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

Judy, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What was it like going from idea to execution? Can you share some of the backstory and some of the major steps or milestones?

One of my friends back in CA was a candlemaker and I LOVE supporting small businesses. So, when she launched her business, I bought every candle she made. I was so inspired by the scents that she came up with because it brought me back to when I was in middle school. From that, I purchased a candle making kit off of Amazon. I had every intention at the time to start making my own candles but I never even touched the box. While decluttering the house, I was going to donate the candle making kit but my husband said, “just keep it, you might go back to it one day”. So, I kept the kit and continued on with life. One of my coworkers bought a candle from a big retail store and he raved about how good the candle smelled but he smelled NOTHING when the candle was burning. So, the instant he said that my mind went to “I can make a candle that smells good both lit and unlit” and testing began early December 2021. I purchased so many different wicks, waxes and jars to see what I like. I tested for six months before launch making sure everything was safe and that the candles burned to my satisfaction. I created all the social media platforms in May 2022 and started posting teasers and I launched on June 7th, 2022. I launched with six signature scents and four limited edition scents. I made a total of 60 candles to launch with but ended up launching with only 20 candles because I had such a huge support from my coworkers that they bought almost my entire stock. I am super grateful for them.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My name is Judy and I was born and raised in San Diego, CA and for as long as I can remember, I have always came up with an idea to try and start my own business. In September 2017, I had a little origami jewelry business because I love Origami and was inspired by the book, “Sadako and the one thousand cranes” I love making origami and enjoy telling people about it. That business didn’t last long because I did not put the time and effort to make it successful. Shortly after that, I started a graphic design/printing company and that lasted for a few years before I got too busy with my full time job and ended up closing it. I moved to Denver, CO in November 2018 and continued working remotely for my CA job. In February 2020, I got a part time job in the trucking industry and it eventually became my full time job in September 2022.

I don’t consider myself a crafter but making candles is very therapeutic and I enjoy the mixing and pouring process. People think that making candles is simply mixing fragrance oils and wax together and pouring it into a jar and it’s done. There’s a lot of science behind making candles because you have to heat up the wax to a certain temperature, pour the oils, etc. Everything has to be precise or you will have a candle catch fire if there’s too much fragrance. Candle safety is our number one priority, that is why we tested our blend for so long. I think my products sets me apart from a lot of other makers is the wax blend and the wick. I use a wooden wick, which creates a nice crackling sound when burning and it gives you the coziness of a wood burning fireplace. My products are handmade in small batches, so every candle can be quality checked before selling. One thing that I am most proud of is that people like my candles. I am always amazed to see returning customers buying more items. It truly makes my heart happy to know that people like my products. I get customers who message me and tell me that the candles reminds them of their grandma and that makes me so happy because my grandma was the best entrepreneur I ever met.
The main thing that I want potential customers to know about me and my brand is that I put a lot of heart and soul into my products to make it what it is. I back everything I create and if there are any issues that arise, I will be there to resolve the problem.

How’d you meet your business partner?

My business partner is my cousin. She had a little card making hobby that started in 2003 and everybody loves her handmade cards. So, in November 2019, I got her out of her shell and we sold her cards and some of my old business merchandise at a craft fair and she did fantastic. When I initially came up with the idea of starting a candle business, I was just going to branch off of her company name and sell my candles under that. The business started and launched in June 2022 under hoboBee Studios, LLC. I was in charge of making candles, wax melts and hanging diffusers, while she took care of greeting cards and jewelry. Fast Forward to January 2023, we decided to part ways due to life and I am the sole business owner of STINK, LLC. I changed the company name because hoboBee was not mines to begin with. My business partner/cousin said it was ok for me to work under the name hoboBee and continue with it but it’s not something that I created, so I decided to change the name to Stink! It only makes sense because my little brother calls me Stinker and my coworkers are always asking me, “Hey Judy, when you bringing the Stink?” So, it was obvious to rebrand and name the company Stink!.

Do you sell on your site, or do you use a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc?

When I launched in June 2022, I built a website on SquareOnline because I already used the square reader, so it only made sense to connect everything with Square. But as of June 2023, I changed the platform to Shopify and have been working on building the website, so I can launch on August 1st, 2023. Building a website is a very tedious task, so I hired a designer to start the initial build and I would go in and just add in the verbiage and photos. But I didn’t have the time to take photos because I was busy making inventory for markets. I signed up for markets starting in April 2023 and have been booked almost every single weekend. One of the cons that I would say about SquareOnline is that with the basic plan, PayPal is not included. So, if you want to include PayPal as a payment method on the website, you would have to upgrade the plan. Shopify has PayPal included in the basic plan, that was one of the main reasons why I switched over. I still use the Square Reader for my market transactions but use Shopify as my online platform for orders. I advertise on facebook and instagram and receive orders via DMs and messenger. I get a lot of word of mouth and do tons of face to face markets.

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.hellostink.com
• Instagram: @hello.stink
• Facebook: @hellostink
• Youtube: @hellostink
• Other: Tik Tok: @hello.stink

Image Credits
Photos taken with iPhone by Judy/Stink! Owner.