent to trigger our memory. Moe has solved that for you, too.
The quality of service that Moe and staff deliver is focused on capturing and delivering that memory to you each time you light your candle, and that quality of service is there for every guest, every visit, no matter who you are or where you come from. This philosophy isn’t a paragraph in the training manual or summarized in a quote hanging in the staff room. It’s central to Moe’s business because it’s central to Moe’s existence.
“I used to chase money,” she says. “Now I chase peace.”
For those who aren’t up for the full candle making experience, Wax N Scent Studio has a small selection of readymade items available for purchase. Photos by Kristina Gibb Photography.
Part of her peace is keeping her faith at the forefront of her life, and part of it is sharing – sharing her art, sharing her laughter, and sharing her ability to calm and elevate others. Charismatic and disarming, Moe seems to radiate love and positivity. It is that feeling that she wants imbibed in every candle and every memory made in her studio.
It isn’t always easy. Wax N Scent Studio is one of very few black owned businesses in New Hope and Lambertville, and in retail, you never know who is going to walk in the door. Not every visitor has brought the best energy or values. This is always far more jarring for the younger employees than it is for Moe and Ningi, but they do their best to simultaneously educate and protect the staff.
“We love them,” Moe says of the young help. “They’re our children, and their parents know that those girls are our children. So, we don’t teach [racism] in here, but we teach them that it’s out there.”
Despite having come to New Hope specifically because it has a “history of being a community that accepted differences,” Moe and Ningi have had issues even here. Moe talks openly about these experiences. The pain of them is present in her eyes as she speaks, but she does not allow it to taint her life, the business, or its aim.
A creative place of peace and love, the soul of the studio is one of laidback, positive vibes, because Moe knows the emotions of the experience will adhere to your memory of it each time you light your candle. Photo by Kristina Gibb Photography.
“I never match fire with fire,” says Moe. “I don’t know what that person is going through. Also, I represent a woman. I represent a mother, even though I’m not one, but when you see a woman you see a mother. I represent a friend. I represent a sister, and I represent my community. I cannot match fire with fire because as soon as I do, they’re going to categorize me.”
So, instead, she meets these individuals with what is at her core, that warmth and centeredness that greets you when you walk into the studio. She lets her inner light shine, the candle she carries within, and she puts that light into every interaction with every guest and, in turn, into every candle made in her studio. Later, when lit, that candle’s scent will waft through the homes of those guests, and she will fill their space with light and love, which is just the way she wants it.
Moe is, quite literally, giving light to others and making scents of love; and the fragrance is truly unforgettable.
Love is in the air at Wax N Scent Studio. Photo by Kristina Gibb Photography.
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