We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Amber Harmann a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Amber, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

Actually, YouTube was a great first step in helping me learn candle-making! When I first had the idea to start my own little business I started searching everything from DIY videos, tips on growing a small business, videos on how taxes work as a small business owner, anything and everything I could think of I would need to know! My second step was getting involved in groups on social media for others learning the craft! Networking is an amazing way to help you learn and find inspiration! Chandlers really have their own little community where we just love to support eachother and watch eachother grow and it is amazing! Aside from that it really was about just taking the leap! Diving in and starting to create! A LOT OF TESTING. Testing different wax, wicks, dyes, fragrances, jars, pour temperatures and the list goes on. Trial and error to see what really works for you! When it comes to candle making, speeding up the process is difficult because it requires so much testing to get the recipe just right but I would definitely say doing as much research as possible before hand helped a ton!
Being a single momma is definitely the hardest with trying to learn something new! My mini was just a few months old and still colic when I started so I really had to learn in what time I had around caring for her needs (and my own). So, I guess finding the time in between life. Time is always an obstacle!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My little business, Sweet Cheek’s Candles is about bringing some fun and unique candles and wax melts to your home that still smell amazing! From cake candles, sundae candles and even scoopable sundae wax melts! I even have a men’s line that has done really well! I aim to bring unique scents you don’t see in other stores that really help set my fragrances apart from others! Not only do they look yummy but they smell just as delicious! After having my daughter in May of 2020 I knew I needed to figure out some kind of a ‘hustle’ for cash and really build something long term for us! Being an almost decade long bartender and currently 3 years sober I knew I needed to stay out of the industry for my mini. Being a mixologist for so long I felt like gave me a leg up on candle making, I already knew how to mix tastes so I figured I could mix some awesome scents for your sniffers to devour too!
Within my first year of being open my little business has made its way into 27 states and growing every day! I am over-whelmed with the amount of support I have been shown from the community and can’t wait to see what this next year brings for Sweet Cheek’s Candles!

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

Always support small when you can! Look for locally owned businesses to support. Tell your friends about the awesome handmade candles you just tried or that insanely beautiful painting you found by a local artist. Word of mouth really goes a LONG WAY.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

I think a lot of people don’t understand how much time and energy goes into doing what we do. I have actually been called lazy for being a small business owner and working for myself which is CRAZY to me because this is literally one of the hardest things I’ve ever done! The late nights and early mornings spent learning, HOURS AND HOURS of creating and filling orders, maintaining social media, creating content, etc. It’s exhausting but we love what we do so it’s worth it. If you think that handmade items are too pricey just consider the TIME that really goes into running a business by yourself and I guarantee you the ingredients are probably way better quality and well worth it in the long run!

Contact Info:

• Website: Etsy.com/shop/SweetcheekscandleUS
• Instagram: Instagram.com/sweetcheekscandles
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/sweetcheekscandlesllc/