A creative heritage paved the way for Cheyenne Heath to quiet the mind and develop a candle range that makes all of life’s moments more memorable.
Tell us a little bit about The Little Flame Co.
On the surface The Little Flame Co is handmade coconut soy candles and home fragrance products in ceramic vessels with minimalist packaging and the purpose of fitting any space with fragrances for any mood. Everything is made in house by myself.
Deeper than that, The Little Flame Co is for home lovers - they are candles (and fragrance products) that are worth coming home to.
We have created fragrances that are designed for comfort, for any mood and to provide that next layer to your physical and mental space and let you know you are home, and comfortable.
What inspired you to start The Little Flame Co? Initially, I was on maternity leave, and being from a long line of creative women (my great grandmother was a seamstress, knitter, crochet; my nan and my mum were also highly creative with similar joyful crafting pursuits) and finding my creative feet after having my second child, daughter Asher. I just needed something to bring joy and quiet the mind, but without realising that not only the making but the candles were important for that, what they provided burning and in my space was just as significant.
I was the girl in the 1990s that would collect the candles and style them in my room, along with oil burners, to really find comfort and recharge (all whilst flicking through pages of Dolly magazine and adorning my walls with Leonardo DiCaprio posters).
I was also looking for soy candles in a different style of jar, something that was really pretty but classic, yet I couldn’t find what I wanted there so I decided to embark on a journey to create that.
What is unique about The Little Flame Co? Each candle is made with so much love, passion and joy. I love my job and being able to make a product that provides comfort to someone’s life, even in the littlest of moments. It’s about creating rituals through physically lighting candles to accompany life’s moods, moments and memories.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of starting your own business?
Definitely personal growth - the challenges that I face daily and parts of myself that I uncover and can work on.
What challenges did you have to overcome at the beginning of your journey? Imposter syndrome, self-doubt and lack of confidence; which all still rare their heads regularly - it’s an everyday challenge which I’m sure everyone can relate to however it does get easier to manage.
What have you sacrificed (both personally and professionally) at each stage of your career?
I think with any decision and venture with what you bring into your life something will have to go as energy is finite and it’s the juggle of deciding what’s most important to you at the time.
Luckily for me I didn’t have to sacrifice so much to be able to do what I do, it was more about prioritising (and still absolutely is!). I’d sacrifice my down time of an evening when all was done and the kids were asleep to stand in the kitchen and make candles for a few hours that would put me at an advantage of being organised for the next week’s market. I’d give up social events of a weekend, or girls’ trips to see Ed Sheeran because I was either prepping for a market or working a market.
What’s the best piece of business advice that you have ever received? Not every season is a growth season, some seasons are a management season.
It’s not always about building a business, it’s also about management. We can have everything we want, but not all at once. Some aspects and arms of the business need to be managed whilst you’re wrangling three kids. There is plenty of time, so take the time and come back to building when you can.
Women have long represented the archetype of the ‘juggler’. How do you balance work and life/Mum responsibilities?
Haha! Not easily. It goes back to “you can have it all, but not all at once”, we all have balls in the air, multiple! And it's about knowing which balls bounce (the things that can be rescheduled and re-prioritised) and which break – the time sensitive, the important parent show ups like piano recitals or end of season games.
What’s on the horizon for The Little Flame Co in 2023?
Gosh, so much. I’m building from a new product line last year so I am looking at diving deeper into product education for my audience, building a blog on the website, handmade and design markets, getting the candles into more shops and boutiques and I would love to open a flagship store of my own, for customers to experience the scents and experience workshops.
Location: GOULBURN | NSW
Website: thelittleflameco.com
Instagram: thelittleflameco Facebook: thelittleflameco