We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Hannah Knutson Adriana Ernst a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Hannah Knutson , thanks for joining us today. What do you think Corporate America gets wrong in your industry? Any stories or anecdotes that illustrate why this matters?
As a small candle business, in our industry we see quite a bit of negligence when it comes to testing candle safety and effectiveness within the Corporate America world. As well as the quality of their ingredients they use. They tend to pick quantity over quality because they are able to get away with it and still see much success. Over the past few years we have seen America become more health conscious and community focused. What we feel Corporate America gets wrong is they have not shifted with the demand of our consumers as they start to seek out higher quality candles that are safe to use for them and their families. A current example in our industry would be Targets brand, Threshold, had to recall 5 million of their candles due to the jars cracking or breaking and causing burns and lacerations to their users. To us, that is quite wild to think about not testing the candle containers enough to realize they essentially explode due to just using the product as it is intended or knowing of the problem and selling the product anyways. On top of that, they choose to a cheap and harmful wax that pollutes the air quality in ones home by adding unnecessary carcinogens that they breathe in. It also does not burn nearly as long as the higher quality wax choices. Altogether, consumers are looking for a better candle experience and we hope we can continue to only put forward a quality product that they deserve. We will continue to extensively test the safety and performance of our candles as well as continue to use only the best ingredients. Essentially, Lakehouse Candle Co. as a company will always put the customer first and we feel that is something Corporate America may never be able to do right.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My business partner and I met at the University of Minnesota Duluth. A few years after we graduated, we worked together at the same company and were both laid off during COVID. Struggling to find work, we decided to try and start a lake inspired candle business together. Being that we both had deep admiration for the land of 10,000 lakes, it was easy for us to put together a brand that honored the lakes and land in a way that people could relate to. We launched Lakehouse Candle Co. in November of 2020 and have been doing it full time ever since! Lakehouse Candle Co. specializes in 100% soy wax, crackling wooden wick candles that call for a long, clean burn. Our main collection consists of candles named and inspired from some of the most popular lakes through out Minnesota! With Lake Superior and Boundary Waters being our best sellers. We also have a Seasonal Collection that rotates throughout the year with names that are inspired by the beautiful four seasons we experience, as well as the land itself. Custom candles are also available and have become very popular for people to gift or place in their home to honor a lake or area that is special to them.
Lakehouse Candle Co. is very proud that our candles go beyond just their intended use. Our candles offer a more personal and sentimental experience for our customers than the average candle — making for a great addition in anyones home or the perfect gift for loved ones.
We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.
The story of Adriana and Hannah begins at the University of Minnesota Duluth where the two found themselves as roommates from start to finish. During their years in Duluth, Adriana found a passion and talent for photography. Getting most of her inspiration through exploring the land of the Northern Shores of Lake Superior. Hannah, graduating with a graphic design & marketing degree at the end of her time there, always knew the two would find a way to use their talents as a team. After a few years after graduation, the stars aligned with a beautiful opportunity to put our skills together to create our very own company. We have been fortunate to be able to continue to run Lakehouse Candle Co. together full time since we launched in November 2020 and we wouldn’t want it any other way!
Can you talk to us about manufacturing? How’d you figure it all out? We’d love to hear the story.
We manufacture our candles as well as distribute them. Most of our time as a company is spent with the labor that comes along with our product. We did not have any knowledge of making candles before deciding to create our own candle company. So as you can imagine, we spent many months doing research and development to create a great product that could stand against its competition. I would say we spent about 5-6 months of learning/testing while simultaneously creating our brand. We started out of our kitchens and quickly after launching had to find a new space to pour, as our kitchens were not efficient nor nearly enough space to purchase materials in bulk. We have learned so many things over the years but I would say the biggest lesson we have learned was the importance on finding new ways to cut down our time spent on labor. Cutting down on our time spent on creating our product was so crucial to our growth as a company and allowed us to spend more time on making more money and finding more clients. As the years have gone on, we have improve our production even further by continuing to do research as well as being open to trying new machines or new systems. We also have found help by fellow candle makers who are able to give really great advice or tips on how to continue to optimize our time spent with our manufacturing. Candle making is an extensive process but we are so proud of how we have been able to improve our time spent making them without compromising the quality of our products.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.thelakehousecandleco.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/thelakehousecandleco?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lakehousecandleco?mibextid=LQQJ4d