We were lucky to catch up with Kira Giannoni recently and have shared our conversation below.

Kira, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Parents play a huge role in our development as youngsters and sometimes that impact follows us into adulthood and into our lives and careers. Looking back, what’s something you think you parents did right?

My parents taught me the importance of working hard. Both are immigrants from Europe with no college education. They came over in their young 20s and worked various jobs to get on their feet before meeting and starting a family. Today, they are both successful in their careers and continue to demonstrate the value of hard work ethic and independence. I am grateful to have two amazing role models in my life.

Kira, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Looking for an escape from the dreaded pandemic, my friend suggested making candles one day which I gladly took her up on. Immediately I fell in love with the somewhat therapeutic process and found myself making candles regularly. After ironing out my candle recipe and making candles for Christmas presents, I wanted to explore combining my graphic design/marketing skills into a candle business. Once I nailed down a company name with the help from my mom (Iris and Nicole are my two grandmother’s names), Iris Nicole Candle Company was born. Specializing in the more eco-friendly and non-toxic option of soy wax, I offer candle products in multiple sizes and in a wide variety of scents. All candles are hand poured by me and I also design and prints all my own labels. My favorite part of the business is creating custom candles for customers for events, special occasions, or as gifts. I also enjoy participating in a monthly farmers market in Imperial Beach.

We’d love to hear about how you keep in touch with clients.

I keep in touch with clients through social media and email marketing. I also write handwritten thank you notes in every online order to show my appreciation to each customer. I post company updates to Instagram and Facebook as often as I can and send out updates through email about twice a month.

How’d you think through whether to sell directly on your own site or through a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc.

I only sell on my own personal website and in-person at vendor events. I have dabbled with Etsy in the past but I did not like how you can’t customize your company’s page and also did not like the fees associated with it. I do end up losing out on the customer base that is Etsy but I also feel there is a ton of candle competition on the platform. I have built a decent customer base through friends and family connections and have been doing well with word-of-mouth and social media marketing. Perhaps one day I will branch out to other platforms but not just yet :)

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.irisnicolecandleco.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/irisnicolecandleco/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IrisNicoleCandleCo/