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

Danielle, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

In the late summer of 2018 our daughter Rian was born. From the moment she came into this world my husband called her his ‘little norwegian’, the light of our lives. I am of Norwegian descent from my fathers side and my husband FG has always loved everything about Norway , the heritage, culture and country.

Fast forward to late fall of 2018 and our world came crashing down. Our daughter Rian first started having seizures at the early age of 3 months, and with that came multiple hospital stays and genetic testing. We found out late spring of 2019 that our daughter had a very rare epileptic genetic disorder called CDKL5 Deficiency disorder. From then until present day our lives became a not so typical life with a not so typical child. I had to leave my job as an art teacher, while my husband serves in the Army full time. Instead of teaching children about art, I was now thrown into a world where I began teaching the world about Rians rare disease. I became her advocate, her care taker, her nurse, her therapist all while still being her momma. I wanted the world to know more about CDKL5, My husband and I wanted people to understand the severity of this rare disease. As I stated earlier- Rian is THE LIGHT of our lives, and we wanted to share that light to everyone around us. When you meet this little girl she literally lights up the room with her smile , her laughs and her hugs.

Fast forward to late January of 2021, my husband and I were sitting down having dinner, discussing Rian and all of her inchstones, and all of the struggles and frustrations that CDKL5 has brought into our life. We wanted to start some sort of small business where we could spread awareness about Rian and her rare disease but also spread Rians light into their world. What you have to know is that even before Rian was born we were/ are big candle people. Always had candles burning no matter what season it was, we just always loved the feeling that a candle brings into a room- whether its the ambiance, the scent or just the feeling of warmth. So we decided what better way to represent our daughter than by a candle, and what better way to spread her light was by sending candles all over to people.
We felt like this was the most logical choice because who doesn’t like candles?! And we figured with every order we could make up little cards about CDKL5 to spread that awareness about her disorder. We also firmly believe that research matters, especially with CDKL5 Deficiency disorder because there are so many unknowns that spreading awareness would possibly help get people to donate to the International Foundation For CDKL5 Research. Every month we donate a portion of our sales to the IFCR in honor of our daughter and all of her CDKL5 brothers and sisters in hopes of finding a cure. We became very excited about this idea and put our heads together to figure out a name for our candle company. Immediately we both said simultaneously ‘lets call it ‘the little norwegian candle company’ and keep it all lower case letters because Rian will always be our baby Rian! It fit perfect and we couldn’t of been happier with our decision.
Because this is a family run business we decided to also get the title of a ‘service disabled veteran owned company’ because of my husband serving in the military. Our candle business is our life, our blood sweat and tears in hopes of raising awareness to everyone around us and spreading a little light of Rian to all we come across.

Danielle, 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?

Our business is based off of our daughter Rian because she is the light of our lives.. We wanted to start a business where we could spread awareness about her disorder. called CDKL5 deficiency disorder. She was diagnosed with this rare disease in the spring of 2019 when she was 8 months old. We feel that it is so necessary to spread awareness about this rare disease and the challenges of living a life with this rare disease because we want people and families to know that this affects the lives of many worldwide, and that it is necessary that we also advocate for equitable access to diagnosis, treatment and therapies, health and social care, and social opportunity. No person living with a rare disease should be left behind.

Prior to starting this company I was an art teacher and my husband is active duty Army. We LOVE candles, even before our daughter was born and what better way to represent our daughter than by a candle.
Our candles are made with 100% soy wax. We wanted to create candles that are clean burning, safe, non toxic, phthalate free, cruelty free, and made with natural ingredients, so that they could be burned in any home. Part of our company represents our norwegian heritage so we wanted to have a focus on Scandinavia culture. Norwegians are known to be compassionate and accommodating, they wouldn’t abandon anyone in need, and they’re often quite generous too. These traits are all brought into what our company is about.

What really sets us apart from all other companies is our mission , our main goal , which is to the spread that CDKL5 awareness about our daughter Rian , to educate our followers and all of our new and old customers about what this disorder is about because there may be a day where you might run into someone , or a family with a new child diagnosed with CDKL5.
Everything that we do with our company , we ;put our heart and soul into it, and we hope that shows when you meet us for the first time at a craft fair, or talking with my dad when he drops off delivery orders, chatting with my husband about his military career or just meeting Rian for the first time.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

The best source of new clients for us has been selling our candles at craft fair events or events that allow us to sell our candles.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

You can’t please everyone! Even though we try our best too, I have learned that sometimes some opportunities just won’t work out. You have to stick to your mission and your beliefs of what you want your company to represent .

Contact Info:

• Website: www.thelittlenorwegiancandleco.com
• Instagram: littlenorwegiancandleco
• Facebook: little norwegian candle co