Eleven years ago Jill Rische and her husband Detlef were casting about for something to make and maybe even sell. Detlef is quite handy, and they got a book on how to make candles.

They made a lot of candles.

Enough to fill a garage, and got the idea to sell them during the holidays from their home just off Cambridge Street in West Seattle.

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They named the business Heavenly Wholesale and told friends and neighbors about it and did pretty well, selling for just a couple of weekends in the Christmas season.

In ensuing years they added more weekends, opened the house up and invited other vendors in the area to sell their wares too, but kept making their candles. Word spread about their almost secret business and people came in droves.

"Each year it got bigger," said Rische, " then it became not just our two bedrooms and the garage, it became our foyer, into our sunroom, halfway into the living room and we had a following of over 1200 people after five years."

Finally the neighbors got upset that there were so many cars and called the city to complain, prompting them to seek a retail location five years ago.

Over this same time Jill, who had a background as a buyer with Nordstrom and the Bon Marche (now Macy's) would go to gift shows, at first locally and then around the nation. These shows are where vendors gather to present all manner of gift items for wholesale buyers.

They chose a location on Alaska Street, and they would switch to garden style merchandise as the seasons changed. Last year saw them occupy the space in the junction now filled by the Suite Arrangements furniture consignment store.

This year Jill found a spot at 5444 California Ave. s.w. that used to be retail location, with high ceilings , good lighting, a display window and plenty of room.

That's good because by now, they have built what amounts to a mini-conglomerate. Between them the couple manage to create birdhouses, hummingbird feeders, soup mixes, spice and dip mixes, yard art and an assortment of other decorative items, comprising three subsidiary companies, and they are on the verge of making all of it available on the internet.

They sell now in 39 states across the nation primarily by exhibiting at the same shows Jill once attended just as a buyer. "We sell mostly to gift shops or nurseries for five months out of the year, then that slows down and in the summer time we turn into food vendors." They have a food trailer and appear at the Ballard Seafood Fest, the Edmonds Waterfront Festival and others. "Every weekend for five months we're someplace different," Rische said.

They have plans to take their spice and dip mix company, newly dubbed Wild Spice Gourmet nationwide in the next few months.

How do they find the time? First, they work seven days a week, often 14 hours a day but take things on, on a project basis, working on birdhouses for example for two days straight until they've built up some inventory. Of course if they get a special order for something, that takes precedence. While the workload might seem like a burden, "We absolutely love it. I can hardly wait to wake up in the morning and do it all again," she said.

The most popular product they sell is one they make. Hummingbird Feeders made from recycled bottles.
Each one is different, often with beads, some with two bottles fused together.

For the holidays the store carries Katherine's Collection christmas ornaments, which are prized collectibles, and these are the seasonal top seller.

The Rische's continue the tradition of leasing space to other vendors in their new location and thus have an array of items that make their store unique. They carry dolls, purses, hats, clothing (some from Nepal), goods from Bali, China, and wrought iron from Mexico.

Do they still make candles? No.
"One year my husband said 'I don't want to spend another summer behind a hot stove,' " Rische said, chuckling at the memory. But they made so many over the years they still, "have a garage full," she said.

Heavenly Wholesale is open 10:00 am to 6:00 pm Tuesday through Saturday and 11:00 am to 5:00 on Sunday. In December they go to seven days a week with the hours becoming 10:00 am to 6:00pm Monday through Saturday and Sunday 11:00 to 5:00 pm. "We might even extend our hours, probably will, about 10 days before Christmas," Rische said.