Out with the Old...in with the New!
So 2010 is fast coming to a close and 2011 is coming equally as fast right around the corner. While the old year was overall a pretty good year, we're VERY excited in regards to how the start of the year is already shaping up. A personal friend of ours who is the owner of an Office Supply company has approached us about partnering with them to offer all their customers an opportunity to purchase our Adirondack Candles for their offices/work place. This is a market that we are not currently in, but which the major candle companies are in, in other areas. We are very excited about this new marketing niche and the potential expansion of Adirondack Candle Company candles into a bigger segment of the market.
I know the owner of this company personally...he's a long time personal friend who shares my Optimistic view of the world and business, has a very sharp business mind, has a great family who we're personal friends with, and who has a love for family and friends that I share and also admire. We're not only thrilled for this opportunity, but more importantly to do it with such a fine individual and company. We're honored that he thought of us and thought enough of our company to want our candles to be a part of his offering to his customers.
That's exciting....what's more exciting is to see what else the New Year will bring us. My belief is that if you are in a contant state of mind and being to accept and recieve good things, good things WILL happen to you. Some people believe good things happen to people because they are lucky...I'm of the belief that if you work hard enough, have great ethics, surround yourself with good people and positive energy....good things will come to you because you prepared yourself to allow it to happen. That's not luck, it's preperation and "stick-toitiviness"!
So, Happy New Year to all of you. We wish you a very Happy, and Safe New Year filled with many happy days. Eat right, exercise as much as you can, tell those around you how much you love them....oh, and keep enjoying our Adirondack Candle Company candles. We love making them for you...it's truly an honor!
Please share us with a friend, we'd sure appreciate it.
Have a Great Adirondack Day!
~your Adirondack Candle guy
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Candles for the World! (How it all started)
Wow....wouldn't that be a great opportunity for us at the Adirondack Candle Company. A very close friend often says that very same thought to us all the time...."Candles for the World"...how cool.
We have grown a lot since we first started making candles back in 1993. We started our business in 1994....but in reality we were busy trying to "figure out how to even do it" during 1993. Not too many people know how it all started....maybe we should share it with you. Pull up a comfortable chair and let me tell you how it all started.
Our twins, Mike and Christina, were only about 2 years old and literally running under our feet wherever we went in the house. In fact, our house was much, much smaller back then compared to what it is today. We only had a one story bungalow back then and the twins bedroom was literally only 8' x 9'. WOW!
So, back to our story....I'm a "do it yourself" kind of guy and I was rebuilding our kitchen (gutted right down to the studs and rebuilt from there)...and I thought "how hard could it be to make a candle?". You see...we really LOVED Yankee Candles back then....I know, I know...we really don't like to say those things, but back then...yea, we loved them. But...they sure were expensive and we couldn't afford them with the twins. So...I started the process. It took MONTHS to make them, test them, THROW THEM OUT...and start all over. In the end we succeeded and thought we had a good product. I thought of a name, then thought about it more....didn't really think it was that great, and went back to the drawing board. I didn't know where this whole process would take us...but if it got big (if you know me....I do dream big all the time!), I wanted the name to be something that "had legs" and could grow. There it was....the Adirondack Candle Company....I knew it in my heart that this could be a big company. I wanted it to be centered around something that I loved and then built it to reflect that vision, that feeling, that region....that brand.
With that, we marketed the product to 4 local stores, and they liked it....or maybe because they knew me that were just being kind....whatever the case, if we failed and they never reordered, well, at least we would have made back our initial investment and would not be out anything. We started with a $500 investment and would have broke even without a reorder....but as you know, that NEVER happened...they reordered and we grew from there.
I don't believe in failure...so truth be told I knew it wouldn't fail. I would just keep working it until it succeeded....that's what I do! We looked at old photo's recently and found one from the very start of the company...when we made them in our kitchen.....3 at a time. Yes...that's right...3 AT A TIME! Hahaha...too funny. The first year we "stocked" our product (Our inventory was 20 candles on a small shelf) we were thrilled when on Christmas Eve we sold the last one! We were sooooo proud. Now, we sell them by the thousands per year. Very cool!
