Shynae Davis is hard at work making another one of her candles at her new candle bar in Pelham. It's just one of the many ways she aims to spread positivity through her shop, Honey Notes.

“It's really like a dream come true to have this shop and to know that it's mine," the owner and creator said. "When people come in, they leave feeling a little bit more inspired and better than when they came.”

As a published writer and poet, the idea for Honey Notes started during the COVID-19 pandemic. To help her friends and family get through a dark time, Davis turned to social media, sharing motivational messages and quotes. She eventually put those to paper, turning into her Honey Notes affirmation cards.

“Affirmations are positive statements that you tell yourself to shift from a negative self-talk to more of a positive talking point of view for yourself to help you go after the things that you want," Davis explained. "I see people and they say, 'I still read your cards every single day!' The great thing about my affirmation cards is that you can write a message to yourself on the back of them. So, they're like multipurpose.”

Nearly five years later, Davis expanded her shop to continue her mission of spreading mindfulness and intentional living. In addition to the affirmation cards, guests can now choose from a whole collection of products like room sprays, reed diffusers and candles. She even started offering classes for guests to learn how to make some products themselves. “We started doing candle-making classes," Davis said. "You come in, you get to choose one of our vessels here. We have all different colors and sizes and shapes. Then, you get to make your own custom fragrance...where you get to choose between two and three different fragrance oils...Once you choose that, you'll mix that into our vegan wax that we have. Then, you get to decorate with stickers, glitter and crystals for more of an impactful manifestation." This Black History Month, Davis is proud to be a representative for the Black community and is thankful to receive the love and positive feedback in return.

“The Black community is so supportive," Davis said. "To have a business that's thriving, people supporting me and coming back and telling people about my business, it really is something I could only have thought of like 10 years ago...They love that I'm bringing something new to Pelham, particularly something fun and interactive.”

Honey Notes is located at 130 Fifth Ave. in Pelham. Anyone interested in taking one of Davis' candle-making classes or affirmation card workshops can sign up on her website's "Private Workshop" page.