When she launched Coventry Creations in 1992, Jacki Smith was making intention candles as one of many sources of income following the loss of her job. This year, Smith and her sister — Vice President and General Manager Patty Shaw — are celebrating 30 years of operation. The duo has survived multiple periods of financial turbulence, and they’re thrilled to be continuing to expand today.
Coventry Creations’ candles are made in a Ferndale warehouse where paraffin wax is melted; filled with scents, herbs, and dyes; and molded into intention candles — which Smith says can be used to center one’s focus and create opportunities — before being wrapped, labeled, packed, and shipped. In its first year, Coventry made about 40,000 candles. This year it plans to produce more than 400,000.
Smith, president and CEO of Coventry Creations, cites prosperity as an example of how the candles work. “If you’re in a space in your life where you cannot get into that prosperous mindset, how can you become prosperous if you don’t know what it feels like?” she asks.
“What I do is I marry these vibrations of the color, the scent, the herbs, and the words, which are very important to this. Now you have all your senses involved in a visual representation of coming closer to this (idea). So you’re feeling your intent manifest.”
It is belief in this concept, Smith says, that has propelled the business to be a leader in its industry. While she admits “scented candles are a dime a dozen,” it’s the belief in her concept that Smith says has built a loyal customer base for her candles, oils, and sprays.
“I look at all the stores we sell to as part of our community. I was on a podcast recently where I talked about how I view the Coventry community as almost an ecosystem,” she says. “I was at one of our stores a couple weeks ago and they talked about how when they get their Coventry Candles, they’re like, ‘We’re making rent.’ ”
In the early days of the business, Smith would visit stores to see if they would sell her candles. She would even order Yellow Pages books from other cities to search for stores that might carry her products. Over time, Smith and her husband, AG Phoenix, came to own Type-40 Sales, the exclusive wholesale provider of Coventry Candles.
To kick off a year-long 30-year anniversary celebration, Smith released her third book, “The Big Book of Candle Magic,” in July (available on Amazon). In the book, she takes on her “Aunt Jacki” persona, which she’s developed over the years. In November, Coventry will launch a new collection called Aunt Jacki’s Ultimate Candles, Oils, and Sprays.
“Our contribution to the world is empowered belief,” she says. “Because what we believe, we manifest. And that’s magic.”
