How Africandle became a business

One day scrolling through Pinterest I discovered something that would change my life. Concrete! I was obsessed with the industrial look and feel of all the furniture being made. All I knew is that I wanted to make something out of concrete. I started researching how to build these beautiful tables and even wanted to build my sisters patio table out of concrete. Thankfully, for my sister, that idea never worked, and I was side-tracked by candles and concrete. Bringing the two together to create one inclusive piece of art was something that had not yet been discovered. A candle holder as well as a beautiful candle was to become a reality!

A trip to the building store, my mom's kitchen and a tonne of mess later I had my first "candle". Made from concrete, string (terrible wick choice please don't make the same mistake I did) and wax, bought from the hobby store. From that day on my mom's garage would never be the same again. Her brand-new car would have to wait a year and a half to see the inside of her garage. Through trial, error and a year later I had the final design of what was to become an Africandle.

Growing steadily, Africandle has now become an international business. Shipping to other African countries as well as New York. It hasn't been easy at all. In fact, there were times where I wanted quit and never see another candle again. Thankfully with the support of my family I persevered and started to put more effort into candle making. I moved out of my mom's garage and into my dad's garage which we converted into a workshop. Here I could refine the process and truly focus on the quality of the candles. I was able to increase production, enabling me to get the candles to you, the customer, faster.

That brings us to today. Where, sitting in lockdown, I am able to further my knowledge of all thing’s candles, business, websites and photography. Starting a candle business has taught me a few lessons and my knowledge of everything that goes into and surrounds a business has grown immensely. Candles are only one part that the end user sees. Beneath the warm, rich glow of a candle there are tears and hardships that go into opening a business producing a beautiful artwork. So, I hope that you all enjoy what I have grown into Africandle, and every day that you burn your candle you receive light into your life.