Candleberry Candles

The Candleberry Company® StoryFamily traditions, and family endeavors,often originate in homes where fathers, mothers, children, and friendsgather to share their affection, their memories, and their plans for thefuture.  The Candleberry Story originated in the home of Ernie and JanFowler of Frankfort, Kentucky, with their son Neal and daughter Lisa.   Our story begins in 1981, when the Fowlerfamily owned and operated several retail stores. Jan’s natural affinityfor the sale of fragrant goods—such as candles, potpourri, tarts,spray, etc. made the businesses successful.  In running thesebusinesses, Jan came to realize that items with a strong but pleasantscent sold best. Ernie, looking at her receipts, drew the sameconclusion. However, Jan often encountered a problemwith her candles; some of the major candles Jan sold had strong scent inthe top layer of the candle, but the aroma declined as the candleburned. In addition, the candles often created smoke.  It was difficultto obtain quality products that burned with a consistent, smoke-freesmell.Jan and Ernie looked for a way to resolvethis problem.  If they could make their own candles, then they couldcontrol the quality and make sure the fragrance was distributed evenlyand strongly throughout the product. They began by visiting other candlefactories, from small mom & pop candle makers in the SmokyMountains to a large conveyor belt operation in the North. The Fowlers decided they could make abetter candle, and after discussions with the rest of the family, theymoved forward with their plan.  Family meetings at the Fowler’s houseresulted in the name “Candleberry.” They decided to place the firstcandle-making operation adjacent to their first retail store inFrankfort, Kentucky.When other stores learned ofCandleberry’s candles, the business began to take off. Another majorfactor in growth of the business was the Internet. The immediatepopularity of the Internet led Neal, the Fowler’s son, to suggest theestablishment of a website for the company.  Today the companymanufactures and markets thousands of high quality, aromatic candles.Each member of the Fowler family madeunique contributions to the business. Ernie and Jan brought managementand marketing expertise. Lisa’s skills in art were important indesigning labels and marketing materials.  Moreover, her penchant forcolors and fragrance development was essential.  Neal’s businesseducation and experience enabled the company to effectively manage thefinancial aspects and the production. Many of the Candleberry names and scentshave a story involving friends behind them. One involves a beloved salesrepresentative (Terry Copp--deceased many years ago).  Terry enjoyedcocktails, and his love of bourbon led him to suggest that the companymake a bourbon candle with its own unique color and fragrance. “Call itKentucky Bourbon,” he said. Ernie replied, “It’ll never sell.” Despitehis reservations, Ernie asked Lisa to design a scent and color just asan experiment. The candle sold… and then sold, and sold, and sold. Tothis day, it is one of Candleberry’s best-selling candles and is now ahallmark candle for several local bourbon distilleries.There is yet another special story behindthe “Friendship Tea” candle.  At “The Candleberry Tearoom”, a smallrestaurant owned by the Fowlers, Jan would invite several of her friendsto visit for “afternoon tea.”  This subsequently inspired the candle“Friendship Tea”, and its fragrance with spices and other sweet scents.The Candleberry Story is truly a story offamily, friends, and fragrance. The Fowler family