Born in Cayucos
There's a particular kind of morning in Cayucos. The fog is still low over the Pacific, the air smells of salt and sage, and the world is quiet before the day starts.
Artistry By the Sea is a small boutique at 146 N Ocean Ave, two minutes from the sand. It runs on one rule: everything on the shelves is made by an independent maker, and we can tell you who. Sea glass jewelry. Wheel-thrown pottery. Plant-dyed cashmere. Handloom linen and Turkish cotton.
By the Sea Alchemy is the part we make ourselves.
It began because we wanted something on the shelf that smelled like where we actually live, and couldn't find it. So we started pouring — coconut apricot wax, cotton-core wicks, clean paraben-free fragrance oils, no toxins and no synthetic fragrance in anything that leaves our hands. Sustainably harvested palo santo. Small batches, a few blocks from the water.
Buying handmade means accepting that things vary. A pour sets a little differently; a scent throws harder in a small room than a large one. We think that's the point. Mass-produced candles are easy to find. Ones that came out of someone's hands are not.
What we make
Coconut apricot wax and cotton-core wicks, in 7oz frosted glass jars and 5oz tins.
4oz. No aerosols, nothing synthetic — the same fragrance oils we pour into the candles.
Pure plant waters for face and body, in 10ml travel and 3.4oz ritual sizes.
15ml. The three most-asked-for scents, concentrated for an ultrasonic diffuser.