Candles hand poured in Chelsea are beginning to gain recognition across the country.

“Three retail companies in Georgia and Alabama sell our candles now,” said Sharon Pugh, owner and operator of AlotAScents candle shop. “One of these is the Governor’s Mansion gift shop in Montgomery.

“And we’re really excited that we’re about to start carrying Heaton Pecan Farms products. We’ll be in their Christmas catalogue that’s sent out to 15,000 businesses and residences across the country,” Pugh said.

Among items carried by Heaton Pecan Farms, are fudges that are hand-made at Heaton’s shop at the Clanton exit off I65.

In Pugh’s Chelsea shop, she uses a pure soy wax that’s specially blended with other natural waxes. To ensure a long burn time, Pugh uses her own recipe, and 100 percent of the cotton wicks yield a clean burn.

The Crme Brulee scent, her best seller, is made from a secret family recipe.

While developing the scent, she used her husband John and 14-year-old twins, Justin and Joel, as testers.

“I would have them sniff A then B, then A and a different B and tell me which they thought smelled best,” Pugh said.

Another popular item is the specialty stack candle made of separate blocks of various scents, all wicked together with one wick. Customers can choose the scents for a customized candle and even mix scents.

The Candle Crumble is crumbled pieces that look like candy in an old-fashioned jar. “This can be used like potpourri or room freshener or you can melt the pieces to make your own candle,” Pugh said.

The shop also offers votives, jar candles, customized bath and body products, and jewelry hand-made by Pugh’s sister-in-law. Accessories include plug-in burners and night lights where the warmth of the light helps throw off the scent of the candle. A particularly novel item is the rolled washcloth dipped in wax to lay out like potpourri.

Candle prices run from $.99 for votives to $50 for huge three-wick pillars.

The public is invited to watch candle making each Thursday at the shop located in Old 280 Shopping Plaza.