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Home-based soy candle business expands to retail shop in Fergus

The owner of Violet & Ash Candle Co. said she didn't expect the business to grow so quickly

FERGUS – Originally inspired by her three-year-old daughter, a young woman from Guelph is taking the plunge by moving her home business to a retail space in Fergus. 

Jailena Williamson has a big month ahead of her, she’s turning 30 and opening Violet & Ash Candle Co. at the Little Falls Centre on 245 St. David St. N. 

Violet & Ash Candle Co. is a soy-based candle company focused on providing a safer alternative to burning candles through using phthalate-free non-toxic oils and environmentally-friendly packaging. 

“I was always a big candle user for as long as I can remember and then when I got pregnant with my daughter, I started looking more into the things we put in our homes and the products we use,” Williamson said. “I realized how bad some of them are and wanted to make a healthier alternative.”

Williamson previously worked for a lawyer before going on maternity leave and began making candles for herself and for family who told her she should consider making this her job. 

This ended up being the push she needed to make the jump from the corporate world to a home business where she could still raise her daughter. 

Originally from Guelph, Williamson moved to Fergus from Cambridge a year and a half ago where she made a home studio which she quickly outgrew.

“It was one of my long term goals that I had written down a while ago but I didn’t think it would happen this quickly,” Williamson said. “We were planning on opening in the fall but there was so much interest in people coming by that we kept having to turn them away while we weren’t open.”

While focused on candles, there is also home decor and self care items which she noted are all from Canadian women-owned businesses. 

Williamson said her daughter is a big inspiration behind the business including the name. Violet is her daughter’s middle name, also her great grandmother’s, and ash is the tree of November when she was born. 

“She loves it, she loves touching everything which isn’t always helpful,” Williamson said of what the three-and-a-half year old thinks of the store.

Ahead of the opening on June 11, Williamson explained she curated a gift bag, for the first 25 customers, featuring products from other local businesses as a way to give back. 

“I wanted to support all the other people that have been with us along this journey from the very journey,” Williamson said. “So many of these businesses I’ve met at markets or through social media. We’ve connected and built great friendships out of this. It was a great way for me to give back to them.”

Violet & Ash Candle Co. opens on June 11 at 10 a.m.


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Keegan Kozolanka

About the Author: Keegan Kozolanka

Keegan Kozolanka is a general assignment reporter for EloraFergusToday, covering Wellington County. Keegan has been working with Village Media for more than two years and helped launch EloraFergusToday in 2021.
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