Owensboro woman finds quick success in candle making business

November 12, 2019 | 3:15 am

Updated November 11, 2019 | 10:12 pm

Jill Carrico says she has found quick success with her candle company, Be the Light, and plans to expand lines and offer candle making events in the future. | Photo by AP Imagery

When Jill Carrico visited her sister in California three weeks ago, she never could have guessed she would return to Owensboro a launch her own small business.

During her visit, her sister introduced her to making candles, something that turned out to be so enjoyable, Carrico purchased her own supplies for candle making before leaving town.

“I can remember thinking how fun it was, and even relaxing,” Carrico said. “The candle making kit arrived at my house before I did.”

Once home, Carrico got to work experimenting with her new found passion, creating various scents, colors and writing names for each one. One of her daughters made her a spreadsheet and her son started to help promote these candles. Her niece, Jackie Smith, who is experienced in running her own line of handmade jewelry, helped her design the labels.

The only thing missing in all the excitement was a name for her candle company.

“At first I was thinking ‘Let Your Light Shine’ and after talking to my niece Jackie she suggested ‘Be the Light,’” Carrico said. “It’s named for Matthew 5:16.”

Each candle is made from 100 percent coconut wax, which Carrico said is pure and is a good wax that burns for a long time.

After selling nearly 50 candles relatively quickly, Carrico decided to go all in, recently purchasing 52 pounds of coconut wax to be able to fill more orders. Fragrances include Pumpkin Pie, Bonfire and Booze, Mahogany Teakwood, Hello Beautiful, A Walk in the Woods, Snickerdoodle, Cinnamon Buns, Autumn Leaves, Jamaican Me Happy and more to come.

Photo by AP Imagery

While Carrico is just getting started, she’s excited to see where this new adventure will take her. She has plans to offer date nights where couples may enjoy wine while candle making and may start to sell her unique candles in local small businesses or boutiques. Carrico is toying with the idea of offering a line of candles with witty or funny names as their title.

“I’ve been so excited that I can’t sleep,” Carrico said. “Sometimes I wake up at 4:30 in the morning and start researching more ideas such as colors, fragrances or even the best type of wick to use.”

Carrico’s four children have been very supportive. One of her daughters brought some candles to work recently and sold ten in one day. As her business takes off , she can’t forget the reason behind her logo.

“The four leaves on the flower represent my parents and another couple who we lost in an accident 40 years ago,” she said. “They were the light of the community and it went very dim when we lost them. Somehow, someway all of the offspring of these two amazing couples are beacons of light.”

For more information on Be the Light Candle Co., visit their page on Facebook.

November 12, 2019 | 3:15 am

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