We were lucky to catch up with Kimberly Dedyne recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Kimberly, thanks for joining us today. One of the things we most admire about small businesses is their ability to diverge from the corporate/industry standard. Is there something that you or your brand do that differs from the industry standard? We’d love to hear about it as well as any stories you might have that illustrate how or why this difference matters.
As the owner and Chief Candle Kimist (chemist) of Pure Kimistry, our brand provides more than just the average candle. When we are looking for fragrance oils to curate our candles we don’t just go straight to the best seller’s list. We take the time to research the fragrance oils to see how they are best utilized to create a luxury experience while burning candles. We want our clients to be able to develop a specialized wellness experience tailored to their memories, mood, and vision of relaxation and enjoyment. While going through our creative process, we take time to cover the 5 major senses of an experience. We take into account the feeling or atmosphere the candle will create, how it smells and how that fragrance will linger, what type of food or drink would be enjoyed in this atmosphere taste-wise, what type of music or song may be heard in the environment, and the design of the candle & how the candle looks to the eye. Again, we not only want our clients to enjoy our candles but have a fully personalized luxury experience.
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.
Hey Hey Y’all! My name is Kimberly A. Dedyne (rhymes with Divine) and I am a wife, soon-to-be mother and I am the founder and CEO of Pure Kimistry LLC, where we are the missing element to your luxury aromatic experience! This means that we create hand-poured candles and curate CandleLIT Parties with your moments, memories, and vision in mind. We also provide personally-branded candles for companies, conferences, retreats, weddings, and other events. This service allows us to serve our clients and allow them to tap into a billion-dollar market that continues to grow. As a business owner, I have the honor and ability to assist other business owners and clients with the opportunity to think of their business hospitality. When clients encounter us, we give them an opportunity to consider the side of their business that is often missing. To be in business is one thing, but to have a business with great morale and employee retention says a lot about a company. Taking the time to stop and think about all aspects including how not only clients but employees experience you is very important.
I am also the author of one published book called Reaction of Grace: Journey to My Butterfly Exodus. In this book, I discuss my transformation from being the quiet caterpillar that easily faded into the background to becoming the beautiful colorful butterfly that is able to stand on my feet, utilize my God-given voice, and be a light in this world. I also have two more books that I am currently writing. I am also the co-visionary of two amazing networks: The Positioned Network, where we empower men and women worldwide to get positioned with God’s purposed plan for every aspect of their lives! The D.O.P.E. Divine Women Network, where we provide a safe sisterhood for Women to be their Diligent, Opulent, Peaceful, Elegant, and authentic selves while building deep-rooted & empowering connections. I am beyond excited to serve in these networks and to be able to see the growth of others.
I want people to know that I’m a servant leader at heart and taking care of people is one of my passions. Maya Angelou said that “People will forget what you say, people will forget what you do but people will never forget how you make them feel” I am truly all about how people feel when they walk away from an encounter with me and my brands. I want them to feel joy, warmth, excitement, and love. I want them to feel cared for. If my brands do not exude these things then I need to go back to the drawing board and reassess some things.
Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.
This is definitely going to be one of those, “I quit my job stories.” LOL Picture it, Michigan 2020! I was working in corporate, and I was coming up on my two-year mark in my position. I was in a position where there weren’t necessarily any promotions. I would have had to apply for a new position to receive an increase in pay. Being that I had my bachelor’s degree in Community Development, I thought it would be easy to get a new position. I began to discover that the positions that were available to me were not that great. I founded Pure Kimistry back in 2015 but had since put it down and retired from being an event decorator. I always knew that I would be back in business just didn’t know how. One day I was listening to a podcast that was speaking about event spaces and the speaker began to discuss candle businesses and how the operation of one would not be that bad. I was intrigued and I felt as though God allowed me to hear that podcast episode to get my attention. From that day on, I did nothing but research on candles. I went on to eventually create an Etsy page to sell my creations but then I began to feel a nudge to do more. In 2022, God spoke to me very clearly that I needed to leave my position in corporate and pursue my business full-time. By this time my first book had come out and I was still doing candles on occasion, so imagine when I heard God tell me to leave. (Talk about being afraid!) I ended up leaving my job with a negative bank account. I kept at it and put in time and effort and 3 months after I left my job, I had my first candle party that sold out twice. At the same event, I sold out of all of my books! From that day on you couldn’t tell me that I heard from God incorrectly and that when He said to leave, I had to have faith and trust that he knows what is best for me.
I have successfully been able to travel across the country for special business connections and opportunities. I’ve gained hosting opportunities and speaking engagements all because I had the faith to let go when I was supposed to let go. I’m not telling everyone to go quit their job tomorrow, but I am saying to trust God and have faith that he knows best.
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 of the biggest lessons I had to unlearn (still unlearning) is to not rely on having a backup plan. When I was getting ready to leave my job, I constantly battled with the notion that my parents ALWAYS told my sister and I that we need to have a backup plan. They would tell us “Make sure you have another job lined up before you leave the one you are in.” Well this time around, while that is good advice for someone, I couldn’t listen to that advice this time. I had to go with my heart and what God had told me. It was time to fully bet on me and my abilities. Having a backup plan in this instance would have only allowed me to have an excuse to be lazy, distracted, and overworked. I had to be okay with knowing that I am working to push my vision and not the vision of another person.
I thought I was just going into the candle business to casually sell candles here and there. Never did I imagine that I would not only be creating candles for my brand, but candles for other brands as well as hosting candle parties. I had to unlearn many things that I was taught as a young child. I began punching a clock at the early age of 14, I’ve always been a hard worker with goals in mind. This was one of those moments when I had to unlearn some of the structure and simply operate from pure faith. It has certainly been a journey but truth be told, I wouldn’t change it for anything.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.purekimistry.com
- Instagram: @purekimistry
- Facebook: @Pure Kimistry
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimberlydedynepk
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@PureKimistry
Image Credits
Kayla Turpin Photography