Today we’d like to introduce you to Natalie Van Hee
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Started out of my home in 2014 – doing farmers markets and selling to friends with no intention of having a store or production facility. Business picked up in 2018 due to word of mouth. In 2019 we moved into a production space in Webster Groves. During covid we grew quite a bit – we got our website launched the week before things shut down and we became very busy with our online piece of the business. Over the last year people started to pop into our production facility to make purchases so we decided to expand and open a storefront our customers could enjoy. The expansion took about one year to finish the and we existed in the same space doing production while construction was happening. We opened our storefront last November and are really excited to be able to utilize our store during the full holiday season this year!
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
When we started – we were lucky. People were very excited about our company and product. While that was a good thing – we are a seasonal business and have to sink sizeable amounts of money into inventory to prepare for very busy seasons. At that time, we did not utilize any banking loans – I fronted my own money so figuring that out was difficult….when you are growing that quickly. Good problems, but problems none the less.
As we were growing I was pouring candles in my home for 4 years with a small child. I would pour 300 candles a day. I woke up at 5am to start before my daughter was awake to pour. Waited for them to dry then cleaned them up and put them away into huge stacks in my kitchen (they were too heavy to transport elsewhere). The process I just explained is done by 2 people over two days at the shop. It was HARD WORK.
Expansion – this was challenging. We had to figure out how to exist in the same space that heavy construction was happening in. Our staff is AMAZING and they did it all while keeping a great attitude.
Right now, we are trying to discover where we are headed as a business and how we will continue to grow. As a small business owner you are always thinking, looking for the next opportunity.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Our candles have a 70/hr + burn time and strong fragrance….that is a big reason we have so many returning customers. These candles last. Additonally we use eco-friendly soy wax and cotton wicks to keep the candles having a really natural element.
We put so much thought and testing into each new candle and scent we introduce.
Brand wise – we do a TON of original content on our socials and website. We have a heavy travel emphasis so anytime I am going somewhere the candles come with me for photo ops! We spend a lot of time on photography and generally speaking we are still amateurs so it is a lot of work but we are happy with the results.
We want customers to know we have a storefront available with extended hours we will introduce starting late september, that our candles have a 70 hour burn time and are each handmade by someone here at the shop in Webster Groves.
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
Begging my mom for all the candles at hotels we would stay at! I have been a lover of fragrance since I was young all inspired by travel experiences.
Pricing:
- $34
Contact Info:
- Website: https://glowcandleco.com
- Instagram: @glowcandleco
- Facebook: Glow Candle Co.
