Today we’d like to introduce you to Radek Dockal.
Hi Radek, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
First, I started experimenting with candle making as a hobby during the pandemic in 2020. I love burning candles, but I was also very cautious about what I was burning in my home. I got the idea to make my very own natural soy candles and reuse some of the empty jars I had laying around the house. I purchased a candle-making kit and got to work. After I made the first few candles for my use, I fell in love with the process. I love taking raw materials and transforming them and creating something completely brand new.
After I successfully created a few of my candles, I got an idea: “What if I share my passion with others and start a candle company?” That night I stayed up all night just brainstorming ideas, researching suppliers, reading articles about candle making, researching how to start a company, etc. After about 6 months of researching the topic of candle making, experimenting, testing different sizes of wicks and jars, and educating myself, I finally created a candle that I felt confident the customers would be happy with, and ScentWick Candles was born.
During the years 2020 and 2021, I worked my full-time job as an assistant manager of a grocery store, ran my slowly growing business, and went to school full-time. I had a lot on my plate. I was being pulled in a million directions and I felt I couldn’t give 100% to either of those things. In July 2021, I decided it was time to quit my regular job and focus on growing my business and finishing my degree.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
One of the obstacles or challenges I have experienced was the actual process of candle making. I chose to work with natural 100% soy wax, which can be quite difficult to work with. The hardest part was mastering the candle-making process. Melting the wax to a certain temperature, adding the fragrance oil at a certain temperature, pouring the wax into the jars at a certain temperature, and room temperature that affects the rate at the wax cools down and hardens, are all factors that determine if the candle turns out good and how well it performs.
Getting all these factors and variables just right was the most challenging part. I still face these challenges from time to time. Every time I decide to change the formula, add a new candle vessel, or introduce a new product- the trial and error start all over.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Our mission at ScentWick Candles is to create natural, eco-friendly, sustainable, safe, non-toxic, soy candles. All of our products are handmade in small batches. We offer a wide variety of scents, sizes, and products. What sets us apart from other candle companies is that our candles are 100% soy wax and vegan. A lot of candle companies work with paraffin-soy blends or beeswax. Another thing that sets us aparisre the fragrance oils we use.
They are sourced from industry-leading suppliers that use the s highest standards for their fragrance oils and the oils we use don’t contain any parabens or phthalates and are Prop 65 compliant. The thing I am most proud of is how far ScentWick Candles has made it in a short two years. What makes me so happy is to see our customers during fairs, markets, and craft shows recognizing our brand and coming back.
Another thing I am proud of is that our customers can find ScentWick Candles in six craft and home decor stores around Northwest Ohio and even in Michigan. At ScentWick Candles, we also offer custom-made candles. These are perfect for weddings, bridal parties, birthdays, corporate events, and so much more. We also offer wholesale discounts for those looking to buy larger quantities. Lastly, we also offer a private label option for other businesses that would like to put their branding on our candles.
So maybe we end by discussing what matters most to you and why?
What matters the most to me is to keep doing what I’m doing and keep making natural, clean burning candles to share with the rest of the world, or at least Northwest Ohio.
Pricing:
- We offer discounts for wholesale orders.
- We offer free shipping on orders over $50.
- Prices range from $5.99 to $19.99
- We offer several sales and discounts throughout the year
- Customers can join the loyalty rewards program on our website and collect points for every dollar they spend. Points can be redeemed for discounts at any time.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.scentwickcandles.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/scent.wick.candles/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ScentWickCandles