So...we thank ALL OF YOU who have supported us and allowed us the priviledge of continuing to grow and bring you our "love in a jar" that we call the Adirondack Candle Company. The way we're going, and with a little luck...maybe it will be "Candles for the World" in the end!
Have a Great Adirondack Day!
your Adirondack Candle Guy~
We have grown a lot since we first started making candles back in 1993. We started our business in 1994....but in reality we were busy trying to "figure out how to even do it" during 1993. Not too many people know how it all started....maybe we should share it with you. Pull up a comfortable chair and let me tell you how it all started.
Our twins, Mike and Christina, were only about 2 years old and literally running under our feet wherever we went in the house. In fact, our house was much, much smaller back then compared to what it is today. We only had a one story bungalow back then and the twins bedroom was literally only 8' x 9'. WOW!
So, back to our story....I'm a "do it yourself" kind of guy and I was rebuilding our kitchen (gutted right down to the studs and rebuilt from there)...and I thought "how hard could it be to make a candle?". You see...we really LOVED Yankee Candles back then....I know, I know...we really don't like to say those things, but back then...yea, we loved them. But...they sure were expensive and we couldn't afford them with the twins. So...I started the process. It took MONTHS to make them, test them, THROW THEM OUT...and start all over. In the end we succeeded and thought we had a good product. I thought of a name, then thought about it more....didn't really think it was that great, and went back to the drawing board. I didn't know where this whole process would take us...but if it got big (if you know me....I do dream big all the time!), I wanted the name to be something that "had legs" and could grow. There it was....the Adirondack Candle Company....I knew it in my heart that this could be a big company. I wanted it to be centered around something that I loved and then built it to reflect that vision, that feeling, that region....that brand.
With that, we marketed the product to 4 local stores, and they liked it....or maybe because they knew me that were just being kind....whatever the case, if we failed and they never reordered, well, at least we would have made back our initial investment and would not be out anything. We started with a $500 investment and would have broke even without a reorder....but as you know, that NEVER happened...they reordered and we grew from there.
I don't believe in failure...so truth be told I knew it wouldn't fail. I would just keep working it until it succeeded....that's what I do! We looked at old photo's recently and found one from the very start of the company...when we made them in our kitchen.....3 at a time. Yes...that's right...3 AT A TIME! Hahaha...too funny. The first year we "stocked" our product (Our inventory was 20 candles on a small shelf) we were thrilled when on Christmas Eve we sold the last one! We were sooooo proud. Now, we sell them by the thousands per year. Very cool!
So...we thank ALL OF YOU who have supported us and allowed us the priviledge of continuing to grow and bring you our "love in a jar" that we call the Adirondack Candle Company. The way we're going, and with a little luck...maybe it will be "Candles for the World" in the end!
Have a Great Adirondack Day!
your Adirondack Candle Guy~
Monday, November 29, 2010
The process of creating new scents
Well....it may seem "Magical" that new scents just "appear" and become one of the many we already have....but I can assure you that much work goes into the process.
We're back in the testing mode in an effort to come up with new scents. If you aren't trying new things then you are just going with the flow. We want to always be adapting, growing, challenging ourselves to become bigger and better than we are. There are a couple of ways to come up with something new in the candle fragrance arena: 1) Take a couple of scents we already have and mix them together for a new scent. (we've done that before) 2) Get some entirely NEW scent samples from our scent companies and test them out.
