The Woman behind the Wax, Interview with the Owner of Crabby Candle Co!

If you are a regular reader of my blog, your probably know I melt a LOT of tarts from Crabby Candle Co. So when I decided to do interviews, I knew without a doubt I had to get in touch with Rebecca and harass her into answering some questions for me. Luckily for me (and for her! lol) she was interested, and no harassment was required. (Just kidding of course)
So I bring to you, my highly anticipated (especially by me) interview with the Woman behind the Wax; Owner of Crabby Candle Co!

Please tell us about yourself!

The Crabby Family

Hello!  I'm Rebecca, owner of Crabby Candle Co. I'm 27 years old, a Taurus, and I like long walks on the beach... oh, wait. Never mind. :-D (Hey lady! Not that kind of interview!!)
I'm a full time stay a home mom to two adorably rotten children- Eliza, who's 5, and Orrie, who's 2- and a wonderful husband, Edward, who's a full time designer/drafter, and full time student going back to get his bachelors in Mechanical Engineering (did I mention we're all crazy around here? lol)  We live in northern Kentucky, just outside of Cincinnati. We're a motley crew, but I wouldn't have it any other way. ;-)
I've loved all things candle related since I was young (probably too young to be lighting things on fire, but oh well- it worked out!) and I've dabbled around making them for about 2 years. A year ago, I became serious about it after a few online friends asked to buy some. The rest is Crabby history... 

 How did you learn how to make your own candles and tarts?

Google U! :-D Funny, but true. I'm completely self-taught, and there's been a lot of trial and error lessons in there, but I'm glad for that because I have learned SO much in the process. I truly don't think there isn't a wax or wick I haven't tried!

 

What type of wax do you use, and why?

Crabby Cubes!

Actually, that's one thing I think makes our tarts/candles a little different... I make my own tart wax mix (which is a soy paraffin blend) myself - no pre-blends, just lots of testings to get the mix just right, and we think we've found a nice custom blend. And our candles are the same, just with different types of soy/paraffin. Hopefully our customers find that to be a good thing because I think our mix helps the tarts perform well, last a long time, and is easy to clean out of warmers.

 

You must get this all the time but, how did you get the name Crabby Candle Co? 

Ah yes! It's really a great thing at craft shows- folks love to come up and ask about the name! Oddly enough, I'm kind of an Astrology fanatic (understatement) and somehow, in the middle of brainstorming names with my husband, I threw out Crabby (since my husband and daughter are both Cancers) Candle, and it morphed into Crabby Candle Co. When folks ask if I'm the crabby one I laugh and say no, it's my husband- and it's true! In both senses of the word. ;-) 

Who designed the crab? He's adorable! And the cloth crab with the googly eyes?

 I actually found my crab on a design site and bought the rights to him. I <3 him! And my Clarence the Cantankerous Crab (the crocheted one with the googly eyes) is a one of a kind creation by my super talented friend, Sara (who also owns Like a Fox Photography - did I mention super talented? lol) 

I LOVE the tart sampler idea . How did you come up with it? How do you decide what gets into the box each month?

When I first started, I had a few giveaways of new scents to get feedback on them, and it really helped me to decide which scents to add to our available list. I thought it would be a great idea to allow people to try them out at a discounted rate in return for some feedback on them. I try to put a good assortment in so that there's something for everyone. I've got TONS of samples (because I can't restock without grabbing a few new scents) so I go through them and wax the ones I want to try for that month and if they do well for me, they get added to the list! It's done wonderfully- and I'm glad you like it! <3 

 

What is your all time best selling scent?

The Crabby Couple!

 Oh geez-  There's a few that come to mind, because Summer scents and Winter scents are so opposite- Summer best seller would have to be Raspberry Lemonade (which tickles me because that's the first scent I mixed myself) and Winter is definitely Pumpkin Cornbread. 

What scent is your personal favorite? And your families'? 

My favorites have changed a lot over the last year because surprisingly (to me at least) my sense of smell has changed dramatically- and in a good way, thankfully. Scents that used to smell like one thing, smell completely different to me as I pick up the different notes a lot stronger now. Never expected that one! But my current favorite that you'd catch me melting if you dropped by my house is Vanilla Lace. My husband LOVES Blue Sugar and Himalayan Bamboo and my kids just want to sniff any of them. lol 

I think the Halloween seasonal items look great. Which one was the biggest hit with your customers? What gave you the idea to make your candles “bleed”?

