Young Entrepreneurs Start a Whimsical Candle Business in Broad Channel
By Katie McFadden
There’s something whimsical in town to add to your holiday shopping list. What started as a fun family project making candles in their basement has blossomed into a full-fledged business for 12-year-old Hailey and 10-year-old Chloe Murphy. From selling them on their corner in Broad Channel just about six weeks ago to now hitting the holiday markets, wHimsical wiCk creAtions is leaving behind a trail of magical smells everywhere they land, and a lasting impression.
About seven weeks ago, Barbara Krulish saw a candle making kit on Amazon and thought it would make for a fun project for her two young daughters, Hailey and Chloe. Their first shot at it went well. “They did the whole thing themselves,” Krulish said. It went so well that the girls thought that maybe their neighbors would be interested in their candles. “They wanted to make their own money for the holidays, and I said, ‘well, you can’t just ask people, so you gotta do something,’” Krulish said. “We decided to sell a bit on the corner of our block, and we sold a lot, so we decided to make it bigger, and it took off,” Hailey Murphy said. “We did a bunch of things to figure out the perfect formula to make the scents perfect.”
Using soy wax and all natural vegan ingredients, the girls measure and pour each candle themselves. They already have 82 scent possibilities, with special seasonal options. “We’re experimenting with a lot of scents and realizing which ones we should keep permanently, and which ones should be seasonal,” Hailey Murphy said. Hailey’s personal favorite scent, and one that has been a big seller so far, is sweet vanilla caramel, while Chloe loves the clean cotton scent. But scents like campfire marshmallow, white birch and cashmere plum are also customer favorites, and they’re even already planning for future holidays, with a whiskey and leather inspired candle for Father’s Day in the works.
After school at P.S./M.S. 47 and on weekends, the girls have been learning everything about making candles and turning it into a business. It has been a learning process as they go along, trying out different tin vessels of different sizes, and quickly finding out that some containers work better than others, as their first option became too hot to handle. They’ve also experimented with adding colors but found that the color impacts the way that candles burn, so they’re sticking to regular wax. They’ve also found that candles can come in different sizes, so they’re now offering 4 oz, 8 oz, 10 oz and 12 oz options, ranging from $12 to $19 each and tea lights. They also learned that there are options out there for folks who might not want open flames, but love the smells, so they’ve added wax melts to their inventory, and they’re already looking into creating soaps and air fresheners.
On the business side of things, the girls have already been learning about keeping inventory, what supplies they need, and how to sell. They’re even come up with a rewards card, offering 10% off for every third candle and 20% off for every sixth candle. They’re already shipping out orders and are even offering monthly subscription boxes for those who want to get different scents every month. As they quickly expand, the girls needed a name, so they came up with one, wHimsical wiCk creAtions, putting emphasis on the first letters of their names, Hailey, Chloe, and their older cousin, Alanna Krulish, who has been a big help. Their friends have since taken interest in the business, so the girls have also enlisted the help of Summer, Hayden, Mia and Gabby to make candles and deliver them around town. They appreciate the help as Chloe Murphy says, “Making candles is a lot of work!”
After initially selling on their corner, neighbors started reaching out to the family directly to find out how they can order more. And they’ve since expanded their sales locations as people asked them to participate in holiday markets. So far, they’ve done one at St. Bernard Church in Brooklyn, St. Helen’s Church in Howard Beach, the VFW in Broad Channel, P.S. 373 in Ozone Park and My Mother’s Place 2 for their recent Shake & Shop event. And coming up, they’ll be at First Congregational Church’s Christmas Bazaar (320 Beach 94th Street) on Saturday, December 7 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and at another market in Gerritsen Beach in Brooklyn.
So far, markets have been going well as they’ve sold around 200 candles since starting out. “One lady came to a market and bought a white birch candle and came back three hours later and we said, ‘weren’t you just here?’ She said, ‘I went home and lit it and it’s fabulous, please, can I have the rest that you have?” Hailey Murphy shared. Their whimsical scents have caught so much attention that Barbara says they’ve been invited to sell at an event during New York Fashion Week in February. And beyond that, they’ve already got an order of 300 candles for a wedding in March.
Chloe and Hailey’s mom, Barbara, has been so inspired by her daughters, that she quit her job to help them. “I’m so proud of them, I’m invested solely in them. I missed a lot of time with them working as a single mom and I was unhappy, so once I started seeing the response they were getting, I started seeing how far this can go, and now I’ll have the time to help them. I’m trying to teach them that if you find your passion and something you love to do, you won’t have to be unhappy working any other job,” she said. Barbara also hopes her daughters’ story inspires other young entrepreneurs. “Their friend Lucas saw what they were doing and said maybe he should’ve kept up with his t-shirt business. Maybe other kids will see this and decide to do something productive,” Krulish said.
For more information about wHimsical wiCk creAtions and to order, check out their Instagram at @whimwics1722 and Whimsical Wick Creations on Facebook.
