Q&A with Kyle Glowa of A World of Scents Candle Co.
Collider is passionate about sharing the stories of entrepreneurs and small business owners in Rochester! Check out this Q&A with Kyle Glowa who makes and sells homemade candles through his business, A World of Scents Candle Co.!
Photo contributed by Kyle Glowa.
Q: What brought you to Rochester and what keeps you around?
A: I grew up just 20 minutes away in Mantorville, so I’ve spent most of my life in the Rochester area. After being away during college and for a job post college, I ended up moving back to be close to family and to enjoy the amenities Rochester has to offer. It’s pretty nice living in a city with very little traffic and small town, friendly vibes.
Q: In what year did you launch your business?
A: I technically launched my business in 2018 while living in Crookston, Minnesota. However, my first sales event was at Mantorville’s Marigold Days in 2017.
Q: How has your business grown and changed since first opening?
A: I started my business with a VERY small amount of money, so my operation and supplies were very limited at the start. Since then, I have snowballed everything back into the business, allowing me further testing of products, new fragrances, growth into local shops, and better supplies and branding. During the pandemic I had the time and drive that it took to create a website for myself as well!
Q: What are some challenges you faced while starting your business and during the pandemic?
A major challenge I faced starting my own business was becoming an amateur professional at everything. A small business owner that’s just beginning usually operates on a tight budget, so you learn to do a little bit of everything to save a dollar. Need labels? Learn some graphic design and printing. Need to charge taxes? Learn the laws and tax rates. Need a website? Learn how to build one. Every little decision and hurdle takes time to learn about and navigate. It can be quite a challenge to take on!
The pandemic was an interesting time for me. Sales really slowed down, luckily not having a storefront meant I did not have rent to pay or have operating expenses while not doing business. Being affected by the pandemic in a more minor way definitely opened my eyes to the struggles that our local businesses went through. I couldn’t imagine the stress on local shop and restaurant owners with monthly overheads! It was this that pushed me to support local more than ever during the pandemic, and I feel for all the businesses that unfortunately didn’t make it through.
Before the shutdowns, I only ever sold at in person shows and events. The pandemic pushed me to grow by creating a website for myself and promoting online sales. Since shows have started again, I have run into another interesting side effect… COVID can affect and change the sense of smell. At nearly every show over the last two years, I have met people who cannot smell my candles due to total loss of smell, or since getting COVID have not been able to find a candle that doesn’t smell like burning plastic, chemicals or some similar acrid smell.
Q: What initially drew you to candle making and inspired you to make it a business?
A: Candle making really came to me as a hobby while I was job hunting after college. I wanted to find a hobby for myself where I could create something tangible and usable. I was between soap making and candle making, but I’m glad I decided to go with candles. My whole life, any time I found candles in a shop, I had to smell every single one before I could leave. It was a natural choice I suppose!
Once I began creating candles, however, I found that I couldn’t burn them fast enough. My stock kept building and building, so for the first year I gave away as many as possible to family and friends. Eventually I decided that it was time to try to sell them, as I still had too many. Turns out you can’t really sell most products legally without registering with the state and charging taxes. So I unknowingly stumbled into becoming a business!
Photo contributed by Kyle Glowa.
Q: Tell me about the process! What are the steps to making a candle?
A: Share my trade secrets?! Well… okay, if you’re going to twist my arm. It’s a pretty straightforward process, but it does take a lot of testing to get it right consistently. On a basic level you are taking your raw wax and heating it up until completely melted, then adding your fragrance blend and dye (if you choose to use it), letting it cool a bit while mixing it all together, pouring it into your vessel, and finally letting it cool completely.
The testing comes in with needing to find the appropriate wicks for your vessel size, fragrance load and dyes. Every variable added can affect how the candle burns. You also need to adjust your mixing and pouring temperatures depending on the wax. The wax quality can vary quite a bit box to box when it comes to soy wax, so that part can be a little frustrating as well! We test-burn a lot of candles at home, and I’m constantly monitoring them and taking notes to make sure they’re burning properly and throwing the fragrance well.
Photo contributed by Kyle Glowa.
Q: How do you design your scents?
A: I take a unique approach to designing some, but not all, of my fragrances. I really enjoy pulling inspiration from my personal travels and experiences. While hiking, camping, or sightseeing, I will occasionally pick up on a unique fragrance and become inspired. Once home, I will blend oils trying to replicate the memory of the smell. My biggest success with this so far is my North Shore Nights fragrance, it was actually inspired by a camping trip spent in the Finland State Forest on the North Shore of Lake Superior. It’s a unique blend of pine, fir, cedar, and smoke that has become my top selling candle year after year.
Q: Where can people find your candles?
A: They can be found year-round on my website, www.worldofscentscandle.com which offers local delivery and pick up, as well as shipping. I also do many in person events throughout the year, mostly between September and December. Follow my facebook page for info on upcoming events, or check out the Upcoming Events section on my website!
I also rotate fragrances through a few local store fronts:
Threshold Arts - Downtown Rochester
Kismet Consignment - Downtown Rochester
The Cre8tive Place - Plainview
Q: Any big plans for the future?
A: Absolutely! I’m currently testing a whole new line of more premium candles that will differ completely from everything I’ve offered thus far. I’m also looking to expand into more stores in and around Rochester in the very near future!
Photo contributed by Kyle Glowa.
Q: What do you like to do outside of work and running your business?
A: When not working at Thesis Beer Project or making candles, I like to get outside for hiking, kayaking, and snowboarding depending on the season. I’ve also picked up rock climbing at Roca, which is an amazing climbing gym that we have right here in Rochester. I’ll admit that I spend more time playing video games than I probably should as well, I’m a pretty big gamer. We also got a kitten a month or two ago, so between cuddles and playtime, Obi eats up a pretty good chunk of my time.
Thanks so much for reading about Kyle and his business! For more information on his candles and upcoming events, click the link below!
