We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Caroline Tate. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Caroline below.

Caroline, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

When I left my full time job to stay home with my kids, I thought it would be fun to pick up a new trade. I have always loved “home” and shaping environments that feel safe and comfortable. Candles fit right into this!

I started learning by watching a few videos and reading tutorials. I bought the minimum amount of supplies possible and just started trying it out in random containers I had around the house. Some candles failed and some worked great! I started giving them to family for fun and once I felt I had a decent product under my belt, decided to start selling them.

I don’t think there’s anything that would have benefited by me speeding up the learning process. In fact, if I could go back I’d slow it down! A lot of times I feel the need to speed through the unseen important work when that’s actually where the gold is. The best development is in the process!

Patience for the trial and error finding the proper wick size and oil ratios was/is a skill I still need. There is endless testing to be done there!

Caroline, 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 Caroline and I’m a stay at home mom to 4 young kiddos. I started making candles when I left my full time job to be at home with them. We make 100% soy non toxic container candles and teach in home candle making classes we lovingly refer to as “Pour Parties.”

Since starting our business, we’ve been able to add on two additional makers who also happen to be some of my very best friends, Erin Polley and Katherine Crowe. We all share a love for family and home.

Candles assist in setting the feel of an environment and we believe one of the most important environments is our home (and yours)! We want to be champions of home and see families flourish. In our current season of life, that looks like making and selling our candles and helping friends learn our craft in home parities. It’s a true joy to help someone foster hospitality in their home! In the future, we hope our candles tell even more of a story. We’d love to teach candle making to hardworking people in need of a job who are looking to create a better life for themselves and their loved ones.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

We’d love to be able to employ hardworking men and women who are looking for work in an effort to better their lives and homes. We desire for every future candle to have a story and be able to better our local communities through this craft. In our eyes, candles are a tool to help us champion homes and families.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

One lesson I’ve had to unlearn is that I am not what I do. I’m passionate about our goals as a business, but I cannot let them define me. There will be different seasons of life that cause us to make adjustments on how we practically are able to run our business. Sometimes I feel “behind” on the dream I had years ago. But if I define myself based on what I’m doing, or even what I thought things would look like by now, I miss out on the development I get to experience now. There is much to be learned by taking a step back when needed for the good of your health or family. It doesn’t mean you’ve failed or your dreams weren’t real. It just means you are not what you are capable of. Just do the next best thing.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.thehomebasecompany.com
• Instagram: @the_home_base

Image Credits
Christine Coker