Hot cakes, bacon, apple cinnamon muffins and fresh fruit slices sounds like a delicious breakfast, but these breakfast items have something else in common. These also are some of the more than 50 different scented candles available though Coral Hill Candle Company, a small business started about two years ago by Bartlett resident Amanda Kiser.
According to Kiser, her hand-poured soy candles burn longer and cleaner than others. She explained that there is somewhat of a science involved to crafting the hand-made candles. The wax comes in flake form and is heated and poured at a specific temperature, and just the right amount of fragrance is added.
The hardest part is the selection of the right size of wick for each container to ensure the candles burn and emit the fragrances properly.
The scents include bakery and food items, as well as floral and fruity, Kiser said. She noted bacon was a popular scent during the last Christmas season, and other popular scents include blueberry cobbler and honeysuckle jasmine.
Her candles are sold at various venues in the Bartlett area, including Book Stop Plus on Bartlett Road, the Southern Vintage Company on Altruria Road and, during the summer months, the Bartlett Station Farmers Market at Freeman Park. Coral Hill Candle Company can also be found online on Etsy.com.
Of the bacon-scented candle, a reviewer on the company’s Etsy site commented, “Smelled even better than I imagined. Will make a great gift for my bacon lover.”
At the Southern Vintage Company, she sells coffee- and tobacco-scented candles crafted in vintage tins she finds on eBay. These days, many friends and customers know she repurposes the tins, and they collect them for her.
Kiser also prints and designs all of her packaging and uses recycled paper products. The prices for her candles range anywhere from $2 for wax melts to $40 for large jar candles. Kiser can also customize orders if customers would like a candle crafted in a specific container.
“If it can hold water, it can hold wax,” she noted.
Coral Hill Candle Company is named for the street in Bartlett where Kiser lives. Her candle making began as a hobby and has grown into a productive small business. In addition to her candle business, Kiser works full-time as the community services director at Volunteer Mid-South.
What is Kiser’s favorite scent? She said, “I love them all.”
Along with the venues in Bartlett, Kiser noted her candles have been sold at the Cooper-Young Festival in midtown Memphis and the Southern Junkers Market event in Eads.
Coral Hill Candle Company can be found online on Etsy.com and on Facebook.
