It's hard to believe we're closer to the year anniversary of our Italy trip than we are to physically being there. We traveled to northern Italy four weeks after Joyce's accident as it was a pre-planned trip and we didn't want to miss it. As one could imagine, it was a different trip than we'd had previous across the big pond, but for more than reasons related to what was going on at home.
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It was our first big trip with a toddler and my sister joined us for the first time! Our last trip had been just the three of us, and there's a big difference between an 18-month-old and a 2.5 year old. (And if you don't know what that is, it's chaos. All. Of. The. Chaos.)
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When we weren't chasing Owen, chasing flocks of birds in the city parks, we were looking for the next gelato shop and trying to explain to him he can't ask for ice cream--it's gelato!
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Food was one of the main focuses and enjoyments of those 10 days. We ate and drank our way through all of the pasta, salmon and wine we could get our hands onto. And of course, my favorite... tiramisu. YUM.
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Returning from Italy we of course jumped right back into everything candles. September is full swing fall fundraiser season start time. I'm not even sure we shared and looked at photos with friends and family afterwards like we normally do with our trips.
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So as spring planting came this year and Darren was working 12+ hour days, Owen and I had lots of "free" time. Owen is very independent and loves to help me in the kitchen, and naturally we all love to eat. So I pulled out some recipes, reflected on the cooking class we took while in Italy from an Italian grandmother (11/10 recommend doing this if you decide to visit!!), and dove into my first goal: tiramisu.
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If you've ever made anything by hand, and I mean anything, you have an idea of the sense of pride that comes with doing something that way. The investment of researching, building, failing, etc. Depending on the task it can be so much time.
It can also sometimes be a pain point or strain on those closest to you. Putting your mind to something may mean taking time away from other things and priorities for a certain amount of time. It may mean mood swings and frustrations while failing over and over again.
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But, it can also bring lots of joy, bonding and closeness with those around you too.
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Those first six months, and really still today, we ebb and flow so much between the two highs and lows. Fortunately the lows aren't near as low, and the highs are getting higher, but learning a new craft AND running it as a business at the same time is a lot.
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And, unlike the fails of tiramisu where your end product is still very likely edible, not every fail in the candle shop still provides value once it's done. Just as Joyce failed and learned in the kitchen 30 years ago making her first candles, we struggled and learned in the candle shop.
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As we near the one year mark of both our Italian getaway and taking over the business, we can't help but feel so much pride for ourselves and all that we've pushed through. Like mastering tiramisu or my homemade gnocchi (one of my other favorites in life), it's the bumps in the road, the missteps and mistakes that add some of the most fun color and enjoyment in life.
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So, take the leap. Find something new to try and put your all into. Work through the challenges, push yourself late into the night after the kids are put to bed, challenge your own assumptions of what you can and can't handle.
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The pride you'll have for yourself is second-to-none. You can do hard things.
From Tiramisu to Candle: A Life Lesson from the Kitchen
July 23, 2024
When Darren and I made the decision to continue the Country Lights Soy Candle business Joyce, Darren's mother, had ran for nearly 30 years, we wanted to ensure we had reason and purpose behind doing it.
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If you know us, you know we're both drivers and grab every opportunity we can by the horns and run with it. We're built this way to the core, and almost to a fault! We've heard more than a few times in our adult lives that "you can't do it all" or "you aren't superman/woman", but my gosh are we going to try!
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When we told our friends what we were doing, they encouraged us and were very supportive, but few knew the true time commitment we were making to this venture. Following the decision to move ahead with leading things, we had a LOT of work to do.
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It'd been several years since Darren had been home and poured candles and I hadn't done more than burn a few test candles Joyce had poured over the years. We spent the next few weeks getting things pulled together from communications, candle making basics to familiarizing ourselves with the shop and where things were located. It was a fast learning curve and one that took the whole family to helping us figure out.
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Over the next four months we spent our Friday afternoons and evenings driving from our home in Wisconsin to the home farm in Illinois--a two hour drive each way. Some nights we'd sit in the kitchen talking with family, but most nights we handed Owen off to the Grandpa's and Uncle Stephen and jumped into the candle shop where we often worked until the early hours the next morning. Darren became a big fan of Celsius' at this time and Kendall worked through all the homemade chex mix from Aunt Myra and Casey's cinnamon bears she could find!
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Even as we grew tired and run down over those few months, we'd still spend a lot of time driving and in the candle shop chatting through ideas, the dreams we had for the business and our family. We asked ourselves the hard questions, the easy questions and so many in-between.
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Is this the best way to do this? How does this work? Whose that company? What's the password again? How much is this printer and can I just throw it out the window yet? How does this timer work?
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We had so many laughs and joys in that shop. We laughed about Grandma and how she loved to come talk to us during the day, but refused to sit down and made us all anxious. We laughed about Owen and how many circles he ran around the shelves. We laughed about how well Joyce utilized the various spaces she had in the shop as she just slowly took over the space through the years and didn't have a "clean, clear box" to work with.
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We also spilled a lot of tears in that shop. Frustrations on how to do things. Annoyance with one another at 2 am because we were low on sleep and food. Disappointed in the mistakes we were making. And of course just the regular grieving process we were all going through.
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But even as those moments came and went, we always knew to take a step back and remember why we committed to this.
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Over the last six or so months we've worked to identify and articulate who this company is as we've transitioned into ownership. We're the next generation with new experiences, thoughts, ideas and visions for where we're going. We want to evolve the brand into something that feels more like us and where we're going.
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So we're transitioning from Country Lights Soy Candles to Country Lights. A brand that's focused on carrying the spirit of giving from one generation to the next through our soy-based products.
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We are still very much focused on fundraisers, but want to amplify our offerings and the value those bring to each organization participating. We also want to provide more options and opportunities for custom candle orders, whether it be wedding favors, corporate gifting or anything else that needs a little flame of positivity.
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But ultimately, we want to carry on traditions set by the hardworking farm families that came before us and continue to cherish time spent with family, giving back to local communities and growing new roots for future generations.
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Thank you everyone for your support as we've stepped into this opportunity. We're excited for all that the future holds!