Meet Syrisa Metzger | Chief Candle Artisan

We had the good fortune of connecting with Syrisa Metzger and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Syrisa, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
Syrisa Soy Candles originally was founded in 2005. It all started from a small dream of creating a home-based business from my apartment in Pasadena, CA. Concurrently, I was a full-time healthcare professional which still rings true today. One might describe me as an ideaphoric with a penchant for the arts. Growing up, I was always drawn to light, beauty, design, ambiance & fashion.

After experiencing a bad car accident in late 2004, I found myself with a lot of time on my hands. Burning candles seemed to evoke a sense of calmness, healing and illumination.

After all, my friends were quite impressed by all of the candles that were burning every time they visited my place. It was a known fact that I was obsessed about candles. My boyfriend at the time really encouraged me to start making candles with my newfound spare time. This led me to finding out everything I could about making natural wax soy candles; which also included endless research, taking notes, and talking with other business owners. This passion project turned our apartment into a mini candle factory, or so my old roomie Stacey would say. Circa 2005, there were fewer soy wax candlemakers in LA which allowed me to flourish & test out my product on friends & family.

Meanwhile, I was able to travel to Europe which provided an enormous amount of vision and design ideas for my budding candle line. Upon returning from
Budapest, I reached out to my college & graphic artist friend Steve Minard to assist with branding & designing the Syrisa Soy Candle line. We worked long nights, but it was worth it.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I’ve been a full time healthcare professional over 25 yrs, and currently work at a trauma hospital by day & Chandler by night.

Candle making is a wonderful, creative escape. It’s a time to unwind & immerse oneself into an artisan’s world. It’s definitely an art form that takes you into the wee hours of the night & following days for production. This makes it quite compatible with listening to great tunes & drinking chai to get you through. After a long day at the hospital, it can be challenging to stand many more hours – silicone mats and/or stools help reduce the strain on the legs. Small batch candles take a lot of work & require many steps to create a glowing art piece for our special customers

I quite enjoy the chemistry & science behind it all – especially creating custom scents. It’s kind of like cooking, a little bit of this & a little bit of that. I think being experimental comes naturally to me. I come from a family of artisans.

I’m most proud of my brand spreading mostly through word of mouth; being part of design & production from start to finish, participating & teaching on a TV segment about soy candles, people loving the line & buying them as gifts, wholesale accounts in many boutiques & trade shows over the years, creating a little bit of glow for our beautiful customers. Since relaunching here in San Diego, we are looking to expand our opportunities.

It’s often the person or heart and soul behind it all that makes the product. I personally become elated when someone tells me Syrisa Soy Candles are the best and that they last so long. Candles are truly a sensory experience. It’s a little piece of luxury that can make any space so bright. The essence of my line is, “The Scent of Light, Naturally.” May the light in me, be the candlelight in you.

www.syrisa.co
insta: syrisa_soy_candles

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I’m quite the adventurer, especially when it comes to food & drink. Love cafe culture. I’m fond of the Karak tea at Finjan served in a copper teapot – hand ground spices steeped to perfection.

I’m also a fan of Hinar cafe in E. Village good aesthetic, drinks & pastries. Relic bakery in East Village has exceptional bakery goods with good technique – kinda reminds me of a patisseries in SF. A recent cafe find in Hillcrest is Mevan – to die for chicken sando – also, get their chicken soup. They’re known for their Turkish breakfast.

Little Italy is very charming to walk around. I love Assenti’s fresh pasta if you’re going to make a home cooked meal.

I also like the lemony chicken & potatoes at Olympic cafe. Think comfort Greek food. Callie is a good spot for a special dinner.

A few Mission Hills favs are: Cardellino’s for a yummy dinner or happy hour spot. Fort Oak is one of my favs for a boutique style happy hour. Paradis is a gorg spot for wine & occasional live music.

Also, Charade is a fun immersive speakeasy in Banker’s Hill.

Often bring guests to Balboa Park, Coronado island & La Jolla. I like to hop around Point Loma & Shelter Island when guests are in town. Cabrillo National Monument & the lighthouse is a good escape.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
David Segal, musician & dear friend from Santa Barbara

Stacey Morgan, educator & long time roomie who allowed our Pasadena apartment to be turned into a candle factory

Steve Minard, graphic artist & long time friend from Washington

Brian Post, Chief Soy Bae & catalyst to relaunch Syrisa Soy Candles in 2025 here in San Diego

All of my beautiful friends, business owners and healthcare coworkers.

Website: https://www.syrisa.co

Instagram: Syrisa_Soy_Candles

Facebook: Syrisa Soy Candles

Other: email: info@syrisa.co

Image Credits
Red dress 2 pics: Reese Allen, Charleston, SC