Twelve years ago I had a great job at Athens Paper Company. Now, I will admit it got boring at times talking about paper all day, but I had great customers, great co-workers, and worked for a family owned company. My main job was customer service and I dealt with customers all over the country all day (and sometime night) long. I will have to say now that I am gone, I had some pretty demanding customers! However, their demands made customer service a top priority for me and I thrived under the pressure (most days).

I had always loved candles and got the bright idea to learn to make them myself and hopefully save some money! Well, let me tell you, it turned out to be much harder than I had thought! It was like learning chemistry all over again. Okay, I actually never took chemistry, maybe that was part of my problem! Anyway, the first candle I made, Cinnamon Buns, I took to work, sat it on my desk two feet behind me and lit it and waited and waited and waited. I never smelled a thing. I was heart broken! So, needless to say about 400 attempts later I had the perfect combination of oils, wax, and wicks! I brought my candle into work, lit it and in no time people from the other end of the building were asking me where I got that candle from because they could smell it at the other end of the building! About a month later I was passing around a sheet taking orders for my ten scents of candles in one little size jar.

Fast forward seven years...

I now have over 100 different scents of gourmet candles available in six different sizes. I have added candle warmers, candle toppers, and all types of candle accessories. About four years ago I started doing monogramming and embroidery, and I love it!! I think there is something special about a personal monogrammed gift.

So, last year at the end of September I bit the bullet, said good-bye to everyone at Athens, cried like a baby all day and on October 8th opened up my first retail boutique.

I would be lying if I didn't say what a scary step this was for me. But, I had so many wonderful people giving me great encouragement that I felt I could not fail! It has been a great first year and I look forward to many, many more years.

I can't thank you enough for stopping by to see what all we have to offer. If you have any questions about anything, you can always drop me an email kristen@theuncommongarden.com for a quick response or give me a call! I do take pride in getting back to customers quickly.

If you are looking for something personalized and unique, I believe you have come to the right place!

Thank you so much,

Kristen Graves