Meet Sandpoint Farmers’ Market’s candle lady

SANDPOINT — For three years, a growing feeling of discontent had been building inside Harper Myers.

After getting her master’s degree from Central Michigan and moving with her boyfriend to North Idaho, she’d found a well-paying job as a dietician, but another passion she found as a Chippewa was calling her.  

“I was in a ceramics class and one of the assignments was to make a bunch of 6-inch-tall vessels ... my teacher recommended ‘You should turn them into candles,’” Myers said. “I’ve always been very crafty and so being able to make something with my hands and design labels, I love doing that.” 

Since 2020, Myers had been balancing her job and running her handmade candle company, Up North Goods. However, as 2025 approached, that feeling kept nagging at her, forcing her to make a decision. 

"I just kind of felt like anyone could do my job, I wasn’t making too much of a difference,” Myers said. “I was getting off of work and staying up late, working on this candle business and that was truly where my passion lies.” 

After many late nights staying up to keep Up North Goods thriving, Myers thought it best to follow her passion and take up candle making full-time. 

“I think people thought I was crazy,” Myers said. “I was nervous about selling these products because ‘What if I end up hating to do this because it’s my job and I end up resenting this thing that used to bring me joy?’ but that hasn’t happened yet.”  

Now, six months later, Up North Goods is a staple at the Sandpoint Farmers Market, allowing residents to find a unique product just for them. Myers prides herself on the creativity behind the candle making process.

Sometimes it starts with a scent, a clever name or maybe an iconic place, but one thing is for sure: To Myers, they aren’t just candles. These are experiences that are built on positive emotions and stories from her life.  

“I want to look at a candle, not just have it smell good, not just have it be non-toxic, I want to laugh or give me a little spark of joy,” Myers said. “There’s more than just a happy smell that goes into it.” 

Candles can go through as many as 10 to 15 revisions while Myers plays with the scent to find the exact combination that evokes the emotion she is trying to capture. She said relying on those feelings helped her create all of the over 100 unique candles on her website. 

Oddly enough, the first feeling that inspired Myers’ candle-making passion was pain. Myers recalls using candles to study with while in college and always getting headaches. 

After discovering the amount of artificial ingredients in the store-bought candles, Myers felt there had to be a better way. It was that feeling that led her to use all-natural ingredients to craft her candles. 

Alongside Myers at every Farmers Market is her “unpaid intern” and boyfriend, Colton Wolschon, who has been with her for the past 14 years. Myers credits him with helping her build up the confidence needed to take the leap of faith in starting Up North Goods.  

Myers said the Sandpoint Famers Market was a key part of finding a community in North Idaho, a community that she has grown to love. Now in her fourth year at the market, Myers said some of her favorite moments are becoming a part of others’ Sandpoint traditions. 

“I recognize these faces and it’s such a happy little time to feel a part of these peoples’ lives,” Myers said. “’We come see the candle lady; we got to see the candle lady’ and having people call me the candle lady, is the nicest title I’ve ever had, and I love it.”