A new ‘Glo’ of creativity has arrived in Green Bay

Matthew Day

Staff

January 12, 2026

GREEN BAY – Amid the lights of Green Bay’s Broadway District, a new radiance emanates – accompanied by welcoming aromas. 

The source: the Luna Glo Candle Bar, which Owner Sherry Smith said she opened in early December, after preparations saw her burning her own proverbial candle at both ends. 

Smith, a first-time business owner, said she “took the plunge” into entrepreneurship after discovering the candle bar concept – which guides patrons through the process of creating customized scented candles. 

“It’s kind of like Build-A-Bear [Workshop], but with wax,” she said. 

Smith said the process requires no prior knowledge or experience, and is less intimidating than some other active/creative experience options. 

“Maybe you’re not comfortable with axe-throwing, or maybe you don’t feel like you have it in you to be an artist – to paint a picture or something,” she said. “This is a really easy thing to start with.”

The results are also easy on the senses, Smith said, as Luna Glo exclusively uses non-toxic, coconut-apricot wax as well as non-toxic fragrances. 

That choice, she said, resonates with patrons averse to store-bought scented candles, which are often made with petroleum. 

Smith said the coconut-apricot wax burns cleaner and spreads a richer scent throughout the space.

“It makes a big difference in how the candle looks, how it acts and how you react to it,” she said. 

A whole new ball of wax 

Though she also sells her own creations at Luna Glo, Smith said the focus is on helping visitors create high-quality, wholly unique candles through memorable experiences.

The process starts, she said, with customers selecting up to three fragrances from the 90-plus available.

Smith said she settled on “right around 100” fragrances, both to fit the available space and to keep the selection from feeling overwhelming.

“It sounds like a lot, but I think the way I have it categorized, it’s not really overwhelming once you get in here and you see how it’s organized,” she said. 

Smith said the fragrances are divided into four categories: 

• Nature – with scents like rain, sage, sandalwood, rosemary, aloe, green clover and balsam 
• Floral – including honeysuckle, jasmine, lavender, lilac and more 
• Fruits and berries – such as cherry, lemon, apple, orange, pineapple and pomegranate 
• Food and baking – including nutmeg, coffee, molasses, vanilla, southern pecan and pumpkin spice, among others 

Another section, she said, is devoted to some of Luna Glo’s most popular fragrances, such as Christmas Tree Farm, Fruit Loops, Barbershop, tobacco and clean cotton. 

To help inspire visitors, Smith said she curated a “scent menu” featuring some “tried and true, well-loved combinations.” 

Otherwise, she said she recognizes scent is a personal preference and will only give input when asked. 

For those interested, Smith said she guides visitors through scent composition – explaining the top, middle and bottom notes of a scent, including which part emerges first, fades and lingers the longest.

When it comes to creating a pleasing fragrance, she said “it’s hard to mess that up.” 

“[As] part of the blending experience, I always tell people to start very slowly, stir [and take] lots of sniffs as you go,” she said. “You can tell which scents you want to add more of or which scents you want to smell more of.” 

Once guests have selected a fragrance, Smith said the next step is to select from more than two dozen available candle jars, called vessels. 

She said the standard wick used is 100% cotton, though wooden wicks are available as an upgrade. 

Other upgrades, Smith said, include adding glitter and/or dye to the otherwise “creamy, white wax.” 

Stickers come next, she said, including the usual retail safety warnings and a Luna Glo label featuring either a customer-selected name or a description of the candle’s scents.

With these choices made, Smith said she then walks customers through the candle-making process. 

“The wax is already going to be melted when I bring it to you,” she said. “I bring it in a metal, pouring pitcher, and then the fragrance – that we have already mixed together and measured – you pour into the wax. We’ll stir for two minutes, and then we pour it into the vessel.” 

The entire process, Smith said, takes between 30 and 60 minutes, depending on how long one needs to decide on scents. 

The two minutes of stirring, she said, serve to integrate the fragrance into the wax as well as cool the wax and adhere it to the sides of the vessel. 

