Langley Crafter Opens Ember Candle and Vintage Emporium Downtown

Audra Hager spent years working retail on Langley's First Street before stepping behind the counter of her own making. On Monday, the longtime crafter opened Ember Candle & Vintage Emporium in downtown Langley, bringing together two of her longstanding pursuits: handcrafted soy candles and curated vintage goods.

Hager previously worked at Foamy Wader, the well-known Langley boutique, where she built her retail experience before deciding to launch her own venture. Ember Candle & Vintage Emporium carries both her original candles and a selection of vintage and vintage-inspired items, positioning the shop as a destination for shoppers drawn to handmade craft as much as to the hunt for older and one-of-a-kind pieces.

The opening adds a new independent retailer to a downtown Langley corridor that already draws visitors to its concentration of galleries, boutiques, and specialty shops. Hager's background as a crafter, rather than strictly a buyer or reseller, sets Ember apart from many of the existing retail options in the village: the candles on the shelves are hers, produced before they ever reach a customer.

Soy candles have become one of the more durable categories in the handmade goods market, prized by buyers who prefer cleaner-burning alternatives to paraffin. Pairing them with vintage merchandise reflects a retail strategy that has gained traction in small-town shopping districts, where the combination of maker goods and secondhand finds can pull in distinct customer audiences in a single visit.

For Hager, the shop represents a transition from working within someone else's retail vision to building her own.