Artistry
Smells Like Success
How a passion for candles turned into a flourishing small business
WRITTEN BY MARISSA MOLDOCH
PHOTOGRAPHED BY KELLI GAERTNER
“I never planned for this to happen,”
says Kelli Gaertner when asked about how she established her business, Kanda Candles.
When she was a single mother, she worked two jobs to make ends meet.
“One day, I expressed to my mom that I couldn’t even afford to purchase a vanilla soy candle,” Kelli recalls. “She asked, ‘Why don’t you make one?’”