Smith said each candle needs about 90 minutes to fully cure before it can be taken home – a period visitors can enjoy in Luna Glo’s lounge or by exploring nearby businesses.

“One of the benefits of this location (107 N. Broadway) is I’m so close to so many other shops and restaurants,” she said. “You could easily go browse some other shops or grab a bite to eat while you’re waiting for those 90 minutes. Or, I am more than happy to hold on to the candles for you to pick up a different day or time.” 

Playing ‘wick’ fire 

Smith said she knew she was taking a chance by bringing the candle bar concept to an area that hadn’t experienced it before, but “really researched it,” and felt like it would be a good fit.

She said she learned about candle bars as she was seeking a new hobby, particularly during winter months. 

“I tried a few things, one of them being macrame, and that just didn’t get along well with me,” she said. “Then I decided to try candle-making, and I fell in love. Absolutely loved it.” 

Simultaneously, Smith said she was also considering a “Glo”-up for her career, as even the security of “corporate America” couldn’t hold a candle to creative entrepreneurship. 

When she discovered a chain of candle bars on the East Coast, she said she considered opening a franchise, but ultimately decided to make the venture truly her own. 

“[I left a] good-paying, secure job – my husband, for one, thought I was crazy,” she laughed. “But it’s not completely out of character for me. I do tend to take risks like that – calculated, well-thought-out risks. One of my personal mottos is, ‘I try not to let fear and fear alone hold me back.’” 

Fortunately, Smith said she received “amazing” support – “beyond anything I could have hoped for” – from On Broadway, Inc., as well as from the other businesses in the district. 

She said the name was inspired by a lifelong fascination with the moon – deciding upon Luna Glo and pairing it with the tagline “Find Your Glo” to reflect the unique choices available at the candle bar.

Though the first week made her “really nervous,” because there was little public awareness and no exterior signage in place yet, Smith said attention quickly grew, boosted by a ribbon-cutting ceremony with city and state officials.

Luna Glo’s light, she said, has only shone brighter since, with early customer feedback being “super positive.” 

“They absolutely love it,” she said. “They’ll say, ‘Thank you so much for bringing this here – this is what we needed in this area.’ And they have so much fun, saying, ‘I’ll be back – I’m going to come back with my sister, my friend, my coworker’ – whatever the case may be.” 

Reaching for the moon 

Smith said Luna Glo Candle Bar is off to a promising start, welcoming both reservations and walk-in visitors.

Each candle-making session, she said, is $45 – a cost attributed to the higher-quality ingredients – with wick, glitter and dye add-ons costing $2 apiece. 

Smith said she’s already seeing repeat customers, who appreciate how every candle is unique, as the unmeasured fragrance combinations can’t be duplicated.  

Most customers, she said, fall into two categories – candle lovers who like trying new scents or people seeking a hands-on, memorable experience.

“Maybe one time, they’ll come in with their family, their mom, their daughter and her husband,” she said. “Another time, they’ll come back with friends for a girls’ night, or another time they come in for a date night.” 

Smith said she recently participated in The Wedding Show in Green Bay, introducing a new service for creating custom wedding guest favors.

“How that would work is the couple would come into the shop and work together to create their own scent – a scent that reflects the two of them and their union,” she said. “Then I would mass-produce that scent into small, four-ounce candle tins that they could then distribute to their guests at the wedding.” 

Smith said she’s also begun to announce monthly candle-making workshops at Luna Glo, including one for Valentine’s Day.

She said she’s also in discussions with local venues, like breweries, to host workshops off site.

Meanwhile, Smith said she’ll continue honing her relatively new craft and creating specialty candles for sale at the candle bar, while continuing to spread the word on the special experiences to be had at Luna Glo.

“It’s a very low-pressure type of experience,” she said. “You’re just picking a couple of scents. You can play it safe and do vanilla, or whatever, if you want. But it’s a super-easy thing to do, that you can say you made – your very own.” 

Visit lunaglocandlebar.com for further information.