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Candle NewsWelcome To The New Candlefind!

Welcome To The New Candlefind!

Welcome To The New Candlefind! Cynthia & Holly

Whew…we made it! It seemed for a while that 2022 would never get here, and now we’re approaching 2023 with lightening speed. Where does the time go? We’ve had so much going on over here at The ‘Find, that we finally needed to step back & take a breather. We needed time to refocus, regroup, and re-energize. We took about 6 months to do just that – remaining silent to the public, but working furiously behind the scenes to ready for our re-emergence. And now…here we are!

This particular blog post will be of a more personal nature – something we don’t do a lot here on this site. However, I thought it was important to clear the air with a little bit of background, point out some of the exciting aspects of the new Candlefind, and share some of our plans for the future. So grab a cup of coffee (or wine…both a-ok with me) and settle in for a while. This post is long, but also long overdue.

UPDATE: Since this post was written, I have accepted a job in southwest Florida and will be moving the Candlefind office there as well. Due to the sudden and unexpected nature of this move, some of our original plans outlined in this post have changed. Those plans have been updated below.

A Little Bit of History

Candlefind has always been a love of mine. I stumbled upon the site in 2007 and knew I had found my home. I spent way too many hours on the site, learning, chatting, buying, and enabling others to shop ’til they dropped. I eventually was invited as a reviewer, and encouraged to use a pen name. I chose to use my middle name, Andrea. Keep in mind, this was several years ago, when using a pen name for internet reviews was not a foreign concept. As my love and dedication for the site grew, I gained increasing amounts of responsibility and an administrative role, all under the front-facing name of Andrea.

Years later, when the opportunity arose for me to acquire the Candlefind site, I was sitting on ready. I had burned out and distanced myself, but I realized I missed the wax world and my waxie friends. I jumped at the chance to carry on Candlefind and to grow the brand. I had a ton of ideas and very little experience at running a business. Total recipe for success. NOT!

Since I was already known as Andrea as it pertained to Candlefind, I kept that moniker once assuming the business. I attempted to roll out several of my plans for the business, while at the same time trying to remain sensitive to the former owner, who was a personal good friend. They say business and friendships don’t mix and, unfortunately, I can testify to that. Let’s just say it didn’t end well. The friendship, that is.

I struggled for a while, torn between the “old” Candlefind, and the vision I had for the “new” Candlefind. This was most definitely not the recipe for success – I found myself not putting 100% of my efforts into my vision while the lines got more and more blurred. Add to that a pandemic, several new potential reviewers that just didn’t pan out, and increasing demands of my day job. I was spiraling out of control.

Then it hit me. This is my business. No apologies or explanations needed on how I thought it should grow and develop. I wanted to pour my heart & soul into the business I envisioned, not the work & dreams of someone else.

It may work…and it may be a royal flop. But, in the words of Elvis…at least I did it my way.

I wanted to pour my heart & soul into the business I envisioned, not the work & dreams of someone else.

The New Candlefind Unveiled

Candlefind's New Website

This is what lead up to our recent 6-month hiatus. Almost 4 years into my ownership, I pulled the plug to hit the reset button. We took on no more reviews, we quieted our social media, and we just focused on the future of the brand. Truthfully, 6 months didn’t seem like long enough. At the same time, I’m excited to be back at it and to continue on this journey!

Some of the biggest changes you might notice:

Candlefind Logo
  • Bye, Andrea! As full transparency is very important to me, I’ve shed the pen name Andrea and will be interacting only as Cynthia from here on out. While the name Andrea may still be sprinkled about, we’re working on getting all of this cleaned up in the next few months.

  • Shorter reviews. When Candlefind first started, the longer format reviews worked. People are pulled in so many digital directions these days, that many don’t have time for these. While the longer reviews will never completely leave our site, we’ve moved to a more condensed format for most reviews that will serve more as a resource.

  • More lists! We love lists, don’t you? You’ll find more guides and lists to help you in your candle search for some of the best candles and wax melts around.

  • DIY and resource pages. We’ll now be including several how-to and DIY projects that pertain to candle (or wax melt) making. We also want to be your go-to place for resources, such as the best candlemaking kits and more.

The Future of Candlefind

So. After all this whirlwind (and almost 20 total years in business), what’s the future hold for Candlefind? While no one can predict the future, I’m pretty clear now on the roadmap I have outlined for this business. The nuts & bolts would bore you to tears (and this post is already getting waaaayyy too long), so I’ll just focus on a few highlights you can expect on the horizon:

Candlefind September 2022 Collage
  • Subscription boxes will return. Our candle boxes have been revamped and we will roll out the new products in January 2023. We’ll share more details about this in the upcoming days, but we think you’ll love the changes! UPDATE: Since Candlefind is now relocating to Florida, the return of the subscription boxes has been suspended until at least Fall 2023.

  • Our review services will resume. The heart of Candlefind lies in our review service, particularly for small, indie candle companies looking for some exposure. We love promoting these businesses and helping them grow. However, while we still have several noses that go into wax, I currently stand as the sole author of those reviews, so we’ve had to revamp this service line as well. We’re still working out all the details, but look for us to reopen for review requests in November. UPDATE: We have reopened for review requests, but we only accept a select few at any given time to make this more manageable for myself and my team. More details are found on our review requests page.

  • Video! We’ve held off on expanding to video, but the time has come. Some things just don’t translate well in just the written word, so we’ve come to embrace the concept. We’ve got some exciting plans for this arena, but please note this will take us a while to implement.

And so. much. more! Truthfully, this is an exciting time at Candlefind. Whether you’ve been around with us over the past 20 years, or you’re new to this neck of the woods, I’m glad you’re here & hope you stick around to see the upcoming changes and improvements.

In the meantime, please poke around, try out new/updated features, and tell us what you think. If you have any suggestions, don’t hesitate to drop us a line & let us know!

Happy candle burning!

Cynthia's Signature

of the Candlefind Team

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About the Author

Cynthia

Hi, I’m Cynthia, the current owner & Candle Lover in Chief here at Candlefind. I have a sincere passion for candles, being mesmerized from the moment I saw my first flickering flame. I love luxury candles (who wouldn’t?) and unique scent combinations. When I’m not scenting, I love reading and playing with my wild & crazy pup, Holly Berry.

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Hi I'm Cynthia Candlefind Sidebar Pic

Owner & Candle Lover in Chief

I have a sincere passion for candles, being mesmerized from the moment I saw my first flickering flame.

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