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

Alright, Cari thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?

I came up with Lilac Flame Co. in honor of my mom. She loved all things candles, and her favorite flower was the lilac. Also, her name was Delilah (which I have also passed on to my daughter) and it sort of incorporates her nickname “Lilah” in it as well. I lost my mom in 2007, but I know she would be my absolute biggest fan and supporter.

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

I am a single mom of two teenagers, and a very needy (some may say spoiled) deaf Dalmatian dog. I am also a first-generation college student seeking my bachelor’s degree in Psychology with a concentration in addiction. Upon graduation, I would like to work in the addiction community and help families and those that are struggling. Until the end of November, I was a store manager at a small local retail store, where I worked for 8 years helping to grow the business.

I started Lilac Flame Co. as a small, secondary stream of income. Post Covid, I feel that the boutique business model had really exploded. My most recent employer expanded and added a boutique to the retail space that I managed, and they only stocked items from local makers. So, I joined the bandwagon and started my business by making these gorgeous and fragrant, all-natural fire starters. These are made with soy wax, essential oils, all natural dried goods (such as twigs, moss, dried herbs and dried fruit, etc.), and packaged in dye free boxes, stuffed with dye free shredded paper. Not only are the fire starters beautiful and fragrant, they will effectively start a fire in your wood burning outdoor fireplace or fire pit. It is not recommended to burn these in indoor fireplaces, due to the amount of dried goods that will cause smoke. Also, the entire package is safe to burn, other than the plastic window inside of the box. Simply remove that and burn the rest. Once these started to take off, my 14 year old daughter recommended I start making candles too, so I did!

I first began the candle line with my bourbon candles in three fragrances. Those were peach bourbon, bourbon butterscotch, and Old Fashioned. The idea was to target the male audience, since most candles are really geared toward women. With the popularity of whiskey and bourbon, this was a no brainer. Included with each bourbon candle is a glass vial of safety wood matches with a striker on the bottom, and each box has a drink recipe on the back. Once I saw the potential in the candles, I released a summer line of other drink scented candles as well. Those were pina colada, pink lemonade, and sweet Georgia Peach Tea. They were popular immediately, so I also added wax melts. The last thing I expected was for it to take off as fast as it did. Within 6 months, I found my products in six local retail locations.

When fall started inching closer, I decided on three fall scents that I felt would do well, and by winter I had decided to do eight scents to reach a wider audience. This proved to be a great idea, as I sold more candles than I could keep up with!

The thing that I am most proud of, is how I have been able to somehow balance work, school, doing the mom thing, and running my business. I have always pushed myself to show my kids the value of hard work, and despite being in my mid 40’s, that it’s never too late to pursue a dream. My ultimate goal is to work for myself. As I enter the second half of my life, I have decided that doing things that bring me joy are what will make my life complete. Oddly enough, making candles brings me so much joy, and meeting other makers while working with other retail spaces has been icing on the cake. I have made countless friends while doing this, and that makes it all worth it!

We’d really appreciate if you could talk to us about how you figured out the manufacturing process.

I hand pour every fire starter, candle, and wax melt myself. When I first started, I only did the fire starters. I got my inspiration from a similar maker on Pinterest, and it took off from there. I was already a big fan of essential oils, so the fragrance part was easy. Sourcing clean, natural burnable items took a little bit of research. Using things I find in nature myself is one way I control what goes into the fire starters. For the products that I have to source, I make sure they are all chemical free, or food grade (dried fruits) to ensure safety upon burning. Not contributing to pollution is important to me, and having an all natural product will help the cause.

For my candles, I make sure that I use phthalate free fragrance oil, and soy wax. When I first began making candles, I was really just winging it, until I found some candle making groups on Facebook where I learned the importance of testing. Testing consists of making sure you use the right wick for your vessel, understanding what “hot throw” and “cold throw” means, and how to adjust when one isn’t great. Fragrance load is also important in having a quality candle product. Lots of time has been spent watching You-Tube videos, and reading up on these topics has been vitally important to my understanding of candle making. As my business continues to grow I plan to branch out and get more creative by the styles of candles I make to reach different audiences.

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

Building my business on social media has been exciting, scary, and surprising. Learning the ins and outs of social media isn’t something that happens overnight, and while I consider my young business to be successful for it’s age, I do feel that I need to grow more by mastering the art of authentically growing my Instagram and Facebook followers.

I have learned that consistency and creativity is key to social media growth and success. Networking is also a great way to get your name out there. Utilizing the Meta Business Suite to watch tutorials and schedule posts can make or break your social media exposure. Sometimes life gets in the way, and you can easily forget to post during down times. Utilizing that scheduling feature can really keep you from losing momentum on your Facebook and Instagram pages.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.lilacflameco.com
• Instagram: @lilac_flame_co
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100087410824087&mibextid=LQQJ4d