What started out as a Valentine’s Day date in South Carolina has turned into a successful and growing online and brick and mortar business that’s on the move in Southwest Michigan.
The Lilac Loft shop and workspace, currently located above the Broad Street Cafe, is preparing to breathe new life into the the former Bagatini’s storefront at 418 State Street in St. Joseph. The opening of the new space is set for January 21.
Owner Denisse Santos said the journey of how she arrived at the landmark music store space “…is a really crazy story.”
Since the early 2010s, Santos had been living in South Carolina. On a Valentine’s Day date in 2022, her husband took her to a candle-making workshop in Charleston. She enjoyed it so much, the experience led Santos to start making candles at home — first for herself and friends and then as a business. Santos sold her candles at nearby flea market events and online through social media. The venture proved successful enough that she eventually turned her kitchen into a part-time candle-making factory.
Being from the St. Joseph area and with a desire to be closer to family, Santos and her husband moved from South Carolina back to Southwest Michigan later that year. Santos brought with her the ongoing passion for candle making.
Santos is a music teacher and worked for the Benton Harbor School District for 10 years before leaving the area. Because music is what she grew up studying, she remembers Ed Bagatini and on a trip from South Carolina, she wanted to stop in the shop and say hello.
“We were walking down State Street a year ago, literally about this time, and I, being a music teacher, remembered Ed Bagatini being in that space. I told my husband, ‘Hey, we need to go by and see Mr. Bagatini.’ So we walked by his shop and it was completely empty.”
After the initial shock of seeing the vacant Bagatini storefront, Santos told her husband a secret desire.
“I said to my husband, ‘ Boy, if we ever had a candle shop, like a brick and mortar, that would be the perfect spot.’ And then I just kind of let that go. (At the time) we weren’t even thinking about having a shop anywhere.”
After moving back to Michigan, Santos returned as a music teacher with Benton Harbor schools.
Keeping a passive eye on the location, Santos remembers at some point seeing the owners of 42 Naturals renovate and move into the former Bagatini space. The candle maker thought little more of the storefront and continued with her production line at home. Santos soon found that her kitchen was too small to continue the business there so she decided to rent studio space to more comfortably meet the demand of her in-person and online subscription sales.
Santos said space opened at what became her Broad Street studio location and it turned out to be large enough for a retail section and classroom workshop. That was in August 2023. At the end of November, Santos received a call from the owner of the 42 Naturals store. She said the call was completely unexpected; the owner said she had just sold the store and they were looking for someone to take over their lease.
“It was so random. I was driving at the time and had to pull over to just take a moment. I asked her, ‘Why did you call me?'”
It turned out that even though the two had never met in person, the now-former owner of 42 Naturals followed Santos’s business presence on social media. Seeing that it was meant to be, Santos made the decision to move in to the space.
“ I’m a music teacher. I’ve been a music teacher for 28 years and here I am moving into this old music store space that a year ago I pointed out and said, “That would be a perfect spot for us.’ It’s just bizarre. We’re still stumped about the whole thing.”
Calling them friends instead of fellow vendors, Santos says those who sold items at her Broad Street location will come with her to the State Street store.
“I knew a few people around town, friends who make local products, so I invited them to also sell some things in my shop and so we have seven or eight vendors who are all local, all women, all small business owners who we help promote. We’ve gotten to where we are because doors have opened for us so we wanted to be the ones to also help others do the same for their small businesses.”
Santos is also committed to giving back to the community. Even while she was still in South Carolina, Santos made a commitment to give a portion of the proceeds of all sales to Harbor of Hope Ministries in Benton Harbor.
“ Because I was a teacher in Benton Harbor School for 10 years before I left this area, and now I’m back teaching in Benton Harbor, I’m familiar with the challenges that the families and the youth have in this town. So one of the things that I started doing from the very beginning, like from the first candle we ever made, I said that part of our profits would go to help Harbor of Hope Ministries in Benton Harbor — from the first candle to this day, and we’re committed to continuing (giving) part of our profits to help that ministry.”
The Lilac Loft will open the new storefront on Sunday, January 21. Until Memorial Day, hours on Sunday and Wednesday will be 12 to 5 pm; Tuesday and Thursday 12 to 6 pm. They plan to be open more days of the week after Memorial Day and through the summer.
The Lilac Loft features handcrafted products from local vendors, hand-poured soy candles that are made in-house, and other lilac-themed products. They also offer candle making and crafting workshops. You can find more information at their website at www.lilacloft.com.