Years ago when we were just starting, we found this to be a very easy process. We'd ask for some samples from the Scent company and they'd send us 5 or 6 to try. Most times we found most of them to be successful. By that I mean that the scent smelled great in the bottle (first test...gotta like it there before you go any further, right?), then we'd make a small batch and "test" them when we burned them. Did they give off the same smell we liked from the bottle? Did they "throw" the scent throughout the room? Some scents smell great but don't "throw" the scent...that's a Dud because if you our loyal customers can't smell them then they are not ultimately successful! Early on, we would test 6 scents and have 6 success's...it seemed very easy. Now adays it seems that if we get 6 scents to test, you MIGHT get one that is successful! Not sure why that is...maybe something different with the Fragrance companies and how they formulate samples...whatever the reason it's just not as easy as it used to be to come up with the next great scent. Sometimes we really like the scent but it's just not strong enough so we have the fragrance company "reformulate" it again, but stronger.....then go thru the testing process again. Sometimes this can happen multiple times before/if we get it the way we really want it. It's really a time consuming issue and not something to just make happen in a day or two. The whole process from start to finish can be weeks, sometimes months, in the making, then ordering the scent, getting delivery, making production...and offering to you. That all can take Months....and that's if we were successful all along the path.
So, here we are again....looking to try and find at least one or two new scents we can offer to our loyal Candle family fans.
Keep your fingers crossed....and as always, give us your comments about what YOU would like to see us offer. We've added some scents in the past that came about because of a "fan suggestion"...so, you never know.
Your Adirondack Candle Guy~
We're back in the testing mode in an effort to come up with new scents. If you aren't trying new things then you are just going with the flow. We want to always be adapting, growing, challenging ourselves to become bigger and better than we are. There are a couple of ways to come up with something new in the candle fragrance arena: 1) Take a couple of scents we already have and mix them together for a new scent. (we've done that before) 2) Get some entirely NEW scent samples from our scent companies and test them out.
Years ago when we were just starting, we found this to be a very easy process. We'd ask for some samples from the Scent company and they'd send us 5 or 6 to try. Most times we found most of them to be successful. By that I mean that the scent smelled great in the bottle (first test...gotta like it there before you go any further, right?), then we'd make a small batch and "test" them when we burned them. Did they give off the same smell we liked from the bottle? Did they "throw" the scent throughout the room? Some scents smell great but don't "throw" the scent...that's a Dud because if you our loyal customers can't smell them then they are not ultimately successful! Early on, we would test 6 scents and have 6 success's...it seemed very easy. Now adays it seems that if we get 6 scents to test, you MIGHT get one that is successful! Not sure why that is...maybe something different with the Fragrance companies and how they formulate samples...whatever the reason it's just not as easy as it used to be to come up with the next great scent. Sometimes we really like the scent but it's just not strong enough so we have the fragrance company "reformulate" it again, but stronger.....then go thru the testing process again. Sometimes this can happen multiple times before/if we get it the way we really want it. It's really a time consuming issue and not something to just make happen in a day or two. The whole process from start to finish can be weeks, sometimes months, in the making, then ordering the scent, getting delivery, making production...and offering to you. That all can take Months....and that's if we were successful all along the path.
So, here we are again....looking to try and find at least one or two new scents we can offer to our loyal Candle family fans.
Keep your fingers crossed....and as always, give us your comments about what YOU would like to see us offer. We've added some scents in the past that came about because of a "fan suggestion"...so, you never know.
Your Adirondack Candle Guy~
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Friends
Friends....all of us have them, some have many and many have few but to each of us a friend is a very important part of our life. So it is with us at the Adirondack Candle Company, and we're never more reminded of this then at our Annual Open House which just concluded for yet another 16th year (wow...hard to believe). It's always exciting to see new faces come through our door, for each new face is an opportunity to make another new friend...and you can never have enough of those. Yet what we find so appealing and rewarding each year is sitting in our usual spot, the comfy country couches in our living room, and hearing that door swing open....and then the suspense of "who is it that's going to walk through that door?".
