We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Erin Berger a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Erin, thanks for joining us today. Are you happier as a business owner? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job?
I am SO happy being a business owner! There is so much freedom. I get to work the way I want to work in terms of when I work and how I work. It has been extremely beneficial to both my mental and physical health as well as my overall happiness. But…. there are times when I almost romanticize working a regular 9-5. I think about how nice it was to walk out the door and leave those work responsibilities behind me. If there ever was a problem I couldn’t handle, I had a boss to go to. When you own your own business, it’s hard to completely turn off that part of the brain. [Sorry to the people that receive emails or order notifications from me at midnight!] And if something goes horribly wrong, there’s no boss to run to. You’re the boss! It can be terrifying and overwhelming. Especially, if your business is going though a rough patch. Because if you fail, it’s no ones fault but your own. But everyone fails at some point and that’s okay. It’s how we grow and learn. I just have to remind myself of all the positives. I left my 9-5 for a reason; I wasn’t happy. In fact, most days I’m thinking the opposite, “omg what if this all comes crashing down and I have to find a regular job.” Cue anxiety, panic, and me throwing everything I have at making this business work.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Bookend Candle Co. is a home fragrance business offering soy wax candles, wax melts, diffusers, and candle accessories. It started with just candles and is slowly expanding to include other home and body products. Bookend’s motto is “ethically made and realistically scented.”
Ethically Made – This is at the center of how I operate my business and what goes into my products. Ethically made means I consider my impact on people, animals, the environment, and my business’s sustainability. This means I buy as locally as possible so I can support other local businesses and limit the need for shipping. I limit my use of plastics in terms of shipping, production, and the products themselves. None of my products will come with unnecessary packaging. I do my due diligence on my vendors; their values cannot be in direct conflict with mine. For example, I nor any of my direct vendors test on animals. I am careful about the ingredients I choose to use in my products. The soy wax I use is grown and produced in the US. I specifically avoid using any soy wax produced in a way that leads to deforestation. The fragrance oils I use are phthalate-free and require no prop 65 warning. I know this because I check the SDSs for every fragrance oil I use.
Realistically Scented – I don’t want my scents just to have a cool name and smell pretty. My goal is for them to mimic real life as much as possible. It is said that our sense of smell is more closely linked to memory than any other sense. This is why I try so hard for accuracy. I want to spark that emotional response. Rare Book Room is reminiscent of an old school library filled with dusty leatherbound books on built-in bookcases lining the walls from floor to ceiling. Kitchen Garden takes me to my backyard vegetable/herb garden. Digging around for that perfectly sun-ripened tomato, plucking a handful of fresh basil leaves, and cutting a sprig of rosemary to make dinner with. That scent lingers on your hands after a good summer harvest. I want my scents to bring about a reaction and feel like an experience.
The Bookend brand is me. My candle studio is in my basement, so my work life and personal life are intertwined. If you follow me on social media, you will likely be on a first-name basis with all my pets and get an in-depth glimpse into my home reno projects.
We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.
Candle making went from hobby to part time to full time for me. When I first started transitioning my hobby into a business, it was a creative outlet and distraction. I was unhappy with my job (customer service is a terrible fit for my personality). So, I eventually started an Etsy page. It was not an overnight hit, but sales trickled in, and I received interest from local stores (to my complete and utter shock). Growth was slow but steady. After a couple years, I created my own website as a secondary platform to sell from and the following year joined Faire (a wholesale platform). Having this side gig allowed me to reevaluate my career. Working in customer service was slowly crushing my soul. With selling candles, I could take a part-time job doing something I cared about and enjoyed, and actually use my Masters degree in Historic Preservation. I straddled both my part-time job and my business for about three years when I decided to dive into doing Bookend full-time. It felt like a huge risk and was a very scary step for me. 1.5 years in, it’s still scary, if I’m being honest. But I love what I do and the life this business allows. “Business Owner” is also the longest position I’ve ever held, which is telling.
Can you talk to us about manufacturing? How’d you figure it all out? We’d love to hear the story.
I’m a self taught candle maker and pour all my candles at my home candle studio in my basement. Candle making started as a hobby for me. It was something I’d do once or twice a year. Gather a bunch of mason jars or old store-bought candle containers and make a few for myself (quality and consistency was of no concern then). Fast forward many years, I became more interested in scent blends I couldn’t find being sold anywhere. They’d be inspired by a scene in a book or a specific location. I threw myself into finding the right jars, labels, and core scents. I learned through trial and error and deep dives on candle making forums. Google was my best friend. I always started with a google search. I’d then research everything from where I could find my jars at the best price to what wick pairs best with a certain sized diameter candle vessel. After research would come testing, over and over. I’d test wax, oils, wicks, containers, methods for quality, methods for consistency. Even then, I still thought, “no one is actually going to buy something I made.” But lucky for me I was VERY wrong in thinking that.
Contact Info:
- Website: bookendcandleco.com
- Instagram: @bookendcandleco
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bookendcandleco
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erin-berger-687962156
- Twitter: @bookendcandleco
Image Credits
Erin Berger/Bookend Candle Co.