Skip to content
EVERYDAY SAVINGS: BUY 2, SAVE 10% | BUY 4, SAVE 15% | FREE SHIPPING WITHIN THE CONTIGUOUS US WHEN YOU SPEND $50+ OR $5 FLAT RATE
Effing Candle Co - Wooden Wick Candles Hand Poured In Kansas City Effing Candle Co - Wooden Wick Candles Hand Poured In Kansas City
Account
Search
Loading...
Cart
  • candles

    candles
  • fragrances

    fragrances
    • woodsy and leather scents

      woodsy and leather scents
    • citrus scents

      citrus scents
    • spicy scents

      spicy scents
    • sweet and gourmand scents

      sweet and gourmand scents
    • vanilla scents

      vanilla scents
  • collections

    collections
    • shop all
    • luxury vessels

      luxury vessels
    • mother's day gifts

      mother's day gifts
    • birthday gifts

      birthday gifts
    • housewarming + host gifts

      housewarming + host gifts
    • travel candles

      travel candles
    • gifts under $20

      gifts under $20
    • kansas city candle collection

      kansas city candle collection
    • politicians we hate

      politicians we hate
    • gifts for him

      gifts for him
    • corporate gifts
    • valentine's day

      valentine's day
    • fall favorites

      fall favorites
    • holiday candles

      holiday candles
    • wedding + party favors
    • father's day

      father's day
    • sale

      sale
  • about
    • our story
    • our ingredients
    • scent menu
    • blog
    • contact us
  • corporate gifts
  • wholesale
  • shop in person
  • Account
  • Home
  • / Effing Candle Co. Blog - Candle Care, Crystal Care, and Tips for Buying Thoughtful Gifts
  • / Will there be a retail store for Gifts By Birdie anytime soon?

Will there be a retail store for Gifts By Birdie anytime soon?

Karen Hansen · August 17, 2021

*nervous laugh*

Unprecedented times, amirite? 

Earlier this spring, when things were feeling hopeful, we were looking at retail spaces, but we're making a strategic pivot and investing in materials instead. Why? The supply chain is a fucking mess. And if we don't have materials, we don't have candles. It sure would suck to have a retail space with no candles to sell in it.

Every small business you know is affected by the supply chain, us included. We couldn't have started a candle company at a worse time, really. When we started messing around with wax last year as a hobby, we didn't know what we didn't know. When people asked to buy candles for their loved ones for the holidays, we was flattered and delighted, but all those warm and fuzzy feels were quickly replaced by panic because the materials we use were out of stock everywhere. When people fall in love with your finished product, even if it's a minimum viable product, like ours was last year, you don't change it up. 

Here's what the supply chain looks like for us, if you're interested in a really deep BTS: 

Wax

Last year, we placed a wax order the day after Thanksgiving that didn't arrive until mid-January. As per the distributor's website, orders usually ship within 7-9 business days. The distributor (who had my money, leaving this self-funded business pretty cash-strapped) wasn't answering emails. When I did receive the wax, on January 12th, it was 240lbs of the wrong kind.

A year later, we're planning for holiday and we won't be out of stock unless Oprah herself tweets about our candles. (Oprah, if you're reading this, we are totally open to this possibility!) Ideally, we'll have enough wax to get through the holidays and maybe even Valentine's Day. A literal pallet is on the way. To our home. I have no idea where we're going to put it, but that's a problem for Later Me to solve. 

Vessels

This one keeps me up at night. This is the reasons I take the maximum recommended number of TUMS (not sponsored, but open to it) per day. Ceramic containers and most glassware comes from China. The ports are a hot mess right now. Things get stuck in customs/the port for weeks - sometimes months - longer than anticipated. We scored a pallet of jars from a distributor in the US, which is a huge win. When we rebrand, we will be switching the containers your candles come in so we can: 

A- reduce our costs. The ceramic jars are lovely. We know you love them. However, they are super expensive and heavy, which makes them expensive to ship AND buy. A double-whammy. 

B- ensure we can get containers from multiple sources. The ceramic jars you love are available from one (1) distributor, which is terrifying. 

Fragrances 

We use fragrance oils in our candles. They're man-made. Surely these will be in stock everywhere, forever, right? Wrong. 

Wicks

I don't want to jinx it, but we've had zero issues acquiring our FSC certified wicks thus far. Hallelujah. 

We know you are hoping for retail space and wholesale distribution so you can sniff before you buy and we want to give that to you so badly, but this year is not the right time. We ARE working on our pop-up calendar for the remainder of the year. We have been incredibly fortunate to have incredible businesses in Kansas City (KC Wineworks, Coco Brookside, and more) let us pop-up in their spaces and we're excited for more of that this holiday season. 

If you know of a local business that would be a great fit for a Gifts By Birdie pop-up, drop us a line.

Share
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter

0 comments

Leave a comment

Please note: comments must be approved before they are published.

Previous

August 13, 2021

Coming Soon: Effing Candle Co.

Next

December 08, 2021

Thanks For Your Kindness

Collections

Featured articles

Be the first to know

you deserve an effing candle

Effing Candle Co. LLC makes nontoxic luxury wooden wick candles with a sense of humor. Our candles are handmade and shipped in Kansas City. Find funny candles, political candles, and candle gifts in our online-only candleshop. You deserve an effing candle.

  • Search
  • Corporate Gifts
  • FAQ's
  • Contact Us
  • Shipping + Returns
  • Blog
  • Policies
  • Terms of Service
  • Donation Requests
  • Press
  • Popup Request
  • Wholesale
  • Shop In-Person
  • Become an ambassador
Copyright © 2022 Effing Candle Co.. Powered by Shopify
Amazon American Express Apple Pay Diners Club Discover Facebook Pay Google Pay Mastercard PayPal Shop Pay Venmo Visa

You deserve free effing shipping

Get free shipping on your first 7oz candle when you sign up for our emails