I have always loved candles, some may call it an obsession. I always have candles burning in my room, bathroom, kitchen and always have extras in storage just in case (you know the huge stores run out). When I found out there was a Bahamian company doing candles and they smelled and looked great I immediately had to try them out & I was truly impressed.
Biggity is a true ambassador for Bahamian ingenuity, culture and passion. This Bahamian owned business started off selling pepper sauce and Amanda Ferguson turned it into something great by adding hand poured soy candles to their line up and also repurposing wine and rum bottles to create trays and displays for their awesome candles!
I had a chance to meet up with Amanda for an interview and candle making tutorial. I’m so glad she took time out of her busy schedule to answer a few questions for me. Check out the interview below.
Q:Â Tell us a little bit about yourself.Â
A: This question always gets me! I could talk about my work for days on end but ask me about myself and I clam up. Let’s see…
Well I’m a 33 year old Entrepreneur with the most amazing team cheering me on…my family. I’m married to a pretty awesome guy and we have two amazing children together. Family & my Faith in God are extremely important to me. They’re my determining factors when making decisions in all aspects in life.
Q: How long have you been making candles and How did Biggity start?
A: Biggity started with our fabulous pepper sauce. My mum has been making it for years at home and it became popular with our family/friends. So, while on maternity leave, I decided to try selling it… it took off! Now, people can’t get enough of the stuff. Of course, the name Biggity was perfect for flavor that’s in your face good! After we got the ball rolling with the pepper sauce, I needed a creative outlet as well. The idea for the candles came from a conversation I had with my sister who is away in school. I was charming her with some delicious sky juice my husband made. She said to me ” If only i could just smell it right now, I would be happy”. A lightbulb went off and I started researching candle making. Through search engines, blogs, tutorials & trial and error, I was able to perfect my craft. I’ve been making candles for 3 years.
Q: What is one of the biggest obstacles you faced when first starting out?Â
A: When first starting the business, the biggest obstacle I faced was time management. I was working a 9-5 in the finance industry, had a newborn and family to maintain. Juggling was difficult bit I was determined to make it work. I would make candles in the nights, most times when the rest of my family was asleep and deliver orders on the weekends.
Q: Your candles are beautiful, what inspires you when you create them?Â
A: All things Bahamian inspire me! I’m such a proud Bahamian. I love my Sky Juice, Guava Duff, Banana Bread…Junkanoo. So when I create the candles. I want them to represent the product as much as possible.
Q: What’s your best selling product?
A: Definitely our 12oz Soy Candles with wooden lids!
Q: Do you have any advice for budding entrepreneurs?Â
A: Everyday I end up giving myself little pep talks. I need to…it’s not easy being an entrepreneur and I am my worst critic. My OCD takes over and things have to be perfect if my name is behind it but the reality is, things won’t always be that way. Prepare yourself for the reality that you will have barriers but more so, prepare yourself for incredible success. Walk by faith, not by sight!
Q: Do you have any new products or candle scents planned?Â
A: Absolutely! We have so many things coming in stream this year…Body Butters, Body Scrubs, Lip Balms, Tumblers made from repurposed wine bottles with Bahamian sayings, etc. The rest are surprises!
Q: How long did it take to to perfect your current line of scented candles?Â
A: Gosh…this took me a while. With each scent it took anywhere from 2 weeks to 2 months. With the ratios of different oils combined to perfect the scents, everything is trail and error.
Q: How do you get them to smell so realistic?Â
A: Lots and lots of patience & prayer! I know what I want each scent to smell like so getting the mixtures right is time consuming, however, I didn’t want to simply use ordinary scents from a premixed jar. I want to remain unique!
Q: What do you love most about creating your products?Â
A: Working with my hands! I love the entire creation process but my most favorite aspect would be holding the end product in my hands. It’s fulfilling knowing that you made something and even more gratifying that what you made is well received!
If you are in the Palmdale area stop by Biggity Boutique and give one of their candles and some pepper sauce a try. Make sure you bring extra money, because once you start smelling the candles you will want to buy them all.
Mangra is one of my favorite scents, if you like that one you should try out Guava Duff. I really enjoy that scent as well. You can go into the boutique and smell all of Biggity’s scents at their smelling station, such a cool idea!
I find candles to be a great stress reliever and Biggity has a lot of great scents to choose from. You should check them out the next time you’re in Nassau.
4 Comments
gb
The mango scent smells like real mango.Excellent interview.
girlwithherviews
Mangra is one of my favorite scents, if you like that one you should try out Guava Duff. I really enjoy that scent as well. You can go into the boutique and smell all of Biggity’s scents at their smelling station, such a cool idea!
Silver
Man, with all this stress people give ya…i need one 15 of dem burning one time!
girlwithherviews
I find candles to be a great stress reliever and Biggity has a lot of great scents to choose from. You should check them out the next time you’re in Nassau.