Today we’d like to introduce you to Ava Jane Windham.
Hi, Ava Jane; we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
In February 2021, my family and I started Windham Wicks, a glass candle business. Towards the end of 2021, it became increasingly difficult to source our glass vessels, so we began researching alternative materials and methods that we could use. We started learning how to create concrete candle vessels, and since March 2022, we have been hand-making every concrete vessel in our kitchen. Our concrete candles are made with 100% soy wax, custom-blended certified clean fragrances, and crackling wooden wicks. Our supplies and ingredients are also exclusively sourced and made in the USA.
Our business has come a long way since we first started. We converted a whole room in our house to make a candle studio to create our scents, hand-pour our wax, and label and package all our candles. We now offer DIY refill kits for our customers to refill our beautiful concrete vessels. Our concrete accessories have also been quite popular, as they can serve as statement pieces for home decor or create a beautiful candle arrangement. In addition, we produce custom concrete logos from resin 3D printed models, which we then use to create a mold and cast in concrete. This allows us to personalize the branding for our corporate gift recipients and add a special touch to the gift boxes we create. We also opened two retail locations at Westside Market in Greenville and Partager Gallery, Gifts, and Home in Columbia, South Carolina. This allowed our local customers to view our entire product line in person, including items only available in-store.
Although we all work together to create our products, each has a specific role in the business. My responsibilities include graphic design (such as our logo, label design, etc.), web design, social media management, product photography, and other tasks. I love being able to express my creativity by designing new graphics or taking product photos that capture the essence of our product. Managing our social media and website provides me with another way to express my creativity by showcasing what our business is all about.
Being a 15-year-old small business co-owner alongside my family has been the most incredible opportunity of my life. It has taught me valuable life lessons and skills I will continue to use. Since the start of the business almost three years ago, I have grown so much, not just in terms of the business but also personally in communication, responsibility, the meaning of hard work, and confidence. My schoolwork has also been going well, and I am taking honors and entrepreneurial classes to help me as an adult. I am grateful for how our business has grown, everything I have learned, how I have grown personally, my family, and the path God has made for me.
Would it have been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
As a 15-year-old, there have been some challenges with keeping up with my schoolwork and the business, especially when I have to prioritize my schoolwork over the business to maintain good grades. Fortunately, I am enrolled in Greenville County School’s Virtual Program, which makes it easier to manage my schoolwork as I am home taking classes and can work on the business during breaks. However, it doesn’t mean that school is easier by any means. The Greenville County School’s high school Virtual Program was ranked in the overall highest growth and top 10% for highest growth and performance in the district for the 2022-2023 school year (https://www.greenville.k12.sc.us/News/main.asp?titleid=2309awards). Although I have enough credits to graduate high school a year early, I’m taking the opportunity to start college courses that will count towards a business degree that I plan to major in. I set high expectations, striving to achieve good grades, stay on top of my business responsibilities, meet deadlines, and do everything with grace and integrity.
Other than the day-to-day challenges, I experienced personal obstacles in getting to where I am today. When I was born, complications from birth trauma caused speech delays, nerve damage, and a condition I was diagnosed with called Dyspraxia. This caused me to need intensive speech therapy, occupational therapy, and physical therapy when I was four, but I overcame it, and today, you will never realize it. I also have Attention Deficit Disorder, but even though I have difficulties with it, I like to think of it as a superpower. It allows me to think creatively outside the box to develop ideas or solutions. These obstacles are not something I usually talk about, but they have greatly influenced my life and are part of the reason for who I am today.
Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about Windham Wicks?
We realized then how much switching from glass to concrete vessels would benefit our business. It not only sets us apart from other candle businesses but is now what we are known for. What appeals to customers about our concrete candles is that our concrete vessels are something you find only sometimes and are more aesthetically pleasing for customers in their homes. We offer various different-shaped vessels and our six color options (Natural Grey, Marble, Black, Green, Terracotta Marble, and Terracotta) so our customers can find the perfect candle for their homes. Our scents are also what our customers love about our candles. My younger sister, Amelia, custom blends our certified clean scents to create a variety everyone loves. We take pride in using eco-friendly supplies and best practices to create a stellar, sustainable, and reusable product. Not only can you reuse our concrete vessels as a planter or a storage/decor addition to your home, but they can also be refilled using our candle refill kits (the bags for our refill kits are compostable). The fragrance oils used to scent our candles are non-toxic and certified clean by our supplier. They are made without ingredients found on California’s Proposition 65 list, are phthalate-free, and also free from carcinogens, mutagens, reproductive toxins, organ toxins, and acute toxins. We also use locally made “No VOC” candle-safe sealer on our concrete vessels and accessories. The 100% soy wax that we use is produced on a farm in Iowa from sustainable and ethically produced soybeans.
What matters most to you? Why?
One of the things that I am most grateful for as a small business co-owner is the opportunity to learn. Throughout owning a business, I have learned invaluable life lessons, improved my communication skills, worked hard, developed new skills, and gained experience by collaborating with other businesses. However, my family has had the most significant influence on my life. My dad, mom, younger sister Amelia, and little brother Stone have been there with me through everything. They are always encouraging me, helping me, teaching me, and are my role models. Starting a business from scratch with my family through the highs and lows and persevering to get where we are today has given me great accomplishment. Being able to say, “We did that!” fuels my dedication to keep pushing forward.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.windhamwicks.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/windhamwicks/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/windhamwicks/
Image Credits
Ava Jane Windham, Melissa Windham, Morgan Cox, and Darien Lewandowski
