Crestline couple open unique Crestline 2K Candles store
It was trial and error for the first little while, but then came Fruity Loops and other unique scents, and a new business was born.
Fruity Loops, named after the Fruit Loops cereal, is a candle that smells like - well, Fruit Loops, and is popular at 2K Candles in Crestline, which opened at the end of January.
Allysha Hoskins is a candle fan who was always looking for new and different aromas. About a year ago she began making her own candles, experimenting at her home to create unique scents.
She and her husband, Brett, began taking the candles on the road, setting up at last year's Crestline Harvest Festival where they sold about 400 candles. They went to other local events, including the Galion Oktoberfest, and soon realized they needed a storefront.
The sales success didn't surprise Brett Hoskins.
“It didn’t really come as a surprise to me – she would always be out shopping for candles, going home with candles,” he said. “Her family is big into candles, so they would go and buy 10 at a time sometimes.”
Trial and error bore fruits of uniqueness
Allysha Hoskins began making candles by experimenting with every-day candles before she got into making something unique to her small community of Crestline. It was trial and error for a while.
“There was nothing in this small town of where I am from that had this type of uniqueness to it,” Allysha Hoskins said.
They had success at the Harvest Festival and then at Oktoberfest, selling 250 candles, at between $10 and $14, in six hours, the couple said. Followed by attending Sip and Shop at the Crawford County Fairgrounds.
How the Hoskins found their storefront
Around Black Friday, Allysha Hoskins began to realize they needed to look for a place for candle sales because their house was getting too cluttered.
Within an hour after they posted on Facebook that they were looking for a storefront the owner of a building reached out and the Hoskins found themselves opening a real store for their candles, Allysha Hoskins said.
The Hoskins children, Kinsley, 9, and Tatun, 3, help make the candles as well.
Kinsley said she likes making candles because it is fun.
Her father said the children were happy to get their home space decluttered.
“Our house was starting to get taken over with jars, candles and all kinds of stuff to make candles,” said Brett Hoskins. “It was overwhelming, it was time to upgrade and move to a bigger spot.”
The storefront gives customers the opportunity to smell the candles before buying them without having to go to the Hoskins' home.
Renovating the store space in a about a month was not easy.
From December to the end of January when the 2K Candles opened, the Hoskins painted the interior and built a bar.
On the opening day, the owners said, the line was looping around the corner of the building.
“It just took off like wildfire,” Allysha Hoskins said.
2K Candle Co. is located at 302 N. Seltzer St., Crestline.
This article originally appeared on Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum: Crestline couple take 2K Candles business from home to storefront
