Our Story
Candle Stork took flight from a desire to detoxify my own home.
I was the typical American woman that grew up burning Bath and Body Works candles, spritzing perfumes, and slathering myself in cashmere woods body lotion. All my skincare, haircare, laundry detergent, heck even my trash bags had artificial fragrances added to them. It was the norm. For me, and every other woman I knew, it was always a priority to smell good.
It wasn't until my mid-twenties working as a conventional candle maker that my high exposure to fragrance caught up with me. I began suffering from terrible headaches and sore throat whenever candles were burning. The Glade plug-ins in every dentist office, shop, and home I entered became excruciating for me. I started holding my breath whenever walking past Bath and Body Works at the mall, and my eyes would water from the overpowering candles. My routine of artificially-fragranced-everything was over.
Once I knew that fragrance was the problem, it became impossible not to find it lurking in every product I used. And it truly is everywhere. Not only are artificial fragrances found in most candles, air fresheners, and perfume, they're also hidden in all our personal care products, cosmetics, shampoo, dish soap, laundry detergent, household cleaners, and so many other products most of us are using in our homes and on our bodies every single day. It was truly overwhelming. I began the journey of deciphering ingredient labels and sorting out what was safe and what was alarmingly toxic. Slowly I swapped all my toxic products for better brands with ingredient labels I could understand.
The word "fragrance" or "parfum" on a product can mask up to 4000 different chemicals, and many are hazardous with long term health effects. These formulas are completely unregulated by the FDA because they are considered trade secret. Study upon study has now shown us that fragrances have been linked to skin and respiratory issues, headaches and migraines, and reproductive/endocrine issues, as well as new research suggesting that prolonged exposure to certain fragrance compounds may also increase the risk of dementia and multiple cancers.
When I struggled to find low tox candle options after going fragrance-free, I used my background in candle making and set out to make a clean ingredient candle. From the beginning my goal was ingredient transparency. As an increasingly distrustful consumer myself, I knew I needed to have a full ingredient label on each of my products. I fell in love with beeswax candles for their golden light, subtle honey scent, and the air-purifying properties that make it naturally hypo-allergenic, and perfect for anyone with sensitivities. I realized beeswax was the perfect base for a better kind of candle.
After a matter of months testing and developing my essential oil blends, I began sharing my scented beeswax candles with family and friends.
The collections I've created now are truly my labor of love, and I am extremely proud to have healthy options for others who want to lower their toxic burden while still enjoying beautifully scented candles. My goal with each candle isn't just to make a sale and move on to the next customer; it's to create a community wealthy in knowledge and armed with a product that can actually make an impact on health, mood, and quality of life.
I'm so grateful to each and every one of you who feels called to make a purchase, and I hope our products help you to create beautiful moments in your nest, every day. I look forward to growing together on our journey towards healthy living.
Candle Stork Founder, Nettie Colvin