This year for some strange reason we were surprised to see a number of people that for one reason or another had not made it to the Open House in a number of years. Maybe it was that little hand written note on the invitation, encouraging them to come see us, maybe their lives allowed them the window of opportunity to have a break in their busy schedules to come back and see us....no matter the reason, when they came into view and walked into our lives yet again, it was such a thrill to see them, hug them, and sit for a moment and share a laugh and catch up on things again. It happened quite a bit this year....maybe it's God way of bringing people back into our lives. Whatever the reason, it was very cool to reconnect.
We hope you have those opportunities where in your own way your "door opens" and you find that long lost friend you haven't seen in a while come back into your life, even if it's just briefly. For you see, many times you pick right up where you left off and walk away wondering why you didn't stay in touch to begin with.
So my friends...keep your front door unlocked....metaphorically speaking. Keep your heart open to reconnecting and you too will be surprised at those that come back into your lives. Embrace them and cherish them....I know we do. It's so great to see old friends, old dear friends.
Have a Great Adirondack Day!
your Adirondack Candle Guy~
This year for some strange reason we were surprised to see a number of people that for one reason or another had not made it to the Open House in a number of years. Maybe it was that little hand written note on the invitation, encouraging them to come see us, maybe their lives allowed them the window of opportunity to have a break in their busy schedules to come back and see us....no matter the reason, when they came into view and walked into our lives yet again, it was such a thrill to see them, hug them, and sit for a moment and share a laugh and catch up on things again. It happened quite a bit this year....maybe it's God way of bringing people back into our lives. Whatever the reason, it was very cool to reconnect.
We hope you have those opportunities where in your own way your "door opens" and you find that long lost friend you haven't seen in a while come back into your life, even if it's just briefly. For you see, many times you pick right up where you left off and walk away wondering why you didn't stay in touch to begin with.
So my friends...keep your front door unlocked....metaphorically speaking. Keep your heart open to reconnecting and you too will be surprised at those that come back into your lives. Embrace them and cherish them....I know we do. It's so great to see old friends, old dear friends.
Have a Great Adirondack Day!
your Adirondack Candle Guy~
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
exciting times
Hello All,
So, here we are in early November...let's take a look at what's happened recently. Broke my ankle in Mid September and now almost completely healed and working my way back to "normal". Still sore, but I will be back running before they said I would in 6 months..that's my goal. Be smart, but work hard to get back in shape!
The 16th Annual Open House was another success. So much work goes into this, and this year it was even more work for my wife Cathy as more of the burden fell upon her due to my broken ankle issue. She's such a wonderful person, I'm so blessed the Lord found her for me 25 years ago...what a blessing!
Business is booming...we're really at the "tipping point". That's a point where when you look back on something you realize that that was the time when things really started to snowball. That's where we're at. More and more stores are coming knocking on our door asking to carry our Adirondack Candle Company candles, what a very cool thing. We're in talks with another store that has 8 locations....wow!! Also, another business wants us to connect with them that in and of itself could be a HUGE opportunity!! It's soooo very exciting.
Also...the 'Daks a gret Life! wing of the business is in its infancy with some really exciting potential. That's "Mac" our Moose who has a positive outlook on life (www.facebook.com/daksagreatlife), so we'll see where that takes us also.
So, until we talk again, may you be blessed and we wish you a Great Adirondack Day!
your Adirondack Candle Guy~
So, here we are in early November...let's take a look at what's happened recently. Broke my ankle in Mid September and now almost completely healed and working my way back to "normal". Still sore, but I will be back running before they said I would in 6 months..that's my goal. Be smart, but work hard to get back in shape!
The 16th Annual Open House was another success. So much work goes into this, and this year it was even more work for my wife Cathy as more of the burden fell upon her due to my broken ankle issue. She's such a wonderful person, I'm so blessed the Lord found her for me 25 years ago...what a blessing!
Business is booming...we're really at the "tipping point". That's a point where when you look back on something you realize that that was the time when things really started to snowball. That's where we're at. More and more stores are coming knocking on our door asking to carry our Adirondack Candle Company candles, what a very cool thing. We're in talks with another store that has 8 locations....wow!! Also, another business wants us to connect with them that in and of itself could be a HUGE opportunity!! It's soooo very exciting.
