Today we’d like to introduce you to Kelly Holland.
Thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, how did you get started?
Dane Good was founded in early 2022 to bring our customers high-quality, carefully crafted, handmade goods. Initially, we offered just candles + soaps but quickly expanded our catalog to include various fragrances, custom-engraved gifts, pet accessories + more! We donate a portion of all sales to a pet rescue organization; our first donation recipient was Pet Helpers in Charleston, SC, where I adopted my first Great Dane, Caesar. ‘Ceez’ passed away last year, but he will forever be a part of Dane Good. I adopted Lady from Texas in November of 2022 + she is now my hard-working/napping assistant 🙂 In early 2023, we partnered with Karin, owner of The Black Door Co., who laser engraves our custom candles, memorial candles, notebooks, wood signs, and drinkware! We now are able to offer personalized products and gifts, which has really taken it to the next level. 🙂
It wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Launching any business is bound to be a roller coaster, but many obstacles I’ve met have led to greater things. The biggest obstacle for me, as a one-woman-show business, is strategizing time; how much time should I spend building my website/engaging on social media/strategizing sales/promoting locally, etc., while still designing + handcrafting my products? This is an obstacle that all business owners will forever face, but I’m learning a lot as I go!
I appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
We’re not just a candle website! We’ve designed + created products that are mega-customized but also reusable or repurpose-able. The Signature Candle is a refillable candle with an engraved wood lid that can be repurposed as a coaster. If you want to buy a fresh candle, you can repurpose your Signature Jar rather than refilling your empty vessel (I have instructions with a video on my website + IG!). I’ve done loads of research + product testing to find ingredients that are clean-burning + non-toxic, which is how I landed on our coconut-apricot creme wax. We also use fragrances free of mutagens, reproductive toxins, organ toxins, acute toxins, + carcinogens. As mentioned, I met Karin, who founded her laser-engraving business, ‘ The Black Door Co.,’ in early 2023. As a team, we’re now able to offer such various custom engraved products! Whether it’s putting your furbaby on a keychain or your business logo on a notebook, Karin turns everyday items into usable works of art 🖤 Being able to offer our customers personalized products that are personalized and made-to-order has added a whole new level to Dane Good; we’ve got something for everyone! For local CT peeps, I also offer candle, soap, and bath bomb workshops; they’re an absolute blast! My most popular class is the dough bowl candle workshop, where we make the candles and decorate them with various different toppings. I love meeting new members of the community this way and seeing the different masterpieces everyone comes up with!
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
I loved living in Charleston; everyone is unbelievably encouraging, and people appreciate the importance of supporting small businesses. I recently drove down with Lady and did a couple of pop-ups, and the support/excitement for my products was overwhelming! Charleston is such a fantastic community because they build one another up and promote other small businesses, so it’s a great city for launching a business.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.danegood.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danegoodllc/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shopdanegood
Image Credits
Stellicopter Photography
