When I started Bon Secour Candle Company nearly 5 years ago, I had no idea that it would become the business it is today. By combining my passion for fragrance with Mike’s sales and marketing experience, we’ve worked together to expand our home-based business. We have shipped our products all over the country and partnered with other great small businesses to sell our candles and wax melts. We’ve enjoyed meeting our customers at local arts and craft shows and getting to know you through social media. However, our company has grown as much as it can with just the two of us.

We are excited to announce that we are joining forces with Tara Gifford and her staff at Blue Girl Beading Company. Tara has been sharing her talents with our community for over 15 years! She creates custom, One of a kind jewelry as well as teaching classes. Recently Tara has added Silversmithing to her repertoire which has opened many new doors for her creativity to shine! We’ll be moving our production equipment to Blue Girl Beading giving us more hands to pour, as well as another retail location for selling. Our customers can continue to expect the same quality products and customer service with which we’ve grown our business. 

I am not a numbers person. As a former English teacher, I am always more interested in words. A line of iambic pentameter makes me much happier than solving a quadratic equation. However, the other day, I was curious about a number and had to go about finding the answer...

If you are familiar with our candle company and follow us on social media, you are aware that Bon Secour Candle Company is made up of two people; my husband, Mike, and myself. Mike manages all of the wholesale business, makes deliveries, and handles all of the accounts, both payables and receivables. I am responsible for social media marketing, product development and pouring ALL of the candles and wax melts we sell. How many candles did I make last year? THAT is what I wanted to know!

I knew that our business had grown considerably in 2018 over 2017. Our website sales were up 40% and thanks to our great retail partners, the number of units sold though wholesale business had grown as well. I wanted to know just how many candles I had poured in 2018.

Finding the answer wasn't quite as easy as adding up wholesale invoices and website sales. Those numbers wouldn't reflect the amount of candles sold at local arts and craft markets...and what about all those candles I give away to family, friends or anyone else that comes to our home such as the UPS driver, exterminator, and furniture delivery guys! They all walk away with a candle.

I decided the best way to solve my curiosity was to look back at the supplies that I ordered. I usually have to place an order of wax, tins and wax melt molds every 4-5 weeks. The tins that we use come in cases of 270 pieces per case and I ordered 37 in 2018 to give me total of 9,990 candles that I poured last year...and that's not even counting the wax melts! Every tin has to be wicked, poured, trimmed and labeled. It's a labor of love.

I have spoken to others who have started businesses similar to ours. Several have told me that as their businesses have grown, they have subcontracted out the production of their candles to manufacturers and then just sell them under their own label. This business is like my second child. I take pride in knowing that my hands have been responsible for the making of each item. I love that we have a space in the ground floor of our duplex to use as my candle studio so that I can work from home. Most of all I am appreciative of a husband who encouraged me to try my hand at creating a business at 55 and has joined me to manage it. We have had controlled growth and will continue to do so as we find a balance between our personal and business lives. I hope that you enjoy our candles and wax melts as much as I love making them with my own hands right here in our home. 

We truly appreciate your support!
~Lynn

Happy New Year!

Like many people, I find that New Year's Day is a time for reflection...looking back on the year just ending and anticipating the possibilities of the new one ahead. 

Starting a candle business halfway into my 50's was never in the plans for me, but sometimes the most enjoyable journeys are the ones that are never mapped out. I started making candles at home at a time when I needed something to occupy my time and my mind. If you've ever been a caregiver, you understand. What started as therapy for me has turned into a venture that MJ and I have built together. He has the vision and the business sense; I am the creative one. Today, as he and I celebrate 25 years of marriage, we also celebrate 4 years as business partners. We're excited about what the new year has in store for us and we are so thankful for those who have encouraged us along the way.

2018 was an amazing year for our little candle company, and we are truly humbled by the support that we continue to receive from local businesses that sell our products and the loyal customers who purchase them. Though our business, we have developed relationships and friendships that we will forever cherish. We are excited to see what 2019 has in store for us!

We are wishing all of you a new year rich with the blessings of love, joy, warmth, and laughter!
~ Lynn & Mike

Those of you who know me, know that I am really not a college football fan. I realize that it is a mortal sin for an Alabama native not to bleed either crimson or orange, but I truly remain indifferent. My dad, however, loved Alabama football. For the past several years, Iron Bowl Saturday takes me back to a day spent with him in 2013...

