Meet kelsey shoemaker | Candle Maker & Small Business Owner

We had the good fortune of connecting with kelsey shoemaker and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi kelsey, how do you think about risk?
There will always be risks in anything new that you try, but it’s more of an expectation than a struggle. When I first started my candle business, I didn’t know anything about candles, running a small business, or brand marketing. It’s only been a couple of weeks but I’ve glad I decided to make that step towards this goal. It was something that I had in the back of my mind and I’ve enjoyed watching it grow. It’s been a trial and error with some things and rewards of gratitude with others. I had a full-time job at the beginning of the year and decided to take a step back and refocus on my true ambition. I wanted to balance my life out with what I love doing which is photography, as well as create something. My hobbies include things that are not tangible materials so not only did I have to build motivation and confidence to launch a candle business, but I had to know everything that came with that.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Making candles was a long after thought I had during a conversation with a friend and it took a couple of weeks for me to actually invest into making it a business and not some far out of reach dream. I have allergies so I wanted to make candles that weren’t too overbearing but instead comforting and natural scented. That was the first thing that I wanted to incorporate into my brand. The other was my fascination with ideas that are bigger than ourselves such as the galaxy. I wanted each candle to represent a moment in the galaxy and out of this world. For me, it was important that everything in my brand was handmade and hand poured. There were trial and error setbacks during this process but I wanted to make sure people knew who I was through my brand. It is my goal to have eco-friendly packaging as well as get to the point where I can help nonprofits out through my business and have proceeds and funds go towards helping others. My other goal is to help those that need it during this time. I would like to eventually help out teachers, frontline workers, and essential workers who have given us their time during the pandemic.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I love going to all the coffee shops around here as some of the best conversations happen over good food and a hot cup of coffee.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would like to thank my friends and family for the support so far. It’s been amazing to have a community of support not only with people I know, but also others in the small business community.

Website: foxmoonco.etsy.com

Instagram: instagram.com/foxmoonco

Twitter: itskelseyshoe

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Fox-Moon-Co-104239258372181

Other: tiktok- kelseyannes