Wax Impresarios

Gretchen Hollingsworth, 33, and David Duncan, 31.

When Gretchen graduated with a degree in environmental science in 1996, she knew she didn't want to join the corporate world, but didn't know what type of business she wanted to start. Candle-making had been a hobby and she frequently made them in her kitchen as gifts for family and friends. While toying with the idea of launching her own business, Gretchen met David, who brought his support and business sense to the project.

"It made sense for us to do this," David said. "We had nothing to lose."

So they made and sold candles at local craft fairs in Atlanta and at home parties and then took their samples to the International Home Furnishings Market in High Point.

"I took our samples, all the product we had, to the show," Gretchen said. "It went so well it was like that Internet commercial where they build a Web site and the orders start coming in, and they're happy, and then they keep coming in and they're thinking, 'how are we ever going to fulfill these orders?'"

After the show they got busy making candles and filling orders, and they've been doing so every since, though now there are employees to help in the process.

Almost 10 years later, Decatur, Ga.-based Paddywax includes eight collections. Vintage, the newest line, is based on Gretchen and David's favorite childhood memories. The candles come in nostalgic tins decorated with sepia-toned photos and stories about the scents like Baby Bath 1949, a mixture of baby powder and gentle rose, or Snow Day 1952, a mixture of pine and cedar. Apothecary celebrates old-time pharmacies with cork stoppers and small copper tins with scents like Eucalyptus, Patchouli and Lavender. Other collections include Holiday & Harvest, offered seasonally; The Classic Collection; The Language of Love — Flirt, Romance, Embrace, Surrender and Love; The Linen Collection and Destinations.

Paddywax's hallmark not only comes from the blends of scents Gretchen and David produce, but also from the stories and descriptions that go along with each scent.

"We get our scent inspirations from nature, travel and food," Gretchen said. "We love indulgences and our scents are an easy way to enhance your surroundings."

Gretchen and David work with different perfume houses once they've come up with the scent ideas and many of the blends they produce are reminiscent of places, memories or feelings. The duo stays away from heavy perfumes and relies more on fresh combinations. They use natural oils to achieve the scents they're looking for. The candles still are hand poured, textures, wicks, bows and labels are hand applied and Gretchen and David's basic philosophy remains to produce candles that evoke emotions, appeal to the senses and create escapes.

Family also is an important influence on Gretchen, from the entrepreneurial spirit she inherited from her father (he owns The Natural Light) to the suggestion from her sister to name the company Paddywax.

"Initially our biggest challenge was a power struggle," David said. "At first it was just Gretchen and I doing all the work, but once we grew and added more people, our roles became more obvious."

David handles the business end of things, though he avoided such lines of study throughout college, while Gretchen enjoys the creative process, especially now that they've moved the company into a 15,000-sq.-ft. warehouse with a sample room and space for her to work. Another challenge is striking a life balance, since the couple not only own a business and work together but also are married with two daughters, Olivia, 3, and Margot, 3 months.

David's favorite collection is Apothecary, not only for the scents but also for the look and packaging of the candles. Gretchen's favorite is Tuscany from the Destinations collection and she likes the nostalgia, pictures (family members) and stories of the new Vintage collection.