During the last couple of years of Dad's life, it became a part of our routine to go to the emergency room every 8-10 weeks with Dad experiencing signs of pneumonia. It became so commonplace, that I knew the ER personnel at South Baldwin from the courteous young man who worked the check-in desk to the nurses and doctors who cared for the patients. I knew to dress warmly and where the heated blankets were kept. We would be in the ER several hours while blood work was done and O2 sats were monitored waiting for a room to open so that he could be admitted. One of the more memorable ER trips took place on November 30, 2013. For most people, that date is really not significant, but if you are an Auburn or Alabama fan, you remember that day either with great joy or utter disbelief.

We had been in the ER for several hours before the game started, so Dad was starting to get a bit grumpy and tired...patience was not his strength. Thankfully, there was a TV in Dad's treatment area, and when the game started, I was grateful for the distraction to keep him occupied watching the game as we waited for a room. Many of the staff were wearing the jerseys of their alliance and the ER was quite raucous as the game went on. Toward the end of the third quarter, we were told that a room was available, and we would be going upstairs soon. I was relieved; it had been a long afternoon. I knew that there still several hours to go to get dad settled in his room before I could get some rest and be back the next day.

Dad's gurney was met at the door of his hospital room by a young male nurse wearing an Alabama jersey...he even had the TV in the room tuned to the game and was watching as he waited our arrival. This is the staff member who would review Dad's meds and history with me while entering all the data in his computer (remember I really know the drill). He was in good spirits as Alabama was leading the game 28-21. But, it went downhill from there. Dad and I were tired. I was cold and hungry. I knew that we were in for several long days ahead of us before Dad would be able to go home and that I would have to work hard to keep his spirits up. I was ready to finish this last task so that Dad and I could both get some rest. However, the nurse was having a really hard time concentrating while the game played on the screen above his head. With less than a minute remaining in the game, Auburn ties the score. The nurse is having more and more trouble staying on task. With seven seconds left in the game and Alabama's player running the ball, he is either knocked out of bounds or steps out of bounds depending on who you are for. The game is called a tie as time runs out, but Nick Saban argues the call and has one second added to the clock. Now it really gets interesting and our nurse has totally forgotten about documenting Dad's history. Rather than take a knee and go to overtime, Alabama attempts to win the game with a 57-yard field goal...and the rest is history...

As Auburn's Chris Davis catches the short kick and runs it across the field to win the game, Dad's nurse turns pale, pushes the computer cart away and walks out of the room without saying a word. Dad and I are left to look at each other not quite sure what we just witnessed...both the end of the game and the nurse's behavior. He returns about 15 minutes later with no explanation other than he just needed some time to compose himself. 

In any other state on that Saturday night, I might have been really upset with that nurse. But this is Alabama and football makes people just a bit crazy...so I get it. I may not be a fan, but I get it. 

Roll Tide...or War Eagle!

~ Lynn 

***Thanks to Wikipedia for helping me with the game technicalities and to Carol Foret for painting the perfect image for this blog.

"If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs..."

These words from Rudyard Kipling's poem, "If", came to my mind the other day as I was thinking about the upcoming holiday season. Thanksgiving and Christmas can be such a stressful time, and these days it seems as if the close-knit family celebrations from our childhood have become lost in today's commercialization of the season. As parents of grown children with families and responsibilities of their own, Mike and I have found it more and more difficult to coordinate schedules to spend time together with the kids at Thanksgiving and Christmas. Last year, I decided it was time to take action and make family time a priority...BEFORE the holiday season reached its peak.  We planned a family beach weekend early enough to avoid the holiday rush. Later this week, we're doing it again. I hope to make this a family tradition for years to come.

Mike and I are in a second marriage for each of us. Our blended family consists of his two sons and my daughter, and over the years our family has grown with their spouses and children. The addition of each new member had made our family that much richer. Over the years it has become less about "yours" or "mine" and more about "ours". Our family continues to grow as we await the arrival of a new leaf on our Jordan family tree this spring when we will welcome a new grandchild...a little boy this time to carry on the Jordan name.

Taking advantage of our great weather this time of year and reduced rates on beach properties, we've rented a condo big enough for everyone to spread out, yet cozy enough that we are able to spend quality time together. We will all take time out from busy schedules and spend a long weekend together. We've been fortunate that for the past two years, Veteran's Day has fallen on the weekend giving us an extra day to be together. We'll play board games, watch college football, take walks on the beach, cook and eat meals together, laugh and tell stories. But most importantly, we'll spend quality time together...as a family. Time is truly the most precious gift that we can give to each other...and that is really what the holidays are all about.

