What would Colorado smell like if it were poured into a candle?

For local family business FFO Goods, it’s the woodsy, crisp and “unmistakably Colorado” scent that fills the air when Pikes Peak Pine melts. 

It’s the warm blend of wood, paper and leather that burns from Antique Shoppe, or the zesty sweetness of Sunshine Pop that’s reminiscent of a sun-filled Colorado summer.

Even Garden of the Gods is brought to life in candle form, with its fragrance designed as a nod to the area’s past and a musk that somehow captures the towering red rocks and green hiking trails.

Yet bringing those scents to life doesn’t begin with fragrance; it starts with cement.

Hand-poured into molds that create an antique-themed concrete vessel, the homemade candle holder is left to seal and dry. 

Then, wax is carefully poured and wicked. With the wax left to settle for hours and unable to be removed from the mold for days, the entire creation process can take almost two weeks before a single flicker burns Colorado-themed scents into the air. 

For the past year, these candles have been made inside the home of a local couple, and the founders of FFO Goods, Nicholaus and Brandi Haskins. 

“It takes longer than we anticipated to make it, but we offer something that burns safely, burns correctly, burns evenly for a long time and smells good,” Nicholaus Haskins said.

Now, inside a small shop in Old Colorado City, those finished candles will line the shelves of FFO Goods’ first permanent store location. 

“Last year, we popped up at 70 different markets just trying to find our place in different areas of town,” he said. “Old Colorado City kept coming up as one of our happy places where we did best. So now, we’ll continue doing markets as well as running the retail store.” 

Since starting their business in November 2024, they’ve sold over 1,000 candles online and at local markets.

“We’ve learned so much,” Brandi Haskins said. “The first candles that we made were basically a starter kit. It gives you instructions on how to make them, but you start to learn as you use different waxes and fragrances. Basic instructions don’t carry over into all of the candles, so we have tweaked and found our own way with ridiculous amounts of testing to see what we’re comfortable with and what works for us.” 

Before beginning their candle-making endeavors, Nicholaus and Brandi Haskins had spent years in different careers: she in customer service, while he was a software engineer for almost 15 years.

Drawing from Nicholaus’ experience with digital media and photography, the couple founded FFO Media, a business that creates product-focused content for hundreds of clients. 

The namesake of both brands stands for “far from ordinary,” a philosophy that he said transferred directly into their candle business.

“We didn’t want to come up with an idea and have it manufactured in another country for us to sell it,” he said. “We designed this brand. We designed the logo. We designed the packaging. We built the shelves, displays, the checkout counter and everything in here. At the core, I think we’re kind of makers, so we wanted something that we could control the whole process.”

Unlike mass-produced candles, FFO Goods’ creations are made with all-natural coconut wax and tested through an independent third-party organization to ensure cleanliness. 

Their sizing options include small, medium and large, with prices ranging from $13 to $42. 

Each vessel is handcrafted and refillable, giving customers a candle that can be enjoyed again and again for $9 to $32 per refill.

“There are so many different refill options,” Nicholaus said. “People are used to the bigger companies that will send you something that you have to microwave and pour in, but this isn’t a common way to approach it. There are a lot of candle makers that charge a lot more for a smaller candle size, but we have comfortable margins, and we don’t feel like we need to charge an additional fee just because we can.”

FFO Goods also sells homemade lotion, body butter, cuticle cream and lip balm. In the future, the couple said they plan to start producing other household products like hand soap and laundry detergent. 

After the couple hosted their grand opening last week the body products and candles are now available for purchase and endless sniffing as the couple and their two sons give customers a glimpse into their family-run operation.

“We’ve been pretty much side-by-side all day, every day, forever,” Brandi said. “Now, we’re trying to run this together. We want it to feel very natural, normal and like home in here when you walk in. We want to build that community.”  

DETAILS

What: FFO Goods 

When: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, Monday and Thursday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.  Friday and Saturday; closed Tuesday and Wednesday.

Where: FFO Goods, 2708-B W. Colorado Ave.

Price: $13-$42, ffogoods.com