Penn & Co. offers a range of holiday items and unique scents for your living space
WESTOVER — Chuck Penn has a nose for his business, Penn & Co.
After all, the company has been making custom fragrances since 2012 and demand has been strong enough that Penn was able to leave his 9-to-5 job and concentrate full-time on his business three years ago
“I was incredibly nervous,” recalled Penn during a recent interview in his festive shop, at 1 Fairmor Drive in Westover.
“There was no safety net, and this was unpredictable,” he said.
But Penn said he was determined to succeed.
“My mother never let us limit ourselves,” Penn said. “Everyone falls, but it’s a matter of getting back up.”
In his three-room shop, Penn sells an array of décor, much of it handmade by two artisans he employs, as well as himself. Even though Penn & Co. is covered in Christmas items and smells of baked goods, Penn said he switches things up so they correspond with the upcoming holiday season.
“Nostalgia meets current day,” he said. “It brings back pleasant memories and reminds me of my grandmother.”
“I am already looking at items for the spring,” said Penn, as holiday music played quietly in the background.
The biggest sellers for Penn & Co., whose motto is Where Hearth Meets Home, are the fragrances, which come in candles, potpourri, wax tarts, warming pods, room sprays and refresher oils. To date, Penn has developed 150 different fragrances. Only all natural ingredients are used, he added.
“I keep my recipes here in a notebook,” he said. “Just like grandmother’s cookbook.”
The scents sold by Penn run the gamut from kettle corn, maple buttercream, bergamot and tarragon, banana, and apple, to name a few.
Penn said he has yet to see how the ongoing pandemic has impacted his business, though he said the two months the shop was closed in the spring were tough. He said he tightened his belt and beefed up his online business, which continues to grow.
“I am always looking for the next big thing,” Penn said.
Penn & Co. is open 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Saturday and from noon-4 p.m. Sunday.
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