Hello! My name is Courtney Orlicki and I am the creator and founder of CSC'S Candle Bakery. It has always been a dream of mine to start my own business, even as a child, but I never knew where to start. My previous career was a Certified Phlebotomist and Medical Assistant with interests in becoming a NICU Nurse.
January of 2022, I was very burnt out in the medical field and yearned for a change. There were many, many nights I begged God to show me what the next step in my life was. I was tired of working a 9-5 job, leaving my three young children and my husband.
God put it on my heart to quit my job and start my own business. To be honest, I was terrified because I knew nothing at the time of how to start a business, let alone how to become a successful business. Quitting my job would also mean putting a strain on my finances, but God keep pushing me to trust Him. January 14, 2022, I officially quit my job. My husband was very supportive of my decision and we decided to open a small, online boutique. We started off with dropshipping then switched to purchasing inventory wholesale. We sold many products from clothing, accessories, house decor, and basic candles. We quickly learned that candles sold the best out of all of our inventory, but due to the pricing of what we were being charged to purchase candles wholesale, and the amount of what we would profit, we decided that making our own candles would be more profitable.
I wanted to create a unique product, something that no one in my small town of Princeton, West Virginia made or sold. With hours of research, candle making classes, and DIY articles, I decided on Dessert Style Candles. I became the first person in Princeton, West Virginia to create these specialty candles and therefore my business took off faster than I ever anticipated. Stores in the area began reaching out asking me to set up my products in their stores, as well as stores that wasn't in my area. I sold my products wholesale to NC, SC, VA, Maine, and Florida. My dreams began to come true before my eyes and I was overwhelmed with joy!
July of 2022, I purchased a shed to convert into my candle workshop. Because of such demand for my products, my kitchen became too small to produce my candles and wax melts. And in August 2022, my husband had to quit his full time job as a Medical Equipment delivery driver to help me with production.
By October of 2022, our business had grown so much that we hired part time help. We began to set up at many craft shows in the area as well. And in late November, our local news station invited us in for an interview of our company. I was absolutely thrilled and excited. They featured us in a few articles and live news reporting. Two days later, news stations across the country picked up our story and even news stations in Canada. By mid December, our small company was being seen around the country. Our typical order load quadrupled. We worked 14-16 hours everyday to keep up with demand for holiday orders. At the time, our website was set up as a made to order.
January 2023, we was driving through town searching for a new house to move into so we would have more room for our candle studio. We happened to drive by a commercial building for rent. With no previous thoughts of ever being able to opened a storefront, I paid no attention. But my husband pulled over and looked at me and said "God is leading me on this path. It's time to open our store front." I was scared. How could we run a store and have time to manufacture our products? My husband had the idea of using our storefront for not only selling our products but for production of our products as well. Our store would be set up in a way that customers would be able to see the process of how we make our candles and wax melts. I loved the idea and so we went for it!
February 10th, 2023, we officially opened our first brick and mortar store. How exciting it was! Grand opening day, we was flooded with support from our community! People lined up hours before opening! Two news stations came to capture the ribbon cutting. My heart was so full!
After opening, our products began to fly off the shelf! People loved our products and until this day, line up on restock day to get their part of our one of a kind wax melts and candles. To be able to keep our shelves stocked, we temporarily paused our website in February. We wanted to stop the business model of made to order and switched our website to an on hand and ready to ship business model. Since February, my husband and I have been working hard to build up our inventory for our website relaunch May 1st! That time is also here and we are beyond excited to start offering our products online again! And this time, no long wait times.
We are so appreciative to everyone who has support us and who are continuing their support of our dream. A huge thank you goes out to everyone in our community and to all of our online customers! Thank you for choosing CSC's Candle Bakery for your candle and wax melt supplier. I love you all!
Sincerely,
Courtney Orlicki ❤️