Also...the 'Daks a gret Life! wing of the business is in its infancy with some really exciting potential. That's "Mac" our Moose who has a positive outlook on life (www.facebook.com/daksagreatlife), so we'll see where that takes us also.
So, until we talk again, may you be blessed and we wish you a Great Adirondack Day!
your Adirondack Candle Guy~
Monday, October 25, 2010
'Daks a great Life!
"Mac" the moose is the Adirondack Candle Company's new mascot, but he's more than our mascot, he was born to deliver a positive outlook on life with positive messages to our followers. This is an exciting new part to our business and we're going to see where it leads us.
For now you can become a fan of Mac at his facebook fan page at the following link: http://www.facebook.com/DaksagreatLife
So, we hope you enjoy this new part of the Adirondack Candle Company and more importantly we hope that in the end you realize that in many ways......'Daks a great Life!
your Adirondack Candle Guy
Saturday, October 16, 2010
"Have a Great Adirondack Day"
Hello again! I wanted to explain our "greeting/salutation" we use, the... "Have a Great Adirondack Day" saying.
As we leave you during our visits, and we wish you this salutation, we are hoping that most importantly you have a great day in general, and secondly that it's a great "Adirondack" day. That means a day filled with the simplicity and beauty that IS the Adirondack way of life. A day that would imagined to be sitting in an Adirondack chair on the edge of a calm lake on a warm summer night as the red sun sets in front of you over the pine covered hills in the distance. It doesn't get any better than that...does it?
It could also be a day spent indoors on a cool night, next to a fire in the lodge fireplace, sitting in a comfortable chair with your family/friends nearby.....oh yeah, and an Adirondack Candle Company candle burning on the nearby table giving you a "calmness" to the day.
Does it get any better than that? We don't think so.
That's why we always...as I will right now, say goodby for now and wish that you....
"Have a Great Adirondack Day"
Till we meet again...may you be blessed.
your Adirondack Candle Guy
As we leave you during our visits, and we wish you this salutation, we are hoping that most importantly you have a great day in general, and secondly that it's a great "Adirondack" day. That means a day filled with the simplicity and beauty that IS the Adirondack way of life. A day that would imagined to be sitting in an Adirondack chair on the edge of a calm lake on a warm summer night as the red sun sets in front of you over the pine covered hills in the distance. It doesn't get any better than that...does it?
It could also be a day spent indoors on a cool night, next to a fire in the lodge fireplace, sitting in a comfortable chair with your family/friends nearby.....oh yeah, and an Adirondack Candle Company candle burning on the nearby table giving you a "calmness" to the day.
Does it get any better than that? We don't think so.
That's why we always...as I will right now, say goodby for now and wish that you....
"Have a Great Adirondack Day"
Till we meet again...may you be blessed.
your Adirondack Candle Guy
Saturday, October 9, 2010
....with only 26 days left till this years Open House.
So, with only 26 days left till the busiest week of our Candle year, and while still nursing a broken ankle....I made it back into the "Candle Factory" to be of whatever help a temorary cripple can be! Actually, as long as I stayed in this one spot I was actually pretty productive and was able to contribute once again to the business, which felt really good again.
It's really tough to be down during this time of year but we've managed to figure out some different ways to do things and ultimately still get them done. It's still going to be a great Open House this year and we're so very much looking forward to seeing so many dear friends that converge on our house during this time. We're so thankful and so blessed.
If you're reading this we hope you can make it to the Open House. Go to www.facebook.com/adirondackcandle and check under "events" to see the details of when and where it is. We only ask one thing...well 2 things, first we encourage you to bring a friend who also brings a friend, etc...well you get the picture, and second....be ready to have fun!
Thanks so much for following the blog and thanks for supporting the Adirondack Candle Company and our products, we greatly appreciate it!
