The Story of Wax & Wick
At the end of February in 2015 Kevin posted to social media, "Does anyone out there know how to import from overseas?" Joe responded via private message, "I do, let's figure it out." A business relationship was formed that easily. We went back and forth through all of March trying to find a viable product to import - nothing was worthwhile.
We had been friends from high school - some time around 2002 or 2003. Casual drinking buddies, we never really thought about getting into business together. Once the opportunity struck they decided it was the right move to make.
Wax & Wick was started out of the necessity to find a well-made 100% soy candle. Not some soy blend or a paraffin, easy-to-make candle. We wanted to challenge the averages of candlemaking as we aren't average people. What began as an 'import from China' business quickly turned into sourcing soy candles made in the USA. We found a small company in Minnesota that was willing to work with us and we ordered samples.
For the next week we were excited to see how we could take a product, private label it with our branding, and sell something great. While we waited for samples we worked on creating a name and logo for ourselves.
Here is the first iteration:
We had the name but didn't have the style. What a piece of trash, yeah? On to the next try:
Clearly, we are not artists. After this debacle we set out to find the perfect logo. It took much longer than one week but we finally received the current logo we use for all of our branding:
Back to the candles!
The samples were not so great. Sinkholes, glass adhesion issues, no scent throw, and definitely not something we were willing to put our name on. As soon as we received the samples we made the decision to pour our own candles and set about learning how to do so. The process looked fairly simple - melt wax, add fragrance, and pour into a jar.
The process was not that simple. Sure we could pour candles, anyone can - the problem with soy wax is perfecting the process to create perfect soy candles. Now we were on a mission.
We bought up every jar we could find, 50 pounds of 100% soy wax, and enough wood wicks as our starting point. This is the true beginning of Wax & Wick as you see the brand today. From April through November we tested multiple different techniques to achieve perfect candles. These trials were difficult and trying out so many different combinations exhausted our financial and physical resources. We finally nailed the final product you receive when you make a secure purchase on our website.
December 2015 brought our third partner, Garrett, on board. He is a perfect addition and is a driving force behind Wax & Wick. You will continue to see our brand in more places as we focus on bringing the candles to every corner of the Earth in 2016.
When you buy a Wax & Wick candle, you're buying an American made and American sourced product. Our raw materials come from American farmers, American glass blowers, American metalworkers, American sustainable forests, and best of all American people. We love our craft and really enjoy sharing what we've created with our loyal customers. Shop local and keep local businesses thriving.