As the holidays approach, I hope that all of you are able to find time to spend with your loved ones to reconnect and make memories.

~Lynn

Yes, I'm burning a Firewood candle while we're in the middle of a September heat wave. Its blend of aged oak, burning firewood and smoky embers is one of my favorites when I want to create a cozy environment such as enjoying a comfy fireplace on a cool, fall evening. It's all about mind over matter; or in this case, mind over temperature.

My daughter and I had a conversation the other day. It went something like this...

Me: What did you do this weekend?
Beth: I cleaned my apartment, then lit all the "good" candles and settled in with a favorite book and cup of tea.
Me: What do you mean "good" candles?
Beth: You know, I Love Fall, Chai Latte and Apple Cider.
Me: You do know that it's 95° outside don't you?
Beth: Yes, but when you live in the South, Fall is more of a state of mind than a temperature reading on the thermometer.

Beth's favorite time of year is Fall (in fact our "I Love Fall" candle was named with her in mind), and for her the season changes on September 1st. That is when she gets out all of her fall candles and decorations. She creates the feeling of Fall in her home regardless of the weather. 

Using home fragrance is a simple way to change your mood, lift your spirits or transport you to another place or time. You can even create particular moods for different rooms in your home. I love a clean fragrance such as our Sea Glass in the bathroom,  a warm, relaxing scent such as Asian Sandalwood in the bedroom and something cozy in the living room like our Smoky Vanilla. Fragrance is so personal; experiment with different scents to find your favorite!

So whether you're along the Gulf Coast impatiently awaiting cooler, Fall temperatures or in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan dreaming of a beach vacation, we've got a fragrance that can help transport you!

Memories, imagination, old sentiments, and associations are more readily reached through the sense of smell than through any other channel. ~ Oliver Wendell Holmes

I'm always amazed at the thoughts and memories that come to me when I'm pouring scented wax. Our Beach Baby fragrance reminds me of the Coppertone suntan lotion that I used as a kid at the beach, our Sugarcane candles take me back to my grandfather cutting sections of sugarcane for me and my cousins to chew and the Bushwacker blend I put together lets me re-live a fun afternoon spent with friends (although that memory is a bit blurred!).

I just poured a batch of Sweet Tea wax melts followed by a set of a new Peppermint scent that I am trying. The combined fragrance sent me back to lunches at the home of childhood friends. My oldest and dearest friends are twin sisters whose family lived down the street from mine. Their mother always had fresh mint growing in the flower bed just beside their carport. I remember lunches at their home in the Summertime - and when I say lunch I mean fried chicken, garden fresh vegetables and hot cornbread with butter. And of course, there was a tall pitcher of sweet tea. Melanie, Marilyn and I would sometimes go out and pick fresh mint leaves to put in our iced tea. Every time I have tea with mint, I think about that bed of fresh mint. The scent of those Sweet Tea and Peppermint wax melts shook my memory so quickly and strongly that I am now craving some fried chicken and cornbread! Such a sweet memory on a rainy afternoon!

The other day I was reading through some posts on a candle group's discussion board and came across the topic of Boyfriend Candles. Now, I am familiar with what is commonly referred to as Man Candles...you know scents such as Bacon, Riding Mower and First Down...fragrances that are supposed to be manly. However, it has been my experience that men gravitate toward candles that smell like cookies and baked goods, not those that remind them of cutting the grass! I was curious as to what these Boyfriend Candles might be so I did a little research.

According to the blog, Candle Fandom, there are candle fragrances that some women think smell like the ideal man. A group of female candle fans on Tumblr are sharing their "boyfriend" candle finds. Some of them have even resorted to envisioning their perfect male and taping a picture of him to the candle! Sort of like a boyfriend in a jar without any of the hassles and compromises of a real life relationship. The author of Candle Fandom listed her top five picks for the best Boyfriend Candles - one of which is Archipelago's Havana. I found that very interesting because this particular candle was the inspiration behind my Hemingway candle - energetic grapefruit and citrus wrapped in sweet tobacco and sensual musks...think Earnest Hemingway during his heyday in Cuba. My Hemingway scent happens to be one of my personal fragrances; warm, relaxing and comforting. (Don't tell MJ that I have a boyfriend, LOL!)

So, if you are looking for your perfect Boyfriend Candle, try our Hemingway scent. I can also recommend the Tobacco & Bay Leaf, Leather, Firewood and A Pirate's Life For Me.