Today we’d like to introduce you to Kristen Schwiers.
Hi Kristen, I’m so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work life, how can you bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I ran a small Etsy shop I started in 2016, selling artwork and crafts based in Charleston and the Lowcountry. I started making soy candles and named them after my and my husband’s favorite places and features of Charleston. The candles started selling, so I decided to rebrand and focus solely on my Lowcountry-inspired candles. We continued to grow beyond Etsy to our website and then into wholesale with different retailers around Charleston. Before opening our flagship store on St. Philip Street in 2021, we would attend different markets to sell candles and host candle-making workshops at various venues around town. Now that we have our storefront, we love seeing the customers visiting and hosting groups for candle classes.
Charleston Candle Co. was a side business for a couple of years, but after we started to get larger retail accounts, my husband, Chaz, started running production full-time. While I still work outside of CCCo. as a marketing director, I continue to manage our marketing and business operations. As we’ve grown, we’ve also grown our team to include my sister and my dad. We love being a small, family-owned and operated business, and it helps us continue to deliver quality products and experiences when you shop with us.
Chaz attended the College of Charleston, where we were engaged (in front of the Pineapple Fountain), and we moved here officially after getting married in 2013. Now that we’ve built a life here and are raising our family here, Charleston holds such a special place in our hearts, so it was easy to want to share that love, and we decided to do that through candles. We hope smelling a Folly Beach candle, Church Street candle, or Pineapple Fountain candle will bring our customers back to their favorite memories.
Let’s dig deeper into the story – has it been an easy path, and if not, what challenges have you overcome?
There have been many bumps in the road and a lot of learning how to run a business. We’ve been lucky to have a great community in Charleston of fellow entrepreneurs who have helped guide and support us. Scaling a business, especially in rapid growth years, is challenging. Still, we’ve been fortunate to be surrounded by amazing people and employees who have helped us navigate trying times.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
It was essential to us that we were creating cleaner and higher-quality candles for our customers (and ourselves!). We use soy wax grown in the U.S. and scents that don’t contain harmful phthalates, toxins, or mutagens. Our wicks are just cotton and paper, so they don’t contain lead or zinc. The customers who have continued shopping with us for years have all told us they buy our candles because they aren’t overpowering or cause headaches. Even customers with allergies or aversions to most scents have mentioned that they enjoy our candles because of the lighter fragrances we choose. We aim to celebrate the Lowcountry with our products, but we also want to create better products for our customers.
Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the COVID-19 crisis?
Right after 2020, the supply chain shortage impacted us. There was a time when we couldn’t even source our candle vessels because of the glass shortage. We were thankful that most customers were highly understanding as most small businesses struggled to stay afloat. While it was difficult, there was a huge shift to shopping with small businesses in the Charleston community, which was incredible.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://charlestoncandleco.com/
- Instagram: instagram.com/charlestoncandleco
- Facebook: facebook.com/charlestoncandleco
Image Credits
Julie Livingston Photography, Hannah Alyssa Photography
