Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jennifer Hanna. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Jennifer, looking forward to hearing all of your stories 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?

After many morning meditations and prayer, I found a verse discussing Ash and Vine in relation to the cycle of life. I loved the simplicity and flow of the words and knew I wanted “something” and “something” Botanicals that would emanate earthy+raw+organic+pure. As nature itself as well as humankind is birthed by a simple seed and vines are grown it is inevitable as the cycle goes and we grow everything ultimately is returned to dirt and ash. The beauty is in the process of the evolution. Ash+Vine Botanicals was created to provide candles and clean products for everyone at a reasonable price. Just because it is good for you doesn’t mean it has to cost you everything.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I grew up burning multiple candles at a time inside our home and it wasn’t until I lived with my sons aunt who was very holistic and conscious of healthy living that I found out that regular candles were actually toxic to breathe in. Paraffin wax is the primary ingredient in 95% of candles sold today and is typically made with phthalates in which are linked to a wide range of negative health effects including hormone disruption, low birth weight in babies, organ damage, conduct disorders in children and more. Since paraffin wax is derived from petroleum, coal, or shale oil, it has been found to contain known carcinogens (cancer-causing agents) such as benzene. My mind was blown and the more I researched, I decided I had to bring awareness to this matter, even if it was on a small scale it would be totally worth it. I had just had a son and was completely immersed in all things healthy and reading ingredients on all Labels and decided to start making our own candles amongst other perfume oils and household products… Slowly the word got around to friends and family and I entered small hometown events and the candles became more and more in demand. Now we have a website and are sold throughout 20 or so stores throughout Charleston, SC. We are looking to expand nation wide, but have also had a salon business that keeps us very busy day to day here in Charleston. So for the most part you can find them in our salon, online and a few other retailers around town for now!

A recurring review we seem to get is always how long the candles burn! They typically last anywhere from 96-104 hours in our signature jars. The will not overwhelm your space or senses giving people headaches or watery eyes because they are free of phthalates and synthetic chemicals. Our candles offer a beautiful waft of scent to enhance a persons space and offer a sense of nostalgia or wonderment.

Another compliment that we take pride in is that once people start smelling all of the scents, they fall in love with them all. Most candle companies have 1 or 2 good scents but most people seem to have trouble picking just one of ours.

We source all of our products used inside the USA, our packaging is all ECO-friendly, and we are a woman-owned business by two twin sisters born in a smalltown in NC.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

Getting out at Big events and meeting people, talking to people and sharing our story. This really helped us a lot with researching and understanding what people looked for in candles. Social media helps a lot and hiring a marketing team to really get you to the next level.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

I would like to share about an incredible free business that is setup to help small business entrepreneurs start their journey. One thing I did not have a clue about was taxes and setting up the backend accounting. I reached out to SCORE which is the nations largest network of volunteer, expert business mentors dedicated to helping small businesses get off the ground, grow , and achieve their goals. My mentor, Tom Bigelow, and I connected and met 1/week for the first few months and I could never repay him for all of his time and wisdom he offered me. To this day we still keep in touch and I will always never forget this mans dedication and friendship to helping me in the beginning with my business.

Contact Info:

• Website: ashandvinebotanicals.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/ashandvinebotanicals
• Facebook: facebook.com/ashandvinebotanicals.com