Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashley Gertken and Shelby Henle.
Hi Ashley and Shelby, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
We both love candles and had talked for some time about starting our own candle company but never in a very serious manner. It was more of a dream. One day, we attended a bouquet-making class with Liz at Sunny Mary Meadow Flower Farm in St. Joseph where she talked about doing things that you’re passionate about, she said something along the lines of, “I think everyone should have multiple part-time jobs that they love doing”. That night, Ashley went home and she talked to her husband. He ended up buying us our first large-scale wax melter to push us to get started making candles! We decided to take the jump and outgrew that melter in just a few short weeks. Our goal has always been to make soy candles with the best quality ingredients that bring coziness into the homes of our customers.
After testing our product and finalizing our brand image, we were thrilled with the support from our community and local small businesses after our first market where we were able to sell, and showcase our candles in the fall of 2021. Now, going into our second year of making candles, we are so excited for the future! One thing that we both love is trying out new, fun vessels for our candles! We have been doing a lot of testing with new candle vessels and products that were excited to add to our candle lineup within the next year!
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
We have had a pretty smooth road and have been amazed by, and grateful for the feedback and support from our families, customers, and other local businesses. Like any business though, there have been some road bumps that we have had to navigate. The biggest one has definitely been time, and finding the time to grow our business while also growing our families. Our most exciting struggle has been making space for production increase! When we started making candles, we poured our candles right at the kitchen table. After about a month of being in business, we needed more production space so we turned Ashley’s shed into our candle-making area and have really been making that space our own.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Ashley – was a teacher, and now is a stay-at-home momma with her three kiddos! Her skills from teaching help her communicate with and educate our customers. Ashley has really been the heart behind creating the right mixes and blends for our candles, between sizes, fragrance load, etc. There is so much that goes into making the perfect candle. She is so good at troubleshooting issues, and thinking creatively for our future all at the same time!
Shelby – I have been working as a broadcast marketing consultant and I am starting a new role as a digital marketing specialist. Working in this field has really helped us on the marketing side of things, as I manage our social media channels and other marketing aspects.
Each of our unique backgrounds and strengths has really blended together to help our candle business run successfully. We both think alike in many aspects of our businesses, but we both do tend to have different scent pallets, which we think, have helped us carry a variety of scents that all customers enjoy!
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
We would have to say teamwork has been the most important aspect to our success. We both have very full and busy lives outside of our candle business, so being able to count on each other has been huge. Our lives have also had big changes since we started our business. Ashley welcomed her third child this spring and Shelby got married last September, and is expecting her first child in November. Almost the entire time we have been in business, one of us has been pregnant so we have really counted on each other during the toughest parts of our pregnancies. Pouring candles with morning sickness (all-day sickness) is tough! We are really able to lean on and rely on each other, to work together as a team to give our customers the best products.
Pricing:
- 11oz Soy Candles – $20
- 17oz Soy Candles -$30
- 24oz Soy Candles – $40
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.townlinecandle.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/town.lineco/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Townlineco
Image Credits
Townline Candle Co
