Honeybee Dragon makes candles, wax melts for book lovers to immerse in their favorite worlds

WARNER ROBINS – Ever read a book and wondered what that world would smell like? The Honeybee Dragon, a new business selling scents inspired by popular literature, seeks to answer the question. 

The Honeybee Dragon’s candles and wax melts are 100% natural soy wax and sulfate-free fragrance oils, meaning there are no synthetic chemicals.

Owner Ashley Bird started the business as a way to immerse herself in the stories she was reading. An example she gives is in books, where authors describe a character smelling like leather and spices. While reading that, Bird was curious to know what it smelled like and knew others would have the same curiosity. 

Another time was a description of a character smelling like mint and leather. Curiosity hit her again, and she made the candle specific to those smells. She describes it as what a spa smells like and knew other people would enjoy the smell.

Bird is a military spouse, mother, animal lover and book lover. She enjoys all types of book genres including fantasy, sci-fi and romantasy, a popular genre which is a mix of both romance and fantasy.

“I started a small business just to combine my love of reading and candles,” she said.

Bird and her family previously lived in Warner Robins but moved to Utah. Now, they are back in the International City and she said they are here to stay. This is when she decided to start her own business.

She enjoyed making candles matching the vibe of whatever book she was reading. At first, Bird only made candles for herself, friends and family but her husband told her, “I bet there are a lot of people who feel the same way.”

“Some of these books are just so descriptive or they’re repetitive, however you want to look at it, they just tell you every time what someone or something smelled like. I really like to be immersed into this book. I just wanted other people to enjoy that,” she said.

Bird opened her business back in September of 2024, but she has been making candles for two years. Since she opened, she said business has been good and it surprised her to see how many connect.

“It’s just really good to know that other people are resonating with this,” she said.

Bird goes out into the community by vending at book-based events. She recently attended the Lit Fest hosted by Between Friends Coffee back in February and looks forward to attending more vendor events. 

The business also has a website where people can purchase candles. Bird said if someone wants to smell the candle first before purchasing, she welcomes them to stop by in person and smell the products she offers.

Bird believes candles set the mood while someone is reading. She said candles are a vibe in themselves. If someone is interested in a flameless option, she also makes wax melts so either way, their home will smell like a magical world readers want to be in.

She also hopes to make room sprays, a mobile option for car air fresheners. This will also provide another flameless option.

She also explains her candle-making process, which comes with a lot of testing. Different fragrance oils react with the wax differently, causing Bird to use different sized wicks for every candle. 

Bird then heats up the wax to the right temperature, pours in about nine percent fragrance oil, and stirs two to three different smells to achieve her desired scent. To create a marbled candle effect, she puts a bit of candle dye and spins it around to make it look prettier. 

Then, she lets the wax cool down a little and pours it back into the vessel. Bird said it’s not a complicated process, but longer because of the melting and pouring cycle. She describes it as a science experiment; whenever she’s putting together a candle, her husband says she is in her “candle lab.”

Bird’s favorite part about owning a business is connecting with people who have read or want to read a book inspired by her candles and wax melts. She hopes people will connect while smelling her products and say that’s how they imagined a certain character or setting to smell like.

“It’s just been fun to connect and meet other book lovers really through wanting to be immersed into this world,” she said.

Bird said those interested can do a local pickup or they can come by and smell her products at a public location. The business also does shipping.

Folks are also encouraged to visit the business at a vending event. Bird shared she is aiming to be at the Yarn Studio vendor event.

Bird can be found at craft fairs or on social media and encourages those interested to visit her Facebook page to ask her where she will be next. 

“I’m definitely excited to meet up and talk with other book lovers,” she said.

To keep up with the Honeybee Dragon, visit their Facebook page.
To support the Honeybee Dragon, check out their website here.