Capitol Hill's ELM Candle Bar is full of scentsational possibilities

ELM Candle Bar on Capitol Hill is full of scentsational possibilities. Customers literally light up when they realize they can make their own blend of scents.

Erin Page and Leah Kim are the official curators of coziness here.

"ELM is actually the initials of all of our names," said Page. "So it’s Erin, Leah, Matt - we’re a family business. It’s us three cousins that own this."

The three cousins all bring different talents and strengths to the business.

The 'bar' idea is a new twist on the ancient art of candle-making. ELM features wax on tap, and a bar top where folks can do the scent mixing and wax pouring.

People can make uniquely scented items like room sprays, diffusers, wax tarts and of course - candles.

"We actually have 89 fragrances on our wall," explained Page. "All single scented - the idea behind that is that customers can come in and blend their own fragrances together and create their own final product."

The steps are simple: pick your fragrance, choose your container, and then mix and complete.

When it comes to making candles - customers begin by finding and writing a minimum of three fragrances.

With so many scents to sniff - it's quite a fun process. There are places, flowers and food to choose from and that's just the beginning!

Some of the more unusual options - 'Baked Bread,' 'Cannabis,' 'Old Books," 'Wasabi,' and something called 'Straight Razor.' And guess what? 'Straight Razor' smells straight up good!

Next - customers get a chance to blend the oils in a small jigger (another clever nod to the bar theme).

Then the wax, which comes straight out of a tap, is combined with the oils. Don't worry, the staff help you with that part too.

Side note - the wax is soy.

"All of our fragrance oils do not have any scent amplifiers or preservatives so your candle will burn clean and true to scent," said Kim.

Then folks can name their candle and write in on a label which goes in on the bottom of the container.

Before you can take it home, it needs up to 90 minutes to cure, and the staff at ELM also makes sure the wick is centered.

For the final step, they glaze the candle. The entire process is completely goof proof.

ELM Candle Bar is the perfect place to spark your creativity!

ELM Candle Bar is walk-in friendly, no reservations required.