A mimosa can be a brunch accompaniment, a way to make cheap champagne more palatable, or the opening salvo of a long day on the Hermosa Pier. And, as was on display at the Fiesta Hermosa last weekend, it can also be the raw material for some eco-friendly decorations.
Piece by Paz, which made its first appearance at Fiesta Hermosa this year, takes discarded champagne bottles from bars in Hermosa Beach and molds them into candle holders. The candles are then filled with a blend of organic soy and beeswax.
“I was standing in the alley behind Sharkeez Hermosa one night, wondering what they do with all of the bottles,” said co-founder J.D. Snyder. “I started talking to this guy. He doesn’t speak English, and I don’t speak Spanish, but we made it work.”
Bottle recyclers are a familiar sight in the alleys of downtown Hermosa and Manhattan. They gather the refuse of busy bars, and redeem them at various recycling centers. Under a program begun by the state of California in 1987, more than 300 billion bottles have been recycled.
The work of collecting all these bottles is grueling; many of those heaving glass into truck beds wear back braces. Piece by Paz usually pays their primary collector more than twice as much as can be reclaimed under the CRV program.
Snyder and partner Kelsey Paz began the South Bay business about two years ago. Their candles can be found at Curious… in Hermosa, and will soon be available at Trilogy Day Spa in Manhattan.
Paz is the acknowledged artist in the pairing, and the business gives her a way to channel her creative impulses.
“I went to school for floral design, and I come from a family of artists,” she said. “I get to do all the graphics.”
Their latest fragrance is titled “South Bay,” and is designed to complement the scents of sea, sand and sunscreen that might waft through a screen door. The addition of beeswax stretches the life of an 8 oz. candle to about 70 hours.
The business continues to expand, but turning what many people think of as trash into a fragrant candle can sometimes take a little convincing. Snyder said that when one of their collectors tried to bring some raw materials to their Fiesta tent on Sunday, he was briefly stopped by fair organizers from hauling bottles into the vendor area.
“I had to go up and explain this guy works with me,” Snyder said. “It was a bit confusing at first, but we got him through.” ER