Have yourself a Great Adirondack Day!
your Adirondack Candle Guy
If you're reading this we hope you can make it to the Open House. Go to www.facebook.com/adirondackcandle and check under "events" to see the details of when and where it is. We only ask one thing...well 2 things, first we encourage you to bring a friend who also brings a friend, etc...well you get the picture, and second....be ready to have fun!
Thanks so much for following the blog and thanks for supporting the Adirondack Candle Company and our products, we greatly appreciate it!
Have yourself a Great Adirondack Day!
your Adirondack Candle Guy
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
16th Annual Open House
So...it's that time of year again, the time of year when there's a chill in the air, when the leaves start to turn, when the smell of Apple Pie is in the air...and also the time of year when we hold our Annual Adirondack Candle Company Open House. We LOVE this time of year!
We turn the whole first floor, of our normally quiet, charming country Colonial home into a candle store for 3 days in the first week of November...every year! Every room?...yes every room, even our kitchen which proudly stocks hand made cookies that match the scents and themes of the candles in that room. Oh yes, they are free cookies for the many, many people that wander and shop through our home during that time.
What's so cool is that year after year we hear so many people actually say "thank you" for doing this, "we start our Holiday season every year by coming to this", and "all of us come as a group and either go to dinner before we come or after...it's tradition, we love it". Wow...that's what keeps us going. Thank you!
While many people walk through and admire our set up, they don't know that it takes Cathy more than 3 weeks to set up and prepare for this 3 day event. It's a ton of work...but we could never imagine not doing this year after year.
So, with only about 4-1/2 weeks to go, we're underway in the preperations and looking forward to once again seeing so many great friends that we see gather together at our humble little house of candles!
Thanks for supporting us and helping us grow each and every year.
Have a Great Adirondack Day!
your Adirondack Candle Guy
We turn the whole first floor, of our normally quiet, charming country Colonial home into a candle store for 3 days in the first week of November...every year! Every room?...yes every room, even our kitchen which proudly stocks hand made cookies that match the scents and themes of the candles in that room. Oh yes, they are free cookies for the many, many people that wander and shop through our home during that time.
What's so cool is that year after year we hear so many people actually say "thank you" for doing this, "we start our Holiday season every year by coming to this", and "all of us come as a group and either go to dinner before we come or after...it's tradition, we love it". Wow...that's what keeps us going. Thank you!
While many people walk through and admire our set up, they don't know that it takes Cathy more than 3 weeks to set up and prepare for this 3 day event. It's a ton of work...but we could never imagine not doing this year after year.
So, with only about 4-1/2 weeks to go, we're underway in the preperations and looking forward to once again seeing so many great friends that we see gather together at our humble little house of candles!
Thanks for supporting us and helping us grow each and every year.
Have a Great Adirondack Day!
your Adirondack Candle Guy
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Every day is closer to the finish line
Hello Everyone,
I am continuing to move forward towards the day I get the cast off my leg. Being an avid runner and health nut, it's tough to "sit" and do mostly nothing for so long. There are so many things I keep thinking that I want to do, that I NEED to do....and it's tough to let go of that and ask others for help to do what I normally just do myself. I have great friends that have offered to help...and I have a fantastic wife and best friend who has just, as always, been my rock that I can rely on. She's wonderful....I am sooooo blessed!!!
We continue to prepare for our HUGE Annual Adirondack Candle Open House, which is upcoming Thurs/Fri/Sat Nov 4, 5 and 6th. Usually Cathy and I are very busy getting ready for this, all at the busiest time of year for the business in general....and now this year because of my predicament she has even more responsibility to get this ready and in place on her own. We're approaching it in a "small bite" type of management and little by little it's coming together and once again we will have a great successful Open House.
It's such a great time of year for us...we get to see all kinds of dear friends and candle loyalists during the Open House...it's so cool to see so many friends "start" their Holiday Season by coming to our Open House. Many come in groups, either going to dinner together before or after our Open House, using it as a great "re-union" for them and their friends. How very cool to be a part of that in someone's life...we're so honored!!!
