How Did I Get Here?

My name is Kaitlin and I am the creator of Wallflower Botanicals. I’ve been in business for a year now! Last month I was fortunate enough to participate in my first craft fair with my candles and soaps!

The most asked question of the day was easily “How did you get into doing this?”. There are quite a few reasons as to why I got into candle making and eventually selling them, so when asked on the spot it’s hard for me to pull out a simple and short answer! With my very first blog post, I’ll tell you how I got here and where I’ll be taking all of this in the future!

When I was younger, one of my favorite things to do with my mom was to go to the Yankee Candle. They used to have bins of their little 2 oz. candles throughout the whole store. They would line the walls and sometimes be set up in mini isles towards the back for their sale scents. I would walk through and smell (almost) every single one. I LOVED IT. My mom would let me pick out a couple to take home just for me. You’d think all of the colors and scents would overwhelm me, but it was easily one of my favorite things to do at the mall.

I’m hoping someone out there remembers when it was like this!

As I got older, we went from yankee candles to bath & body works (white barn) candles and I would still do the same thing. I would walk through the whole store and smell every single one, unless I decided I didn’t like a certain scent…then it got skipped with the next visit. Then I was old enough to get a job and had my own money to buy candles, and boooyyyy did I! In my first apartment after college, I had enough candles that they filled up half of my linen closet! I couldn’t go into a candle store without spending at least $100. Eventually I had the thought, since I already spent so much money buying candles, why not try out making my own. My first couple of candles were ROUGH. They looked very….rustic to put it nicely and I hadn't done enough research on how long a candle should “cure” before being burned for the first time, so you could barely smell them. I became a little discouraged and set it aside for a couple of years.

I continued my full time job in cancer detection as a cytotechnologist and I constantly learned about all the things in our lives that really aren’t good for us (and there’s a lot). I became more aware of what I was putting in my body, on my body, and around my body. A big one for women especially is phthalates. Phthalates are a group of chemicals designed to make plastic like PVC soft and more flexible. If ingested, inhaled, or absorbed through the skin they can be endocrine disruptors or cause other health issues including reproductive issues in men, developmental issues in children, and higher risk of cancers. I found out that they are found in quite a few everyday products as well, like hair care, makeup, skin care, soap, and CANDLES! This lit a fire in me to do more research and come up with candles that smell good and are phthalate free as well. Around the same time, I had developed an interest in soap making as well and wanted to also make soaps that would help with certain issues and wouldn’t raise any risk of internal harm. I wanted to know what was in the products I was using through my house and on my body and I wanted to share them with others too!

A little over a year later and I’d put out candles for all seasons, I’ve made soaps and other body care products that help with certain issues or just feel/smell good to use. I know what goes into everything I make because I make it all myself! I do my very best to keep my prices as affordable as possible because no one should have to “splurge” for good self-care products.

My first year of business was nothing short of incredible! My first product launch was in Fall of 2024 with five scents, all but one of them I continued into Fall of 2025! As the year went on, I added more soaps to the mix along with a set of candles for each season. In June I released my first product where the sales would go towards helping a good cause with my Pride candle! I was able to donate my goal of $100 to The Trevor Project! It may seem like a small goal to some, but to me with only being in my first year of business I was over the moon! Thank you to everyone who bought a Pride candle this year!

I was able to put out 2 summer themes, add new candles to my halloween/autumn groups, and then it was time for my first craft fair! I was terrified. If you know me, you know I’m a HUGE introvert, so talking to people about my products felt a bit daunting to me. In just a 6 hour day, I learned so much and had so much fun! It was so great to get to put my products out there in person! I got to see so many familiar faces and of course lots of new faces! If you’re reading this, have followed me on social media, ordered online, liked or shared a post, given feed back on fragrances or products, recommended any of my products to someone, stopped by my booth, or all of the above THANK YOU! The amount of support I've had through this journey has been amazing and I am forever grateful for it! I love making everything and I love hearing about how much my products are loved once they are used! Times are tough for almost everyone right now and all I can hope for is that something I’ve made has brought you some joy and comfort this past year.

In the coming year, I’ll be adding more products to the line-up! I’m so excited for you to see what I have planned, but it’s still a secret for now! I’ll be learning how to film content for my social media so that you can see some of the process that goes into making your favorite products! If all goes well, I will be at more craft fairs in the coming year, so keep an eye out for where I’ll be! I’ll also be taking some courses to learn new ways to make things, more beneficial ingredients to add in, and how to grow to reach more people! So I hope to see you out there and I can’t wait to see what’s in store for Wallflower Botanical’s future!