We had the good fortune of connecting with Katlyn Katona and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Katlyn, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
Crafty Mom Candles’ Origins

Hi, I’m Katlyn, the founder of Crafty Mom Candles.

Crafty Mom Candles, LLC was born over a few years between kids and me needing a creative outlet. It began when my youngest was born 10 years ago 30 weeks early and me needing something to keep Postpartum Depression at bay. It was then reignited 3 years ago with black soot on my wall from a well known candle company that made me research what was in them – YIKES!

Right then I decided I wanted to create a healthier and safer candle in my home. Little did I know this endeavor would turn into such a huge part of our lives. I proudly take the time to hand pour all of my candles to ensure quality and safety is brought into your home.

My candles are all soy based with fragrance oils that now are from a vendor specializing in Clean Scents for Home. This means there are none of the things that are unsafe for pets, children and you! These oils are specially formulated to be fragrant, safe and free of the following:

✖ Carcinogens: These are materials known or thought to cause cancer.
✖ Mutagens: Materials that change the DNA of a cell, harming the cell and causing diseases like cancer.
✖ Reproductive toxins: Toxins that adversely affect reproductive organs and increase the risk of birth defects.
✖ Organ toxins: These are toxins that can cause adverse effects or disease within specific bodily organs.
✖ Acute toxins: Toxins that can cause adverse effects from a single exposure.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
What sets Crafty Mom Candles apart is a well made, affordable candle with unique scents and well…me. I put myself into the brand and all the candles that I create. People want to support a person behind the brand and I make it a point to put myself out there daily with social media channels and in person events. What started out as a small operation in my kitchen has grown into a 3 figure business with a larger production space we just moved into. To get here we had to do a lot in the background in regards to legal items and follow up constantly. We formed the LLC so we could acquire a business bank account and insurance to protect our customers and ourselves. We check trademarks for candle names and try hard to be unique with our products. All of this while working a full time job (and I still do!) to grow the business but also continue to support my family of 4 – 6 if you count the cats.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Redford, which is a suburb of Detroit, is where we live and have our business based out of. This city has so many unique things to offer but we would start with breakfast at Redford Grill, then a trip to the Detroit Zoo, a late lunch at What the Pho and ice cream at Vicky’s Ice Cream. We would spend the following days going to the surrounding cities and exploring the local parks. They would leave with candles galore!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My business came about for wanting to give my kids a better life (both financially and healthier product wise) so they are absolutely my motivation is this business. My husband has also been my biggest supporter; from helping when I need to package, order processing, better streamline of process to just sitting with me and talking while I pour he has definitely made having this business fun and manageable.

Website: www.craftymomcandlesllc.com

Instagram: @craftymomcandles

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/craftymomcandles

Other: Tik tok is one of my largest platforms with close to 19K followers @craftymomcandles

Image Credits
all others Philip Ellerby – Pirates Endeavor Dakota – Sunflower Productions LLC – Photos of me and main one holding the candles, Katlyn Katona

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutSocal is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.