Are you visiting the relaxing small town of La Conner? Don’t forget to stop by Raven’s Cup Coffee, a local coffee shop that also is an art gallery and a candle shop.
Co-Owners Greg Whiting and Jenelle Whitton have worked to make the shop multifunctional after buying Reclamation Candles last December.
“[Reclamation Candles] was a company that was manufacturing candles in the back room here in La Conner and then selling them in the front room and had a coffee bar,” says Whiting. “We have taken the area that the previous owners, Tammi and Barney Loucks, were using … and turned it into an art gallery with new flooring and access for the public to use the space, but we are still selling all of her candles.”
The name Reclamation comes from the use of recycled glasses to pour the candle wax into. After finishing the candle, people can reuse the glasses after washing them. Cups can range from beautifully decorated teacups with a saucer included and even wine glasses. These candles are still being produced by Loucks in Whatcom County. Loucks has a range of scented candles and Mandels (candles scented with manly colognes) for customers to buy inside of Ravens Cup.
Customers are welcome to sit in the coffee shop and enjoy the peaceful ambiance surrounded by mostly locally made candles from lines including Reclamation, Mandles, and Coco Bee-branded candles. Whiting also works with candle companies in South Africa, Quebec, Ukraine, and many more.
“Because La Conner is a very artistic community, we felt that it would be a good idea as part of the art gallery to have some artistic candles, as well as just having the nice scented candles that Tammy had always had,” says Whiting.
Whiting hopes the shop will serve as a place of relaxation and to allow for people to have a place to meet for late nights on the town. They aim to have live entertainment every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
“The goal is to create a place where people can come and relax and be entertained either by the merchandise or by the entertainment, and get a really good cup of coffee and pastry,” says Whiting. “There are a couple of places that are open late one or two days a week, but we’re hoping to become a destination, and the remainder of the shop, we do actually have quite a bit of additional art and other items. We’re trying to provide a product line that will appeal to people who are visiting.”
Don’t forget to buy a keepsake on your way out! They offer a lot of pieces that you cannot get anywhere else.
“We have a broad variety of native art from many Northwestern tribes, and we have coffee cups, mugs, magnets, coffee, and tea equipment,” says Whiting. “[We have] the teapot Nick Munro, a British engineer and designer, created for Queen Elizabeth for her 75th anniversary on the throne. They sell replicas of it now that it is literally the same teapot that Queen Elizabeth used for the last several years.”
The next time you find yourself on a day trip in La Conner, stay a while and relax. Ravens Coffee Cup’s doors are open.
106 S. 1st St., Ste. A, La Conner, 360.375.1809, reclamationcandlecompany.com
