An old display rack sits in Claudia Steed’s shop to remind her of where she started in 2006.
After spending 18 years in human resources for companies across East Texas including Baxter and Rob Roy Industries, Claudia decided she wanted to take a different road in life.
With Christmas just around the corner, the holiday season is the busiest of the year for Claudia.
Tucked away in a quaint rural area near the Katima subdivision, Steed’s Texas Sweets and Treats offers a variety of gift items including specialty gourmet handmade candy and candles.
Claudia, a University of Texas graduate with a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering, said she began making candles as a stress reliever from her career.
"Human resources is a very satisfying job, in that you get to deal with people," she said. "I got up in management which was something I had always wanted to do, but realized working so many hours and doing so much for so many other people, I wasn’t getting to spend enough time with my family."
Claudia Steed's Texas Sweets and Treats offers a variety of gift items including specialty gourmet candy and candles. For a while, Claudia stayed at home and did what she called "womanly" things. She had taken a candle making class and her father had taught her the proper way to make peanut brittle.
From there, she began making small quantities for friends and family, and soon turned a hobby into a business.
"I love good quality," she said. "My grandmother was Welsh and loved to cook, my mother was a great cook but didn’t like it very much, and I had always loved to cook. I thought I’d like to do something that makes others feel good. I try to give that old class quality of great ingredients, timeliness and accuracy."
Steed’s Texas Sweets and Treats offers candy including peanut brittle, English toffee, butter pecan toffee, fudge and some cookies, along with candles in various scents.
A one-woman operation, Claudia takes and bakes orders in a queue system. Batches are made to order in the order she receives them.
"When someone asks me what makes me different from the other companies around, that’s always a hard question and I don’t really know how to answer it," she said. "I just want people to know that I go to extreme measures for my products to have great quality and for the timeliness of my orders."
Because she makes each product by hand, orders must be placed in advance. She even does deliveries for orders over $100.
"I’m a member of the Go Texan program, which means all my products are made and produced in Texas," she said. "When you order a pound of candy from me, you get a pound of candy, not a pound with the box and wrapping included."
Since 2006, her business is expanding.
She has shipped products to Hawaii, Iowa, Ohio and Florida, as well as all over the Texas.
"My ultimate goal is for my candy to be a delicious, fresh, nice product that your family and everybody will enjoy," she said.
Claudia said her original display still holds some of the original candles from her early days that still hold a scent.
She uses that rack as motivation to continue to improve to not only meet the industry standards, but for the lofty standards she sets for herself.
Claudia said she is booked up through December but is taking orders for New Year’s celebrations.
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