Melanie Jensen 
Mosaic District’s District Candle Lab blends high-quality, artisan products with a creative, do-it-yourself workshop experience. Guests craft their own custom soy wax candles by blending scents from a selection of over 60 fragrances, then finish with a personalized name and label. As woman- and immigrant-owned businesses, both District Candle Lab and Fawne are meaningful destinations for thoughtful, customizable gifts for loved ones or for yourself. Read on to discover how sister brands District Candle Lab and Fawne deliver one-of-a-kind, hands-on experiences in both candle and jewelry making.
The Backstory
When Ferzan Jaegar came to the United States from Turkey in 2003 to pursue her master’s degree, her goal was a career in physics. With natural strength in science and math, it made sense when she spent nearly a decade working at NASA.
Yet, Ferzan’s journey from physicist to entrepreneur began while she was still in graduate school. During school breaks, she would travel back to Turkey and return with scarves, clothing, and textiles to sell to local boutiques in the U.S.
“Turkey has all these amazing textiles and goods. Why don’t I bring them here?” she said. What started as a hobby and side hustle soon became Ferzan’s passion and entrepreneurial focus. In 2016, she launched her first business, Olive & Loom, which she later expanded into a brick-and-mortar store in Maryland in 2019. The shop features Turkish textiles and artisan goods, either sourced directly from Turkey or made in-house at the Olive & Loom workshop.
Ferzan designed the store to be semi-immersive, featuring an open-concept workshop where customers can see exactly how and where the products are made. She noticed that many visitors were intrigued by the candle-making process, which inspired her to create a business centered around that experience. She also recognized a growing demand for hands-on, interactive activities, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 lockdowns.
The first District Candle Lab opened in June of 2024 at Union Market in Washington, D.C. A second location followed in May 2025 at the Mosaic District in Fairfax, Virginia. Ferzan chose the Mosaic District for her second location after discovering many customers traveled from Virginia for the lab’s unique candle-making experience.
Ferzan intentionally selected retail and restaurant-heavy locations for both labs, allowing customers to shop, dine, and explore while waiting the two hours for their candle to set. She also felt welcomed and supported in the D.C. metro community.
“Being an immigrant, woman-owned small business, I feel like D.C. and the D.M.V area is one of the areas that is actually appreciated and supported,” Ferzan said.
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Ferzan and longtime Olive & Loom business manager Audry Woods also launched Fawne, a jewelry shop and charm bar that shares space within both District Candle Lab locations. In addition to exploring the surrounding neighborhood, guests can personalize necklaces, bracelets, purse chains, and more, all while waiting just a few feet away for their custom candles to set.
The Experience
At District Candle Lab, guests pick between an 8-ounce single-wick or a 12-ounce double-wick soy wax candle before exploring over 60 different fragrance options. A printed scent menu categorizes fragrances into 10 families, with a fragrance wheel on the back to help guests find complementary combinations.
For those who need help narrowing down their preferences, scent walls on either side of the bar let guests smell the different scent families in candle form. Once they’ve selected six scents, they can test fragrance oils on strips to find their ideal mix. From there, they choose four scents to include in their custom candle.
Candle-tenders then guide them through the process of prepping the jar, placing the wicks, blending the fragrance, pouring the wax, and creating a personalized label with the name and formula of their custom scent.
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After closing at 6PM, District Candle Lab also opens its doors for private events, offering customized experiences in candle-making or jewelry design. While the candle-making workshop is an in-store-only experience, Fawne also offers off-site pop-ups for private events such as birthdays, bachelorette parties, and corporate gatherings.
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