One At A Time...

February 01, 2019Lynn Jordan1 comment

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

1 comment

Christi February 03, 2019 12:41 PM CST

I love your candles! I found them first at a gift shop in Orange Beach after my parents moved there last year when I was looking for a little something to take home to a friend who was dog sitting. They have quickly become my favorites and knowing how much love in literally poured into them, makes me love them even more! I wish you much success and thank you for these great products

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About Us

Bon Secour, Alabama is a coastal community with huge live oak trees covered in Spanish moss, great blue herons, brown pelicans, ever-present bottle nosed dolphins and the potent smell of salty gulf waters. The name "Bon Secour" is derived from the French phrase meaning "safe harbor" due to the secluded location on the inside coast of the Fort Morgan Peninsula of southern Alabama. Its history is rooted in the shrimping and fishing industry with many of the current families tracing their roots in this seafaring life back for generations. People in this community believe in hard work, looking out for neighbors and the importance of one’s word.

It is upon these simple traits that Bon Secour Candle Company has built its reputation of creating quality products at a reasonable price with excellent customer service.

Our small batch soy candles and wax melts are hand poured in Gulf Shores, Alabama. Please feel free to contact us with questions or suggestions. We love to hear from our customers!

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Watch Us Grow!

August 29, 2019Lynn Jordan

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.

Soy Candle Tips

When burning your soy candle for the first time, it is important to allow the candle to burn for 2 1/2-3 hours. Soy wax has a "memory" and helps to avoid the candle from "tunneling" down the center of the container and may cause you not to get the best scent throw. By allowing your soy candle to create it's initial memory burn, will help the candle to create a full melt pool of wax, and increases the candle's scent throw.

To prevent your soy candle from producing black soot, always trim your wick to 1/4" before lighting your candle. Always burn your candle on a level, heat resistant surface. If the wick begins to have a large flame, starts flickering constantly, or if the wick becomes larger than 1/4" extinguish the flame with a wick dipper (a great tool for extinguishing your candle without creating a lot of smoke) let cool for 1-2 hours, re-trim wick and re-light. Always keep the wick centered, this is best done after the candle has been extinguished and the wax is still soft.

Our natural fiber wicks are self-trimming and are made to curl slightly when burning which help our candles to produce lower soot. At times a carbon mushroom may appear at the top of the wick, this is unburned carbon that has collected on the wick. If this happens to your candle, extinguish it and let cool and trim the wick to 1/4" and re-light your candle.

Although Bon Secour Candle Company's candles are highly fragrant, sometimes the homes we live in have large open spaces that combine many living areas. Some of our fragrances are bolder and will scent an entire home, while others are lighter and have been designed to achieve a soothing ambiance. Our recommendation for those with large living spaces is to have an additional Bon Secour Candle Company candle to achieve maximum scent throw for these larger living spaces.

Unlike paraffin wax melts, our all-natural soy wax melts do not evaporate. After the scent is burned off, simply pour the soy wax into a lined trash can, or similar container. Our soy wax is bio-degradable. Never pour wax down your sink drain, it can clog.

Our soy wax is bio-degradable and cleans up with hot soapy water.