How We Got Here

Just like most superheroes, every enterprise has its backstory. We started this company after experiencing frustrating candle shortages from a supplier. These candles were sold on an online hoodoo shop owned by one of our founders. Hearing our friends, colleagues and association members complaining about consistently unavailable stock and poor quality, we began to wonder: Why do so many people withstand this treatment? Why don’t they just find another supplier?” After some frustrating switches to others suppliers, it was clear that communication, quality, and consistency are not at the forefront of Esoteric, Religious and Spiritual candle suppliers.

So we decided it was time for that to change.

Our first task was to check in with a broader audience to find out just what issues they’ve experienced with their product suppliers, especially where candles are concerned. We discovered a lot:
– Manufacturers with massive shortages, often months at a time.
– 7-day Vigil Candles with Wicks that are too flimsy and are drowned by wax that doesn’t burn.
– Male and Female Figural candles that are such poor quality, many of them won’t stand up straight and with a big fat “Made in China” sticker on the bottom.

We have nothing against China manufacturing, but the quality of the figure candles wasn’t acceptable 30-40% of the time. Many of these shops would order a dozen boxes or more of figural candles with half of the candles coming in such embarrassing conditions they’d have to be doctored for them to be sellable. Or they would be forced to just sell them as-is.

We came to the conclusion that the many of the manufacturers of esoteric and religious products have a reputation that is more frustration than anything else: Orders that are taken but forgotten, an inventory system that is complete guesswork, merchandise on placed orders that isn’t available at delivery time to the tune of half the items requested (and with a 3-month backorder on items coming from China to boot!). Combine these problems with communication that is completely unprofessional, it’s all borderline offensive.

Which brings us to the worst of it all: These companies, having vast product lines including washes, baths and “aerosol sprays” that clearly list petroleum refined ingredients such as “D&C Blue #1” and unnatural looking bright pink “latex emulsion”, it leaves one asking, “where is the spirit medicine?”.

Well, that’s easy: There isn’t any.

It’s very disheartening, especially considering some of their product descriptions read, “Our authentic products are used in Voodoo, Hoodoo, Santeria, Wicca and Magick rituals by practitioners and laypersons alike.” Where is the ‘authenticity’ without Spirit Medicine? Where is the plant material? Using “Fragrance” as an ingredient is not an “essential oil” taken from the heart of a plant. “Fragrance” is a synthetic substance refined from petroleum products and has zero Spirit Medicine to enact change in the world. In the world of animism and earth-based spiritual circles, these things are unacceptable. Companies like these to ignore basic beliefs of the spiritual practices, traditions, and religions they are attempting to peddle these products to.

It’s time that we began to offer our own authentic, high-quality products to members of these various spiritual circles, practices, and religions as an organization who understands their basic needs. We are a business comprised of people who belong to many of these traditions and understand the differing things between them and how they are respected individually. We make our products ourselves, here in the United States, which allows us closely monitor quality and provide consistent inventory. No 3-month shortages, no more 4 out of 10 novena candles refusing to burn due to poor wicks and No more figure candles that won’t stand up straight.

Looking at our colleagues and the options before us, we set out to create this company with a purpose of not being the largest, but instead on being the best. Where other manufacturers of spiritual candles have given preferential treatment to their large, big-box store accounts, we want to be a supplier to the smaller shops and botanicas that keep these individual spiritual traditions alive. These may be religions, spiritual belief systems, and practices, but at the end of the day our shops and stores are still businesses who employ many people and provide for many customers who rely on these products and in no way should we ever have to stand for mediocrity where these things are concerned.

We are excited to provide for the community!

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