CAMDEN —This past June, a quiet little candy shop opened at 27 Washington Street in Camden, owned by Amanda Murray and Ian Cheney, and it all started from a whim.

The couple, who owns the business next door, Other Media Other, had an additional adjacent space that was unused.

"Last December, we opened the space up as a pop-up shop for holiday movies and people loved it," said Cheney. "We love the holidays, and after doing a film shoot at a maple sugar shack and driving home, I got the idea to use the space as a magical spice and candy shop."

The shop, which is 100 square feet, was designed and curated primarily by Murray, who is a graphic designer.

"She made it feel like a welcome little corner of Camden," he said.

Cheney's sister is a spice merchant in the Boston area and provides the store with exotic spices from Curio, from growers in New England, and from all over the world.

"For example, we have a ginger that comes from women who grow it in the foothills of the Himalayan Mountains," he said.

The candy is a mixture of nostalgic products, such as Necco wafers and root beer barrels, and exotic candy, such as a Japanese mocha latte Kitkat bar.

"I'd call our selection a combination of low brow and high brow," he said.

The shop's highlight is a row of glass candy jars that hold various bulk Swedish and Scandinavian gummy candies and tiny takeaway jars for customers that they mix and match however they like.

Cheney said: "My favorite candy is the Fifth Avenue bar, which I used to buy in gas stations as a kid. I'm not even sure if you can get it any more and today, but there's this surge in making small-batch candies and chocolates from all over the world. We want to offer some flavors you wouldn't necessarily stumble upon."

The Downtown Spice and Candy shop also sells local candy and chocolate from makers such as Bixby Chocolates, Dean's Sweets, and Le Nef Chocolate.

Cheney said with two little kids, meeting other people is not always easy, but that the shop has been "a wonderful way to meet our neighbors and people visiting." Added Murray: “As much as I love Swedish candy, connecting with people has been my favorite thing about the shop by far.”

The couple is looking forward to offering the space as a Christmas wonderland again this winter with a Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory screening.

Learn more by visiting their Instagram page.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com