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Yankee Candles by Michael Kittredge
"It all started in December 1969. I was sixteen, and had a big problem; just days remained before Christmas, and I was broke. While considering my options for Mom's gift, inspiration struck. I gathered my childhood crayons and found an empty quart milk container. I melted them in a pot on the kitchen stove, poured the hot liquid into the carton and added a wick "borrowed" from a candle in our dining room. The broken bits of wax from that ill-fated dinner candle went into the milk carton as well. Several hours later, my first candle sat proudly on the kitchen table.
A visiting neighbor admired it and asked me, (to my astonishment), if I'd sell it to her. I did for $1.36, and instantly spent the proceeds on a box of proper paraffin at the local grocer's. Thus armed, I made two more milk-carton candles, sold one and gave one to my Mom for Christmas. Again I reinvested my profits in more wax. Friends and neighbors enjoyed my simple candles and continued to purchase them as swiftly as my family could drink quarts of milk and orange juice!
By 1973 my hobby had turned into a one-man business. Blocks of wax and boxes of finished candles nearly filled my parents cellar and garage. At their not-so-gentle urging I moved my operation into a former paper mill in nearby Holyoke, Massachusetts. For the next year or so, I worked alone. I would pour candles in the morning, then change into my sales clothes for an afternoon of sales calls on gift shops. That night would often see me finishing and wrapping the morning's production.
Eventually I could afford to hire help, and by 1982 the Yankee Candle Company employed over thirty workers. We occupied all three floors of the mill and had no room to grow. Our first-floor retail store was catching on, but the inner-city location made it difficult for customers to find us. It was time to seek greener pastures.
In August 1983 we broke ground in rural South Deerfield, Massachusetts, twenty miles to the north. Our new 1,600 square foot factory store opened in November, with our factory slated for startup three months later. Worries about moving to the country were quickly put to rest, our ten-space retail parking lot overflowed with customers on our first day! And to think, it all started with a gift for my Mom . . . "
The Yankee CandleŽ Fragrance Experience
There's a reason everyone loves the Yankee Candle brand so much ... they share your passion for fragranceŽ. That's why they do everything possible to assure that every new experience with their fragrance is as good or better than the one before. It's not easy, but it's what helps make them America's favourite brand of premium scented candles.
Part of it is their devotion to quality. A continued cherished legacy of superior craftsmanship that's been passed down through generations of chandlers (candlemakers) as a central part of their heritage and reputation. Yet, even as they honour the past, they are constantly developing new and better ways to enhance the lives of their customers.
Yankee Candle stay deeply attuned to the world of fragrance, searching for new flavors and scents that will resonate with consumers. Seeking out fragrance ideas that will evoke the pleasant memories and experiences of everyday life. And, once the right fragrance ideas are selected, they go to levels that are unique in the candle industry to ensure the quality and consistency of the fragrance experience.
Performance Tested
Master perfumers develop Yankee CandleŽ fragrances for optimal performance in all products. All of the fragrances are rigorously screened, reviewed and tested by a highly experienced team of fragrance professionals to achieve the best strength and quality experience in store, as well as in use. This assures that the fragrance strength and quality is the same in the store and wherever you use it. They know you will accept nothing less, because your passion is their passion.
The Ultimate Fragrance Experience
Authentic. True-to-life. Bold. Long-lasting. Made with fragrance extracts and real essential oils, the scents are the standard by which all other fragrances are judged. Developed to take you on a journey to the familiar and unfamiliar, the known and the unknown, whether real or imagined, these scents span a range of fragrance categories, including specific fruits and flowers, fresh, clean and outdoor types, and festive fragrances that enhance the holiday season. These fragrances also encompass new, trendy or trend forward scents and concepts interspersed among classic favorites.
With every fragrance introduced, their reputation is on the line. It is not enough for a YankeeŽ fragrance to be as good as a competitors' scent. It must be better, because it's what you expect of them ... and what we expect of ourselves. Each fragrance has to possess the realism, accuracy and pleasantness of the true flower, food, fruit, place, or experience that inspired it. This is the fragrance experience that has made Yankee CandleŽ the benchmark for quality in the candle world.
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