So...stay positive, be strong in all you do, understand that if you aren't where you want to be today, with some hard work and some "stick to it" type attitude you can acheive all your dreams!
Have a Great Adirondack Day!
-your Adirondack Candle Guy
I am continuing to move forward towards the day I get the cast off my leg. Being an avid runner and health nut, it's tough to "sit" and do mostly nothing for so long. There are so many things I keep thinking that I want to do, that I NEED to do....and it's tough to let go of that and ask others for help to do what I normally just do myself. I have great friends that have offered to help...and I have a fantastic wife and best friend who has just, as always, been my rock that I can rely on. She's wonderful....I am sooooo blessed!!!
We continue to prepare for our HUGE Annual Adirondack Candle Open House, which is upcoming Thurs/Fri/Sat Nov 4, 5 and 6th. Usually Cathy and I are very busy getting ready for this, all at the busiest time of year for the business in general....and now this year because of my predicament she has even more responsibility to get this ready and in place on her own. We're approaching it in a "small bite" type of management and little by little it's coming together and once again we will have a great successful Open House.
It's such a great time of year for us...we get to see all kinds of dear friends and candle loyalists during the Open House...it's so cool to see so many friends "start" their Holiday Season by coming to our Open House. Many come in groups, either going to dinner together before or after our Open House, using it as a great "re-union" for them and their friends. How very cool to be a part of that in someone's life...we're so honored!!!
So...stay positive, be strong in all you do, understand that if you aren't where you want to be today, with some hard work and some "stick to it" type attitude you can acheive all your dreams!
Have a Great Adirondack Day!
-your Adirondack Candle Guy
Sunday, September 26, 2010
moving forward
Here we are, 4 days after ankle surgery to repair my broken ankle. Feeling better every day, more so than the last, but boy oh boy....6 weeks of this? Wow. I'm so grateful for such a great wife that is helping me through this ordeal which she is sharing with me. We actually just celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary in August and I'm so blessed to be married to such a great friend, wife and partner in our business. This is a mere "bump in the road" of life and we'll get through it quickly and come out of in better than before.
We are so excited about the Annual Open House coming up the first week of November (3rd, 4th and 5th) although we're obviously nervous also about how we're going to pull it off with me being in a cast till then....but what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. We're already figuring out how to do things in the business that are smarter than how we did them before....that 's a great thing. We also have some great friends who have come to our need and for that we are so grateful and blessed to have such great friends.
So...stay positive our Adirondack Candle Friends...we will figure this out and continue our march to "Candles for the World"!!
Remember...as always, Have a Great Adirondack Day!
your Adirondack Candle Guy
We are so excited about the Annual Open House coming up the first week of November (3rd, 4th and 5th) although we're obviously nervous also about how we're going to pull it off with me being in a cast till then....but what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. We're already figuring out how to do things in the business that are smarter than how we did them before....that 's a great thing. We also have some great friends who have come to our need and for that we are so grateful and blessed to have such great friends.
So...stay positive our Adirondack Candle Friends...we will figure this out and continue our march to "Candles for the World"!!
Remember...as always, Have a Great Adirondack Day!
your Adirondack Candle Guy
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
sidelined...stupid mistake
So, they say you become smarter with age. Some would say that's true. I'm a pretty smart guy but apparently I didn't listen to that "inner voice" that was saying "don't do that". In an effort to move a heavy object down some stairs, I almost made it to the bottom...one step away, when my right foot caught and then the object came down on me and my leg causing my right leg to collapse underneath me and ultimately breaking my right ankle. Hmmm....should have listened to that inner voice. So, after surgery tomorrow to repair the damage to my ankle, and my ego, and a cast for the next 6 weeks...I should be on my way back to a full and active life. In the meantime and at the busiest time of the year, we will have to learn to adapt to what is thrown at us. It's funny how "accidents" make you appreciate how good you have things when life is going day to day normally and you just don't have time to think of the "what if's?".
