Scott and Keeleigh Curley in their new candy shop, Midnight Oil, with their two youngest children: Beau (left) and Scottie. They also have two older children: Kelowna Morelli and Kaydin Mill.
As the days get longer and the weather gets warmer, Wrangellites are gearing up for a fun-filled summer. And thanks to a new downtown business that will offer candy, inflatables, décor, custom clothing and more, the community's seasonal festivities are about to get even sweeter.
Scott and Keeleigh Curley's new Front Street shop, Midnight Oil, will hold its grand opening starting at 10 a.m. on Saturday, one of the borough's two sales tax-free days in 2023.
Midnight Oil will offer the community "a little bit of everything," said Scott. "We tried to get niches that weren't in town already." In the shop's back corner, there's an old-timey candy counter where customers can purchase cotton candy, gummy rings and gummy sunny-side-up eggs. "It's like an old-school, nostalgic candy store down south where you can go pick your candies by the pound," he added.
The store's eclectic mix of merchandise also includes house plants, custom T-shirts, embroidered bags and giant inflatables for rent.
Inflatables are currently only available through Parks and Recreation, Scott explained, but Midnight Oil will allow people to set up its bouncy houses in their backyards for fun summer functions. The Curleys will also create balloon displays for weddings and other special events.
About a year ago, Keeleigh learned how to embroider and started selling her work on an Etsy shop called Two Under Two Custom, in honor of the family's two children under 2 years old. Once the family's brick-and-mortar location opens, she plans to phase out the online business.
However, operating Two Under Two online taught her how to use an embroidery machine and do direct to film transfers - a heat-based printing method for putting designs on clothing. She's already been commissioned to make custom shirts for Wrangell businesses and plans to continue offering this service once the store opens.
Their children also inspired the new store's name. Starting a business while raising a family has meant a lot of late nights for the couple, burning the midnight oil. "It's going to be a lot of work in the foreseeable future," said Scott. "That's where Midnight Oil came from."
The Curleys also felt that the name matched the "old-school Wrangell rustic vibe" they are going for.
The pair has had plans to open a candy shop in Wrangell since 2020, but the pandemic postponed their plans. Now that the town's business climate is looking up, they decided to open in advance of the summer tourism season. "I wanted to do a candy store originally, and then we just kind of combined all of the things into one," said Keeleigh.
The shop will be the Curleys' first experience as small business owners. Scott worked for Alaska Marine Lines for 16 years and Keeleigh has a wide range of retail experience at small shops in Spokane, Washington, where she grew up. Most recently, she worked for the borough Port and Harbors Department. "We wanted to do our own thing and didn't want to have kids in day care," explained Scott.
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