Crabby's Bleeding Candles!

Thanks! :-) My husband came up with that one! He had seen one a few years ago and thought it was really neat, so I decided to try it out. I worked on them for awhile before I got them just right, and I'm really proud of them! And customers really seemed to love the Braaaiins tarts, and I mean, really- who doesn't love them some good brains?

Any other new scents or products coming soon? Do you have something fun for the Christmas Season planned?

 Ah, Christmas! I'm really excited about the gift baskets we're already getting together. There's going to be a lot of different options- from smaller, more affordable baskets, to all-out-customized baskets- and everything in between. I'm working on getting plenty of warmers in different size/price ranges so that everyone will be able to find something they like!

 You always seem to have something going on. Do you have someone to help you out when there are a lot of orders to be filled? Do you have a dedicated workspace? 

Crabby's Workspace

My wonderful husband is my side-kick. He's the Robin to my Batman (he'd argue that one, but we all know it's true. ;-) ) Although he's not really involved in the mixing/making process, he's my packaging man.  He's also the person I bounce all my ideas off of and get feedback from.  His other job is babysitter so I can get orders poured in the evenings! And I do, thankfully, have a dedicated workspace, which I love and appreciate being able to have. We converted one of our bedrooms into my 'work room'- if not, the 2 and 5 year old would be into *everything*!

  

Do you participate in any local events such as fairs or markets?

I do on occasion- thankfully my internet sales keep me pretty busy, but I do enjoy the interaction with customers at shows. :-) And I'm always looking for good business to carry my products in their stores.

Do you currently (or will you in the near future) have your products in stores?

I've met with a few places recently about having them add my products to their stores- just small places around the Cincinnati area, and I'm hoping they think we're a good fit. I'm still throwing around the idea of just opening my own store front, but there's a LOT to consider with that one!

Rebecca's favorite warmer

I would love to see a picture of your favorite warmer if you have one. What do you like best about it and where did you find it?

I've converted a heat plate warmer with a metal tart tray, thanks to the ladies at WAU for the idea! (Your welcome ;P) and it's become my favorite, though I've always been partial to the heat-plate type of warmers.

 Do you have a funny candle making, or wax related story to share?

Oh geez! LOL Let's just say my carpet had a run in with a whole bottle of candle dye.. and the dye won! (most of it came out, but we'll still probably have to replace the carpet... and I may or may not have been the one to drop it... uhh, oops? lol) That sounds like something I would do. What color was it? If it were me, it would be guaranteed to be red! The dye was brown. I have a picture of it, but it doesn't look so good. LOL! It's a very unfortunate color brown, especially on a tan carpet! And the worst part is, it fell and like splashed.. almost 4 feet across the room. ugh!

If you had your own theme song, what would it be? 

"Another Day in Paradise" by Phil Vassar -- it makes me smile every time because it's so true to my life- in all the best ways possible. <3 Life's all in how you see it, and it's too short not to laugh at the small stuff. :-)  

And I'd just like to take a minute and say thank you for the great opportunity you've given me to let folks get to know the Addict behind the Wax. I truly appreciate the interest you take in the chandlers (Rebecca had to explain that "Chandlers" means candle maker, from the old days along with black smiths, masons, and potters. I hope I'm not the only one who didn't know that!) who make the tarts and candles you love and I know it means a lot to all of us! <3 
 

Thank you Rebecca, that's awfully sweet, and means a lot to me. :)
 Crabby Candle Co is offering a special discount just for my readers, but instead of doing a code she gave me a link to which will take you directly to this exclusive sale. 

She is offering 
 5 - Crabby Sticks, 3.5oz each, 17.5oz toal
13 - Crabby Patties samples, 1oz each, 13oz total 
That's 30.5 oz for the entire box. 

You can choose to have them in Fall or Winter scents. If you are particularly undecided (like I usually am) there is a third Mixed option. The mixed choice will be the best scents from the Fall and Winter boxes.
 Normally these packages go out for $34.15, but until October 28th she is selling them to my readers for $25.00 including shipping! If you're interested in one of her boxes you can. order them HERE. I am obsessed with the tart sampler boxes, and I personally have 1 of each of these already. They are goooood!

Crabby's Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/crabbycandleco
Visit their website at http://www.crabbycandleco.com/

I want to give a huge thanks to Rebecca, and to the readers of course. You are what makes this blog possible, and so much fun to write!