So...good health to all of you out there and hey...have a "Great Adirondack Day".
Your Adirondacy Candle Guy
So...good health to all of you out there and hey...have a "Great Adirondack Day".
Your Adirondacy Candle Guy
Friday, September 17, 2010
Open House planning
The warm summer nights have turned to that much anticipated "cool night" weather we love to move into in Upstate NY. The leaves are starting to turn, the nights are cooler, the garden is giving up its last of its products....and the phone has already started to ring off the hook with orders for candles. We just love this time of year! Unfortunately the only down side is we can't really enjoy the season like most people do because we're so busy working long hours trying to make candles, and more candles, and more candles. On top of the normal business we are (as always this time of year) in the throws of getting ready for our Annual Open House the first week of November.
It's such a cool event...it's become a tradition for all those loyal customers we called "Adirondack friends" that come every year, many times bringing somebody new that's never experienced it before. It will be our 15th Annual Open House...we started our business in 1994 and then in 1995 held our first one. For those are are used to the Open House every year they would not believe how far we've come since our first one...boy was that one small!! Ha ha...well, that's what growth will do for you.
Every year we turn our whole first level of our home into one big "Adirondack Candle Company Store"...literally every room that we normally live in gets turned into our store filled in each room with candles, gifts, accessories..oh, and did we mention candles! Even the kitchen has candles, with home made cookies made from scratch that matches many of the scents on display in the kitchen. Many people return yer after year just for the cookies...it's a big hit!
But it take a great deal of long range planning to pull it off and we are right smack in the middle even now of getting prepared to pull off another successful Open House. We can't wait to see many old friends that come every year...it's so cool!
Until the next time...have a Great Adirondack Day-
Your Adirondack Candle Guy
It's such a cool event...it's become a tradition for all those loyal customers we called "Adirondack friends" that come every year, many times bringing somebody new that's never experienced it before. It will be our 15th Annual Open House...we started our business in 1994 and then in 1995 held our first one. For those are are used to the Open House every year they would not believe how far we've come since our first one...boy was that one small!! Ha ha...well, that's what growth will do for you.
Every year we turn our whole first level of our home into one big "Adirondack Candle Company Store"...literally every room that we normally live in gets turned into our store filled in each room with candles, gifts, accessories..oh, and did we mention candles! Even the kitchen has candles, with home made cookies made from scratch that matches many of the scents on display in the kitchen. Many people return yer after year just for the cookies...it's a big hit!
But it take a great deal of long range planning to pull it off and we are right smack in the middle even now of getting prepared to pull off another successful Open House. We can't wait to see many old friends that come every year...it's so cool!
Until the next time...have a Great Adirondack Day-
Your Adirondack Candle Guy
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Setting up my blog
Okay...learning something new is never easy, many mistakes happen. But if you never try, then you never give yourself the opportunity to succeed! I'm an optimist..you'll learn that over time on our journey with my blog. Maybe that's the "sales" side of me...you see, the candle business we created is actually my second job. I've always been in sales and I love the challenge of that type of work. Sales has also helped me to be a better business Entrepreneur as we grow our business. Creating our business (back in 1994...wow, that's along time ago!) has really been a great learning experience. We did it all on our own, made some mistakes along the way, but have had so many success's too. We keep challenging ourselves each year to grow a little bit more. Are we growing as fast as I'd like to? No, but we're growing at our pace. So....continue to challenge yourself in whatever it is you want to do....shoot for the moon, if you fall short you still land in the stars.
Monday, September 13, 2010
New Journey
Hello everyone!
This is my first post as Adirondack Candle Guy...not sure where this journey will take me and you, but let's record our time on this path together and see where it leads.
For now...have a Great Adirondack Day until we get together again soon.
This is my first post as Adirondack Candle Guy...not sure where this journey will take me and you, but let's record our time on this path together and see where it leads.
For now...have a Great Adirondack Day until we get together again soon.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)