Daily Inspiration: Meet B and Andrew Kneisley

Today we’d like to introduce you to B and Andrew Kneisley. Them and their team share their story with us below:

Homegrown in Manhattan Beach, KIN Candle Co. is the creative vision of sister-brother duo B and Andrew founded in 2018. We owe our creative drive and love for DIY projects to our Mom. We grew up in a colorful and crafty household and were encouraged to express ourselves through artistic freedom. Although we are seven years apart, we have always been close and find connection through common interest in hand-made, artisan goods. We’ve carried the values we grew up with into our adult lives and find meaning in unplugging, slowing down, and doing things the “analog” way. Together, we collaborate on all of our scents by hand-blending the finest fragrances inspired by memories of growing up in coastal California. We care about quality and our candles are made in small batches with the smoothest clean-burning coconut wax and are free of parabens and phthalates. Our candles evoke carefree memories of sun-filled days at the beach, road trips north to coastal forests, and the sights and scents of the wild front yard gardens of LA’s diverse neighborhoods.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Originally, we started this business as a mobile candle-making workshop in which we’d host private events for businesses, parties, or other gatherings. We had so many people ask us if we had our own line of candles during our workshops that we decided to pivot our business direction to our own candle line (and we’re lucky we did before the pandemic!). We started to sell KIN candles at local pop-ups around LA. The Rose Bowl Flea Market was one of our favorites where we had a ton of fun meeting other scrappy micro-business owners people and learned some valuable lessons about making a creative business succeed. We were a bit slow on getting out website up and were mostly selling via Instagram from most of 2019. We finally launched our out site in 2020, which has really helped us grow. We both have full-time jobs outside of our small business which has been a challenge to find a balance between all that we juggle. Andrew designs, develops, oversee production for local men’s clothing brand, Pistol Lake, and B is a middle school art teacher. At times (especially the holidays) it feels like there’s not enough time in the day to get everything done! We love our little business and our amazing customers and always find a way to make, pack, and ship our orders. Also, we’ve called on our mom to help us out during our busiest times!

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
When we set out to create the KIN candle line, we wanted our product to evoke the carefree sunny attitude of life at the beach. We noticed that most candle brands on the market were either a bit stuffy and unapproachable luxury lines or overwhelming strong smelling, cheap quality candles. Neither appealed to us and we knew most other people felt the same way.

Our line is filled with imaginatively named scents, like Moon Milk and Cabin Hideout, that fill a room with the perfect amount of scent and are never over-powering. We love having fun with the names and creating scents based on memories of childhood at the beach and road trips through California. We take pride in mixing up unique fragrance blends for candle scents that are unlike any other candle line. While the possibilities and creativity are endless, we make an effort to curate only a digestible selection of favorites and release new scents seasonally.

We’re also proud to partner with The Waste Less Shop in Manhattan Beach on a candle jar recycling program. The Waste Less Shop is an amazing boutique packed with package-free and sustainable consumer goods. We met the founder, Stephanie, at Manhattan Beach Hometown Fair back in 2019 just before she opened her shop. The shop has carried KIN candles since day one. As part of our recycling program, The Waste Less Shop will take back customers’ used KIN candle jars and give a credit towards their next purchase at the shop! We collect the used jars from them every month, clean them, and then give them another life as new candles, reducing waste in the process.

Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
This is probably a common story from business owners over the past couple of years, but we definitely learned the importance of careful planning of inventory. For small and micro-businesses like ours, you’re often making products as they’re ordered. Before the pandemic, the supply chain wasn’t a big stress point– we could usually restock the materials we needed to make our candles as the orders came in. Once the pandemic hit the supply chain, that just-in-time inventory model became tricky. We had to spend more on inventory before we knew we could sell it, which was a bit nerve-wracking. Careful planning of cash flow and tracking of inventory (everything from packaging supplies to wax and wicks) became the difference in having a business versus having nothing to sell.

Contact Info:

• Email: team@kincandleco
• Website: kincandleco.com
• Instagram: @kincandleco