By AMY RICKER
Great Bend Post
When it comes to the holidays, many people have scents that they associate with a past celebration. It may be the smell of crushed peppermint, cinnamon apple cider, or a freshly cut pine tree. Whatever it is, chances are, there’s a scented candle to take you back to that happy time whenever you light it.
Candle sales are booming. U.S. retail sales of candle products are estimated at approximately $3.14 billion annually, with about 80% of Americans using fragrance in their home because it helps them relax according to according a study from The NPD Group.
Kansas Earth and Sky Candles Co. owner Scott Andersen says he and his wife, Jennie, started their candle business in Ellinwood at the end of 2016.
“My wife grew up in Ellinwood. At one point, her mom said, ‘Hey, you guys should move out here to the farm,’ and we initially thought it was too big for us. I work as a graphic designer, and after we thought about it, we dropped everything, moved out to the farm, and I started doing graphic design full-time. We moved in with our in-laws for a year, and during that time, Jennie sent me a link to a candle that she wanted to buy. My first thought when I looked at the link was, ‘I bet I can make that,’” explained Andersen.
The Andersens started researching and began making scented candles in their house. The next step was to build a website. Since Scott was a graphic designer, the website was up before the product line was even finished. “We started selling them to family, friends and online and eventually got a building here on Main Street in Ellinwood in 2018. We took ownership of it in 2019, and I’ve been running around crazy busy ever since trying to keep up. When I think about it, it’s been a weird thing that’s sort of evolved.”
Andersen says they’ve spent the last two years upgrading equipment and adding to their product lines. But how do they get the ideas for a new scent to turn into a candle?
“It just sort of happens. If we are out and about or at the farm and we find something that smells good, we try and recreate it. We try and think back on memories that we have, like our candle, Evening Tobacco. My wife and I both had grandfathers that smoked a pipe after supper in the evening, and it was a good memory,” explains Andersen.
That is what drives their business; the ability to tap into good memories with scents from the past and be able to relive those happy moments.
“In a weird way, the sense of smell is a very strange and underrated thing that people don’t have access to a lot of the time—for example, pipe tobacco. You may not have a bag lying around, but scented candles give you access to things that you might not otherwise get. That’s especially important for this area. I’ve moved around my whole life, and Kansas is really underrated. There really is a lot of cool stuff out here, and being a suburban kid who moved to Central Kansas, I was really struck by the amazing sky, and how it is always changing and the earth is just this line. That’s actually where our name came from,” says Anderson.
Kansas Earth and Sky candles and wax melts are made out of soy because soy burns longer and cleaner. Anderson explains that candles that are not made out of soy are made out of Paraffin.
“Paraffin is a derivative of petroleum, so it’s not inherently as healthy as soy to burn. Soy is sustainable and renewable, and the soy we get comes from the Midwest. We try to keep everything as local as possible. Soy burns about twice as long as Paraffin and is a lot cleaner. But Paraffin is also a lot cheaper, which is why you can buy a paraffin candle for next to nothing at some stores. The other thing is, we are making these candles ourselves and breathing it in day after day, so I also want to keep it healthy for myself and my family. It’s just more natural of a product.”
Everything is made from start to finish in the store. They have racks and racks of oils and make their own blends by experimenting and mixing the oils.
“I have a huge case of every smell. I have vanilla bean to hickory BBQ to citrus to bacon to rosemary to baked ham. It’s insane the variety of scented oils that are out there. When you have an idea, like our sweet clover and alfalfa candle, we had to try and get that alfalfa smell. So, I sat down with a dropper and started mixing two drops of this and three drops of that. I take a ton of notes, and after a lot of experimenting, it eventually comes out right. Don’t get me wrong, there’s a lot of mistakes made,” chuckles Anderson. “But it’s a lot of fun. It’s a very strange and creative way to formulate things.”
Kansas Earth and Sky Candle launched classes at the beginning of 2020. People could sign up, come in, and experiment with mixing their scented oils and creating their own unique candle. Unfortunately, those classes were stopped not long after they started due to the pandemic, but they are planning to restart those sessions again in the future when it is safe to do so.
The storefront is currently closed due to COVID-19. Their sales now come from their website, although they did have a lot of foot traffic when the store was open.
“I was able to set it up to do curbside pickup so people could shop online, checkout, and choose curbside pickup. When your order is ready, we text you. Once they get here, I’ll bring it out to their car. It’s tricky because people want to come in, shop, and smell the candles. We started selling two-ounce sample candles that are affordable and people can buy to try out. Of course, we ship orders too,” says Andersen.
Andersen says they are swamped during the holiday season, and the most popular scent is “Vintage Christmas.” It’s a blend of pine, spice and orange which creates a pleasant Christmas smell. “Hot Cider” is the oldest and another popular scent this time of year.
As far as the future, Andersen says he wants to get the classes going again.
“We have a really cool, vintage building that was built in 1892, and we’ve tried to bring back some of the Ellinwood historic qualities and style. I am looking forward to those events. I also want to keep growing organically without cutting corners. I also want to stay connected to our customers,” explains Andersen.
In fact, they write notes to stay connected with people with every order, which Andersen says is appreciated by their customers.
To view Kansas Earth and Sky Candle’s product lines, visit kansasearthandskycandle.com.
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