Today we’d like to introduce you to Ariane Scholl.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Ariane. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I started making candles when we were getting married in 2012. I wanted to make something special for our loved ones who helped us with our very do-it-yourself wedding, so I decided to make a candle for each person in a vessel that reminded me of them. Our family and friends really loved them and I really loved making them so I decided to keep making candles as a fun hobby. Shortly after that time we started selling vintage goods at 715 Vintage in Batavia and I thought it would be fun to sell candles there as well. We made some candles out of thrifted containers and decorated them with sticks and twine and some Kraft paper labels and sold them at our first ever craft market and they sold out in one day. People really loved them. I had to go home and make more that night. It was after that I realized making candles could really turn into something. I was in a writing program at the time so the idea to make literary candles came to mind naturally as a fusion of those two loves. Since my husband, Andy, is a designer I asked him to make some mock-up labels and when he showed them to me I knew they were perfect. They are the labels we still use today on our Classic Collection jars. We always talk about how that first collection came to fruition so easily and are always trying to chase after that creative process. Whenever we have something come easily to us, we know it’s the right choice.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
In some ways it has seemed very smooth and in other ways filled with struggles. I know they always say ‘The days are long but the years are short’ about parenting, but I would say the same thing about owning a company. I don’t really think there’s anything that can prepare you for trying to take a creative idea and grow it into something tangible. In the beginning we had no concept of where it would go. It was just a fun thing: make candles, put them online, and see if people will buy them. Through a lot of good timing and hard work it turned into a company before we really had the time to say: I want to own a candle company. Without any kind of fore-planning or a business plan in mind, there has of course been struggles. In the very early days I used to have a lot of anxiety. I can still remember how daunting even the process of learning how to ship something was. I don’t think people talk about how difficult it is to teach yourself everything you need to learn to run a business. They just see the Instagram-worthy small business side of someone drinking a latte in the middle of the day and answering emails, but behind all that is someone who is questioning every little decision they are making about their business.
Please tell us about Hearth & Hammer.
Hearth & Hammer is a literary candle company built on the values of wanting our products to be sourced from the United States and made by hand. We craft our candles from all natural domestically grown soy wax, eco wicks—free from lead, and high-quality essential oil and fragrance blends. It is our goal to limit our waste, our paper labels are printed on recycled vellum, our amber tumblers are made from recycled glass and we support companies that use carbon neutral shipping. We specialize in crafting literary candles meant to bring your favorite novel to life. Whether it’s Thoreau’s deep woods or Bronte’s moors, we are dedicated to illuminating literature through aromatic storytelling. It is one of our greatest joys to read a novel and then spend hours testing and formulating new scents to bring the main motif of the novel to life. We are most proud of our ability to give back. Before I started Hearth & Hammer, I was a teacher and so it was really important to me to give back in some way. We donate $1 from every Noble Collection candle to a children’s literacy project on DONORSCHOOSE.org. It’s such a great platform because we are able to see exactly where our money goes and show that to our customers and retailers who help make these donations possible. It’s important to us to support low-income, underserved schools as we know many teachers are paying for their classroom libraries out of their own pockets.
What role has luck (good luck or bad luck) played in your life and business?
I feel like we have been very lucky. We have the following Thoreau quote on our website: ““I learned this, at least, by my experiment: that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.” And so far this has proven to be true. We have worked really hard and had some really lucky breaks like our candles being picked up by Refinery 29 very early on and then being seen by a company, Of a Kind in New York which led to a limited time partnership with Chicagoland Target stores. Since then we have been featured in Buzzfeed, Bustle, and Huffington Post among others and this has really helped to grow our business.
Pricing:
- Candle prices range from $7-$30
Contact Info:
- Website: Hearthandhammer.co
- Email: hello@hearthandhammer.co
- Instagram: hearthandhammer
- Facebook: hearthandhammer
Image Credit:
Photo of the two of us and our candles displayed in the crate: Nigel Evan Dennis
Photo of Moonlit Moors in my hands: Beth Priddy Photography
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