2017 year in review
Happy New Year!
We’re finally saying goodbye to 2017 and are so excited to welcome 2018 here in the Antique Candle Works studio! (Now, Antique Candle Co.®!)
It’s been a whirlwind of a year, and it’s hard to believe how fast it’s gone by! It feels like only yesterday we are starting up the blog for the first time. It also seems like only yesterday that it was just Brittany, her brother Ed, and I pouring candles like crazy to keep up everything!
Antique Candle Works has grown tremendously in the last 365 days, and we’d love to share some of those highlights with our great friends—you!
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This time last year, almost to the day, our first blog post was published. It was the story of how Antique Candle Works came to be through Brittany’s hard work and determination.
“From Stovetop to Studio” was a hit, and paved the way for all future blog posts on our online marketplace! How fun is it to keep up with the goings on within the studio every week? We also revamped the Antique Candle Pinterest! With so many new Pins posted every week, there’s always new content for you to check out!
We’ve made so many new friends! This time last year, Antique Candle Works only had three employees, one of whom was only a seasonal worker. We have since welcomed Macey, Carol, Sarah, Kelsey, Julie, and Emily to the Antique Candle Works team!
It’s been amazing to grow together, not only as coworkers and friends, but also as a part of a flourishing small business. With weekly team meetings and fun brainstorming sessions, the studio has so many unique individuals that create a truly enjoyable environment. We love our jobs, and how many people can really say that?
We introduced a new fragrance for the first time in a long time: Cucumber Melon! (Now retired.) The crisp, clean scents of cucumbers, ripened in the sun and picked fresh from the garden mixed with a hint of delicious melon. That was the fragrance that filled the studio for several weeks in the summer!
Back in the fall, Antique Candle Works took a trip to The Big Apple for the New York Now Wholesale Tradeshow! It was the first wholesale tradeshow Brittany had ever been a vendor at, and it was definitely an exciting experience!
At that time, not only was the team preparing for the tradeshow, but we also were preparing an enormous order for our first department store wholesale partner, Carsons! It was a busy time, but we learned a lot and grew as a business and a team!
To add to an already crazy time with the Carsons order and the tradeshow, Antique Candle Works moved locations barely a week after Brittany came back from New York City! We moved across town to the other side of Lafayette, from a small storefront space to a large, newly built warehouse and office.
Our new studio is large enough to be our home for several years as we grow together and improve Antique Candle Works for you.
In 2017, Momma’s Kitchen and Clean Cotton were our most popular (nonseasonal) candle fragrances;
29,162 candles were made and sold last year (that’s a lot!);
We went from 3 to 8 team members (not counting Waylan!);
Our social media presence on Instagram, Facebook, and even Pinterest grew;
Most of all, we learned and grew a lot as a team, a business, and a family.
In 2018, we hope to continue this growth to become a new and improved Antique Candle Works and provide you with an even better candle experience than ever before.
Here’s to the New Year!
Photography by HJ Creative Photography, Hannah Christine Photography, and Jennifer from The Grace House