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

Jamekia, appreciate you joining us today. Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?

Figuring out a name for this company was a process. I knew I wanted the name to FEEL cozy, because in my mind I’m already thinking “I want the name to be a household staple! I actually jotted down a few names. Krown’d Kandle Kompany. Excelsior Kandles. Kandle House Company. I consulted with my closest confidants, which are 2 of my cousins. The Kandle House Company came out the victor! It feels cozy, comfortable, & homey.

Jamekia, 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?

I am Jamekia Glenn. I have been a Certified Medical Assistant since working in Dermatology since 2009. During the pandemic, an opportunity came to me if starting a candle business so I did the necessary studying, researching, & testing to do that at the end of 2020. That company did not continue, so I made a decision to start a solo candle company in 2021 & been trying to keep this going ever since.

The products made by The Kandle House are ALL hand poured & made with 100% soy wax & fragrance oils with no toxins or phthalates, which are harmful chemicals. The candles contain natural wood wicks with a slight crackling effect. They sound very calming, similar to a wood burning fireplace. Right now, we currently make candles, wax melts, car diffusers, & room & linen sprays. I am always researching & looking for new things. There will be additions to the line coming very soon.

My biggest challenge honestly is competing with big name stores. They can offer items much cheaper or sales for maybe half off the products & as a one person team trying to put out actual SAFE products, I would sink doing that. So I just persist in letting people know my products are good & most importantly they are SAFER. Not necessarily cheaper. Sorry.

I am extremely proud of the products offered. These are items that I use myself & I have made sure are safe for children & pets, since I am a furMom as well. I love when I get return customers & they are happy with the products & refer more people to us. I absolutely love to see reviews and postings of our products! That part just makes my heart smile. We want to continue to make customers happy by giving them great smelling AND safe products.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

This is a funny thing & I do NOT recommend this to anyone! I started my business out of my own pocket. Sometimes, I honestly still do things out of my own pocket. I want to get to a place where that is not the case. As a new business, I do a lot of researching for funding as much as I do for my products.

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

One thing I had to unlearn in the fragrance business is, MY NOSE IS NOT THE IMPORTANT NOSE! Initially, I was only making scents I thought smelled good or scents I liked. I quickly learned that was going to be a no-no.

I would go to popup shops or festivals & potential customers would come by & ask if I had a particular scent & I didn’t have it in a product, BUT I did have the oil that I didn’t think smelled good. I definitely have testers now to help me in final candle decisions.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.KandleHouseCo.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/kandlehousecompany
• Facebook: www.Facebook.com/thekandlehousecompany
• Other: TikTok: @kandlehousecompany

Image Credits
Avery Carter (personal photo) Arron Works (table in dark light)