Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Amy. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Amy thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. To kick things off, we’d love to hear about things you or your brand do that diverge from the industry standard

We offer a line of hand poured 100% soy wax candles. We only use high end clean phthalate free fragrance oils, natural wooden wicks and we never add any dyes. Our candles are toxin free, pollutant free and paraffin free. This makes them safe for you, your home, your family and your pets.
Pure soy wax is harder to work with, takes more effort and the tops don’t turn out perfect which is a trait of pure soy.
Paraffin candles are the equivalent of sitting in a room with a diesel engine running, they cause breathing issues, skin issues, reproductive issues etc. You cannot go into a big box store and find a safe paraffin free candle. Paraffin candles are the easiest to make and can be sold for cheap.
We are proud of the fact that we take the extra necessary steps to create a product that is truly 100% soy wax so you can rest easy knowing that our products are safe!

Amy , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Amy Monak from The Old Rusty Coop, I am a small business maker. All of our products are handmade by me.
We offer a line of 100% soy wax wooden wick candles, they are toxin free, pollutant free, and paraffin free. We use high end clean phthalate free fragrance oils in our candles and our line of room sprays.
We make one of a kind distressed by hand flannels, crew necks and denim jackets.
I enjoy hand crafting home decor items out of wood, old barn wood or from up-cycled finds.
I take my products to shows and markets throughout Ohio and I have them on my website as well. It is so important to me that I am the face that you see when you come into my booth at a show. I very much enjoy meeting new people and talking about my products or answering questions. I love when they take the time to smell the candles or try on a super soft one of kind flannel!
We got started making the pure soy wax candles when I decided to quit my full time job in 2018 to pursue the business full time. Since I was spending my days working from home, I wanted our home to smell amazing but my animals to be safe. I quickly realized safe candles were hard to find! We tested for a very long time and created this line of safe paraffin free candles in 2019. It makes me very proud when I get messages from customers telling me they can finally have their home smelling good because our products don’t bother their allergies. Or how happy that they know their animals are safe. I have customers who buy our candles for their pregnant mama friends because they know they are safe and they deserve to be pampered.
I started distressing flannels in 2019 because I love the way that each one turns out so soft and unique. No two are alike. To me comfort means soft and I want your distressed apparel to feel lived in!

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

Advice I was always given was to show your face! People want to see the face behind the business and know they can trust you. It was hard to do at first but I got more comfortable the more I did it. I try to always show up on social media. I post stories every day and talk to my followers. I give updates and always tell where to find me in person.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

It has always been very important to me to be very professional and reliable! If I have signed up for a market I see that as I have to work and I’m going to show up for work. No matter what the weather looks like or how I feel. I always smile and greet customers, introduce myself and answer any questions they may have. People never forget the way someone makes them feel and I am super appreciative to anyone who takes the time to stop in my booth, send a message or say hello.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://theoldrustycoop.com
• Instagram: @theoldrustycoop https://www.instagram.com/theoldrustycoop?igsh=MWtqd2F0c3QxZHVzdw%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
• Facebook: The Old Rusty Coop LLC https://facebook.com/theoldrustycoop