Earlier this month I was a panelist and speaker at the Grayscale Summit in Salem - a business conference for indie + alt businesses and creators. It was also my birthday and April is the month that Witch City Wicks celebrates it's official 15th anniversary.
I talked a lot over those 3 days - to the point that I lost my voice a little. I forced my introverted self to be extroverted. I thought I was going to shrink away from being a panelist and moderator for several panels, but the exact opposite happened. I couldn't wait to share my knowledge and to answer questions.
I wasn't nervous because I was in front of a room full of "my people".
To gather in smaller groups in between sessions, chat at the business expo in the mornings over a cup of coffee and the after hours events. Being able to meet many creators from our misfit group of gothic and indie businesses was such a highlight.
My birthday fell on the final day of the summit. Honestly, the only plans I had for the day was to get a massage and relax. I had a wonderful day, my sister brought a cake in during lunch break and a cinema full of people sang to me. Can't really beat that.
Grayscale was 3 magical days of learning and meeting incredible people. An accessible need of networking and encouragement that many from the goth/alt community needed to have happen.
When I made the first candle in my little kitchen 15 years ago, I never dreamed that I would grow a business, let alone a successful brand all these years later. Witch City Wicks has been the culmination of (enter cliche phrase here, but it's 100% true) hard work and determination.
Running a business is not easy and it's not for the weak. Many hard lessons have been learned over the years. But there have been so many "wins" that outweigh any negatives. I feel fortunate to have grown this little business to where it is today. I love being able to actually meet some of my customers when they come to Salem, whether they have newly discovered us or have been following the journey from the beginning.
As we celebrate 15 years of this weird little candle brand (and almost 9 years of our brick + mortar!) I simply say thank you for making this journey so incredible. 
