ready to get lit

New women's-focused DIY candle bar lights up hip Heights men's boutique

The Candle Bar Manready Mercantile The Heights shopping candles

Make some candles. Snap some selfies. Repeat.

Photo courtesy of Manready Mercantile

Imagine a space that not only helps you live your best life, but lets you show off how beautiful it is to the total envy of your Instagram followers. Now, imagine it’s right here in Houston, in the Heights’ Manready Mercantile.
You’d have The Candle Bar.

Forget what you think you know about candle shops, places where you’re assaulted by scent and cookie-cutter options of wax in big jars or easily nicked tapers. Those teeny white votives in chintzy aluminum lining? Not here.

The Candle Bar is a whole DIY experience, from the second you walk into what owner Travis Weaver calls “a ladies dry goods store.” He opened Manready Mercantile in 2014 as a premium general goods store featuring made-in-the-USA brands and Texas hospitality. While the place was immediately popular, he says he kept getting requests for more items that were female-friendly. His answer: The Candle Bar.

“We’ll treat you to a glass of wine or cocktail of the day while we walk you through scent profiles and show you how to make your own soy candle in a reusable whiskey glass,” Weaver says. “We have customizable labels, so you can take it home to your loved ones or put it in your house.”

Making the candle takes 15 minutes, plus another 30 for it to solidify. The activity will set you back $28 for one candle or $40 for two. Want to make it a gals’ day out? The Candle Bar can be reserved for private parties of up to 30 guests.

But that’s just one aspect of the shop, located on the downstairs level of Manready Mercantile. The 1,000-square-foot space features a vintage Ms. Pac-Man machine (insider tip: bring plenty of quarters). Shoppers will also find everything from cocktail mixers, gourmet chocolates, and food items to women’s travel accessories, custom boutique-style jewelry, and clothing.

And for the active social media set, there’s plenty to post to the IG. Snap a snot of the old-school TV that Weaver found on Craigslist for $20 and refurbished to play movies like Lonesome Dove and Shawshank Redemption. Take a selfie in front of the vintage phone booth found on the side of the road at a flea market. Get your art groove on with an image of the half of a vintage Volkswagen Beetle positioned in front of a hand-painted “Greetings from Texas” mural, made to look like a sunset on a postcard.

“The future of retail is interactive concepts and installations,” Weaver says. “You have to do something that’s different and pops and is unique, otherwise people lose interest or just buy it online.”

The Candle Bar already has attracted celebrity visitors including Joy Williams of Grammy-award winning duo The Civil Wars and Houston musician Hayes Carll.

“It’s a fully interactive shopping experience unlike any other,” says Weaver.

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Hours of operation are Tuesday-Saturday from 10 am to 7 pm and Sunday from 11 am to 6 pm; manready.com; 713-861-6618.

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sleep like an olympian

Houston Olympians share sleep tips at luxury mattress maker's posh store

Luxury sleep brand Saatva’s Houston showroom (1703 Post Oak Blvd.), referred to as a “Viewing Room” by the company, is one of only three in Texas, and 17 in the country. Its steadfast stance to exclusively manufacture all of their products — from mattresses to furniture collections— in the US, has contributed to the 15-year-old, eco-friendly company’s success.

Courtesy of Saatva

Saatva has joined Team USA as the official mattress for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Los Angeles.

Saatva is known for its made-to-order luxury mattresses that are always delivered white glove — never rolled and shipped. Designed in collaboration by Hines Collective and award-winning multidisciplinary architecture and design firm Ware Malcomb, the 4,000-square-foot viewing room integrates modern touches and emphasizes the new interpretation of Smarter Luxury Sleep.

From the moment a visitor enters through the foyer, the viewing room aims to redefine the customer experience. With its aromatic fragrance, subtle color palette, warm lighting, and sustainable flooring and wall treatments, Saatva Houston offers an inviting respite from the city’s bustle.

Further into the space, silvery trees form a canopy under the ceiling’s gentle curves. Soft fabrics and floor-to-ceiling mirrors punctuate the walls throughout, creating a unified environment from start to finish. In keeping with Saatva’s “made in America” philosophy, interior materials and finishes, including the architectural lighting, were manufactured in the U.S.

The Houston store also features a collaboration with Samsung, allowing customers the option to choose a self-guided tour of Saatva’s products. Customers can also test pillows, sateen sheets, and beautifully-upholstered furniture collections in store. Saatva even thought of the four-legged family members with a posh dog bed.

Supporting Team U.S.A.

Saatva’s commitment to all things American now reaches beyond the realm of manufacturing. The brand recently partnered with Team U.S.A. to provide mattresses during the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Los Angeles. To celebrate their 15 year anniversary and new partnership, Saatva Houston recently invited two highly-decorated, Houston-native Olympic athletes to an intimate gathering to share the importance of restorative sleep.

Three-time Olympian and seven-time Olympic medalist Simone Manuel — who also happens to be the first Black American woman to win an individual Olympic gold medal in swimming — was joined by two-time Olympian and four-time Olympic medalist Bryce Deadmon (Track & Field) for the celebratory breakfast. Both athletes dished on their favorite Houston cheat meal spots and the restorative sleep routines they live by.

Pre-sleep routine of Olympian Simone Manuel (two Gold, four Silver, one Bronze)

“I think the biggest thing is definitely putting my phone away as early as possible,” she says. “It’s hard, you know? There are so many distractions, but I try to at least limit them if I can’t completely eliminate them.” Manual gets in bed around 9 pm, with her phone off limits. “I like to watch TV before I go to sleep, but I at least try to turn down the brightness and put on blue light glasses, and that helps a lot. Sometimes I’ll put the TV on mute and then I’ll turn on some white noise.” Manuel’s go-to sleepy time extras? Lavender linen spray and eucalyptus incense.

Favorite Houston healthy spots: Local Table and JLB Eatery
Favorite Houston cheat meal spots: On The Kirb, The Rouxpour, and Pappadeaux.

Pre-sleep routine of Olympian Bryce Deadmon (two Gold, one Silver, one Bronze)

Deadmon relies on 20 minutes of meditation to get ready to go to bed. “I try to make sure I do that just to make sure I’m not really thinking when I get into bed. So, I kind of regulate my breathing before getting into bed — that’s really my main thing. It can be dangerous,” Deadmon adds with a laugh. “I have fallen asleep while meditating. I’ll wake up like ‘What’s going on?!’ That’s not supposed to happen. But it really calms me down before I actually go to sleep.”

Favorite Houston healthy spot: Pre-made meals from H-E-B
Favorite Houston cheat meal spots: Doña Leti’s and Burger Bodega.

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