From pretty packaging to a passion for producing candles, this customer story comes from Katy, owner of House of Wax, a vegan-friendly soy wax candle business. With such a stunning aesthetic and drive for success, we wanted to find out what makes Katy’s business tick and how she got started in the first place!
Katy started making candles in 2017. She had a few days off from work and she likes to keep herself busy so she headed over to Hobbycraft to see what she could find. She picked up a Kirstie Allsopp candle making kit and thought it would be perfect as she loves candles! After making one Lavender candle, Katy was hooked. That same week she did a lot of researched and then went on to bulk order everything she needed. 3 years later and she’s sold more candles than she could have ever imagined, Katy now sells wholesale to shops up and down the country and loves every minute of it. What got Katy into candle making was remembering seeing someone on Instagram make a lovely looking candle. It was stunning, even the photography was appealing and the very next day she went shopping and bought the bits she needed. She loves keeping busy and keeping herself entertained so initially making candles started off as a hobby, but it quickly turned into her own little candle business. To get sales off the ground, Katy started selling on Etsy, which she still does. It’s a great platform for small crafty businesses!
In the beginning, Katy chose scents that she loved or scents that she was really curious about. Now, she gets a lot of requests asking if she can make specific fragrances, so she likes to test ones out that she’d never thought of trying before. She finds it nice to take into account other peoples preferences, this way she can come up with new ideas and keep things fresh.
So what’s the story behind the name? Unfortunately, Katy doesn’t have a story to tell about her business name or logo. But she does remember that she and her sister were brainstorming one day when she’d told her she wanted to start a candle business, it was actually her sister’s idea to call it House of Wax and she’s loved the name ever since!
With such a successful small business, we wanted to know what advice Katy would give to those looking to follow in her footsteps. For her, if anyone is hoping to turn their candle making into a business, she says go for it! It’s fun, it’s creative and it can be a great way to earn a bit of extra cash. It can take a while to perfect your candles, scents and even your brand, but in the end, it’s totally worth it. It’s a great feeling when you see orders coming in!
If you want to explore Katy’s products you can find her on Instagram.
Or on Facebook.