I am frequently asked how & why I started making candles. I'd always answer with some variation of "I've always liked candles, so I started making them in my kitchen, went to some craft fairs, and it just grew from there." I carried a lot of shame and embarrassment around the real story of behind why I started this business. I suppose many years, prayer, and maturity has helped me tell my story with more openness. I was only 23 years old when I had the idea to begin my candle business and gosh, that's just so young.
In 2012 graduated from Purdue University (Boiler up!) and got an incredible job offer as an Assistant Store Manager for a Super Target in the Chicago-land area. I mean a 10% employee discount on EVERYTHING at Target? Heck yeah. My husband was also graduating from Purdue and landed a job as a Patent Agent at a fancy law firm in downtown Chicago. We were very excited to start our life and adventure together. We moved away from our college town & less than a year into my job at Target, I found myself totally overwhelmed—the retail hours, frequent working weekends, and managing a team of over 70 employees right out of the gate was more than I could handle. I felt alone, like a failure of a wife; I wasn’t making it to church on Sundays and was missing many of the important metrics at work. I remember just wanting out of my life. One night I came home to our apartment after closing Target for the night. It was late, after Midnight. When I opened the door to my apartment, I was hit with this awful stench. It smelled like rot. I walked around trying to figure out where the smell was coming from. Then I found it - it was the sink - I had let the dirty dishes rot a little too long and it was getting pretty full. They had been in there for several days and I guess the days were just flying by. I remember being so exhausted from the long day and week at work. I couldn't take care of this, but needed the stink to go away so I get to sleep. So I reached under the sink and got a can of Lysol. Yup, I sprayed down those dirty dishes with Lysol to hide the rotten stench. I couldn't even muster the energy or will to wash dishes. In that moment, I questioned how I got here. Did I go to college so I can just feel like a failure at work and failure at home for the next 40 years? I cried out in the darkness and silence of the apartment at 1 am "God, please help me." A few more weeks went by & the only thing I could think to do at the time was to quit my job. Something had to give. So, I just quit. I was officially unemployed due to my own free will, which made me feel even more like a failure. One of the most important things they teach you in business school is don't have a resume gap. That was 2013.
My husband was still working and enjoying his job, paying the bills, and I sort of became a housewife - clipping coupons, baking bread, doing all the things that helps keep things going. It was a refreshing change of pace to not rush through these things outside of work hours. We had the weekends together as a young married couple again, which was a positive change. Above is a picture of us that year. I truly did a lot of things with my newfound time. One of which was ordering a $200 candle making kit. I like making things with my hands & was watching videos online on how to make soap, candles, and other crafts. I remember really, really being fascinated with the craft of candle making. Learning about all the different waxes, types of fragrance oils, wick sizes, and even containers. I was obsessed with the idea of turning an old antique Ball jar, tea cup, or vintage coffee tin into a candle. I called those "antique candles". They were repurposed and given new life. While learning to make candles, I decided that I actually preferred the soy wax, even though it's not the industry standard by any means. The natural wax is more expensive to buy, but the candle does burn longer and cleaner. I enjoyed burning these in my home. One of my first "candle recipes" was Momma's Kitchen - a candle we still make today & was the best seller in 2025. I named it after my mom who all of us kids call "momma" even as adult kids in our 30s.
At some point, I remember being ready to enter the workforce again, probably about 6 months after being unemployed. I was sprucing up my resume to apply to jobs. Then, I remember this audacious thought enter my mind "Could I work up to the salary I was making at Target if I sold some of these candles online and sign up for the local craft fairs?" After talking to my husband and discussing, I put a plan together & it looked like I needed about $1,000 of our funds to order more supplies, make a website, and pay for some craft fair booths. That was in 2014 and I named my business Antique Candle Works. I sold to a few hundred customers over the course of that year. I know there are a few of you reading this now that remember my booth and it was such a joy to meet you in person!
To be honest, I never thought that it would turn into a legit business that would need to hire people to make enough candles for you. As I write this now, 2025 is coming to a close and we just wrapped up our 12th candle season. What a journey and blessing. Every year since 2014 has brought change and lots of imagination. There have been difficult and painful periods being a business owner, but I suppose my perspective is different than when I was 23 years old. I get a first hand view of seeing how Jesus has brought so much beauty and goodness through Antique Candle Co.® Meaning, He answered my prayer on that dark and empty night after a late Target shift. Not because the business is successful or grew, but because I get to hear from you one of you almost every week about how the candles are a small blessing to your day. We have shipped candles to over 180,000 homes in the last 12 years. On a weekly basis, I hear from one of you & it warms my heart. Like when the candle package happens to arrive to your door during a emotionally dark and heavy day. Or Carol, who shared that she burns Momma's Kitchen & Warm Caramel Crumble by Sarah Joy together because it satisfies her sweet tooth after her taste buds were destroyed from a cancer battle 15 years ago. I've heard countless stories over and over again. I believe your stories after so many years has helped me heal from my shame of how I used to feel around how Antique Candle Co.® started and why it started in the first place.
I hope our candles have been a blessing to you. And if we can pray for you, we do that on a weekly basis for each other & our shoppers/customers, too. No prayer is too big or too small.
Today, I want each candle to be a blessing for you and your home. Maybe it can be the little light that encourages you in your dark place. Like Luke 10:5 says, I want to offer peace to your home.
Brittany