Meet Latisha Warren of Christian Ray Candle in Powder Springs

Today we’d like to introduce you to Latisha Warren.

Latisha, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I have always been passionate about home fragrance, even as a little girl, I would dance around the smoky tendrils from incense my mom would burn. As a young adult, candles were my thing! I just hated the black soot that would stain the brim of the jar, my hands and walls. Later in life, I learned about Eco-friendly soy candles. I enjoyed them tremendously, but, they were a bit pricey. A former co-worker introduced me to the idea of making soy candles. I was blown away by this and soon decided to try my hand at it.

I tested a variety of waxes, wicks, containers, wax to fragrance ratios, and burn times…etc. until I designed a soy candle that I was proud to say I made.

Friends and family loved my candles. I was encouraged to start selling them and there you have it, Christian Ray Artisan Candles was born. After a few years of steady growth, I decided to alter the name and became Christian Ray Candle Co.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
This journey has tested my resiliency, dedication, and commitment. I faced many challenges while developing my product it was not easy coming up with the right “formula”. I took tutorials, but I still wasn’t satisfied with the quality of the product. At times family members were pushing me to move forward with the launching product because in their opinion it was good and they were excited to see me succeed. However, there were small nuances that nudged me to the core and I couldn’t go full speed ahead like I wanted until I worked out the kinks. There were times I thought about quitting, during those moments, I would receive an email from someone asking for a large order or praising my product. Those emails helped keep me encouraged.

Also, I am my worst critic, so I will confess that there were times I held myself back. Second guessed a decision and started over from scratch, only to go right back to the first decision I had made.

Christian Ray Candle – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
It’s my company’s mission to enrich your space, by creating Eco-friendly soy candle products that smell luxuriant and are reasonably priced, without sacrificing quality. My candles are known for how amazing they smell and how affordable they are. Wherever you place my candle, when you walk into that room, you smell the luxuriant aroma in the air without even lighting it. But, please, don’t let that stop you from lighting one! My candles are slow burning and the scent travels throughout your home. I have a few different size options, wax melts and accompanying wax warmers too. My most popular items are my $5 soy candles! They are the perfect price and size and will burn for a minimum of 30 hours.

I also make private label candles. So, if you are a business owner looking for a promotional item your client base will value, I can help. I also work with non-profits who purchase private label candles and use them in swag bag to thank their supporters.

Another new exciting extension of my business is making soy candle favors for weddings. I make beautiful personalized candles that can be used to thank your wedding guest or gifted to your bridal party. Favor candles for birthdays and showers will be available soon.

As a company, I am most proud of how well received my products have been. Customers genuinely love the candles I craft and continue to come back. I beam when I hear and read about how pleased my customers are.

Hand-poured soy candles are expensive. Christian Ray Candle Co. is set apart from other candle companies because it’s part of our mission to provide reasonably priced products without sacrificing quality, and we do just that. If you shop around you will find that my prices are competitive. If you try my products you will find that the quality speaks for itself. Nothing but an attitude of love and gratitude goes into making our candles! I’m so passionate about this, can’t you tell?

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Success to me, is actively working towards the goals you’ve set for yourself. Acknowledging the milestone accomplishments along the way, because they’re important, even if you haven’t achieved the goal yet. Not allowing mistakes, setbacks, failures—whatever you want to call them—keep you down.

Learn the lessons, make the adjustments you need to make where you need to make them and keep it moving onward and upward!

Pricing:

• $5, 30-hour burning soy candle
• $13, 80-hour burning soy candle
• $4, soy wax melts
• $11-$24, wax warmers

Contact Info:

• Website: www.christianraycandles.com
• Phone: 404-290-4751
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christianraycandleco/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChristianRaySoyCandles/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/chrisraycandles

Getting in touch: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.