Today we’d like to introduce you to Teri & Eric Maass.
Hi Teri & Eric, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
We started our candle business in late Spring of 2025 as a means of raising funds for postpartum support organizations.
After losing our granddaughter to postparatum depression (PPD) we realized that this is a disease that is not talked about and efforts to bring forward awareness are minimal due to lack of funds. The organizations that exist struggle to raise funds to help support those fighting the affects of PPD, and to educate others about this disease, because it is not brought to light much therefore their organizations get overlooked somewhat by donators.
During the time of the celebaration of life for her we had made some candles for family members with her photo on them so that they could light the candles and feel her presence. We had never made candles before but actually had a lot of fun doing this and decided that the candle business might be a way to raise funds and make donations to postpartum support organizations.
We had no experience in candle making but started researching and realized that we wanted to create pure, clean burning candles with the purest ingredients we could find. We use organic, toxin-free coconut wax as well as toxin-free fragrances, dyes and wicks. No parabens, phthalates, zinc or lead are in our candles. They are cruelty-free, soot free, free from VOCs and California Prop 65 compliant. Through our reasearch we have created what we believe is one of the cleanest buring candles around.
After experimenting until we had some good formulas and feedback from family and friends we felt we were ready to go. We started off small with 2 ounce sizes as samples and have been working our way up to 7.5 ounce candles at this point. We have started creating custom decorator style candles as well and offering a “mix & match” system that we enjoy creating for customers.
Being a startup company there are challenges in getting your name and product out there. We created our website on our own, we offer wholesaling and use social media, as well as attending craft fairs / farmers markets to get exposure. Sales have been gaining slowly and we are working tirelessly to enable them to continue to grow.
Our goal is to donate a portion of all candle sales to the postpartum support organiztions of our choice each quarter. We have our signature butterfly candle, that we call Kera’s Glow, and all proceeds from that candle will be donated as well as a portion from all other candle sales. We will proudly be making our first donation to Postpartum Support International the end of the 3rd quarter.
**Sidenote: We drag raced for 25+ years on the West Coast and traveled the Unted States with the National Hot Rod Association for 4 seasons as merchandisers after retiring from our jobs.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has not been a smooth road. The challenge was starting a company with no experience in that field. A lot of reaserch and development went in to this before we could even create our first candle. Many late nights, and some overnights, but we believe it will all be worth it in the long run.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
We are both retired now.
Eric was in management for Hilton Hotels as the Director of Operations in Santa Barbara, CA.
Teri was in the grocery business, first as a checker and moving in to an Office Manager’s postion. At retirement she was the Admin for the Regional Vice President of Albertson’s Grocery Co.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
The candle business is very competitve and new trends come along all the time. From the types of wax used, to ways of coloring the wax, eco-friendly cotton wicks, wood wicks, to gel and sand candles. It is ever changing!
The imaginations of candle makers is constantly becoming more and more upscale from flowers in a candle jar to full on wax flower arrangements, from bouquets to table center pieces, from food looking creations to animal scenes. One needs to always be on the lookout for an item that could be used to create desirable candles and then figure out what to do with it, always be aware of the newest trends and react to them quickly in order to remain competitive .
We see the industry expanding with new creative lines partially because of the newer formulas of wax, molds, designs and the imaginative minds of current and new candle makers.
Pricing:
- Kera’s Glow Candle $25
- 4oz-7.5oz Candles $14-$20
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.khs-candles.com
- Instagram: keras_heaven_scent_candles
- Facebook: Kera’s Heaven Scent Candles
