Desert Candles and Goods grows through Diné language, humor
Navajo Times | Sharon Chischilly
Gregory Lehmann and Shane Richardson, the owners of Desert Candles and Goods, hold their products during the 113th annual Northern Navajo Fair in Shiprock Saturday afternoon, Oct. 3.
DÁ’DEESTŁ’IN HÓTSAA
Shane Richardson wanted a cinnamon candle that smelled like spice, not a cinnamon roll. When he couldn’t find one, he began making his own.
Four years later, Richardson and his husband, Gregory Lehmann, are filling wholesale orders, making soaps and candles by hand and meeting customers who know them as much for their videos as their products.
Richardson, who is from Yaa’iitiin, Arizona, and Lehmann own Desert Candles and Goods. Their trips to sell on the Navajo Nation helped build an online following that now brings people to their booth to buy a product or take a picture.
“We thought we were just going to sell candles and soaps,” Lehmann said. “But people are like really bought into our life, which is amazing, right?”
The business began on Richardson’s birthday, Oct. 13, 2022. He experimented with candles as a hobby, then received encouragement from relatives who liked what he made.
To read the full article, please see the Oct. 22, 2026, edition of the Navajo Times.
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