Owner of Madison CandleWorks adds engineer's touch to artists' product
Ronnie Colvin makes candles for a living. A year ago, he was a successful technology engineer and consultant. It may seem like a leap, but Colvin said the transition was easy.
While working for AdTran in Huntsville five years ago, Colvin adopted candle making as a hobby.
Colvin would pass out his handiwork to his co-workers, only to be asked for more. People repeatedly asked if they could buy his candles, which gave Colvin an idea-maybe they could.
In early 2007, Colvin gave up consulting and began entrepreneurship when he started Madison CandleWorks. He now spends happy hours making candles in his garage at his home in Madison.
Madison CandleWorks' special niche is candles as corporate gifts. Colvin affixes labels with business logos to his jar candles to hand out to clients. It has been very popular so far, he said.
"Everybody has pens (with logos), and they just get stuck in a desk drawer," Colvin said. "Candles are on display."
Having previously been in a very technical profession, Colvin worked tireless hours perfecting his candle recipe-100 percent soy wax container candles with just the right amount of fragrance and dye to burn clean, evenly and for a long time.
"I'm an engineer, not an artist," he said. "That's what sets me apart from other candle makers."
After just a few months in business, Colvin is ready to expand. He plans to add gift orders and deliveries to
his current corporate clientele, and selling his product in stores.
All of the products Madison CandleWorks offers are available at www.madisoncandleworks.com.
