By: Ali Elizabeth Turner
Sherry Jefferson of “Flirty Flame” found during COVID that she had the unexpected makings of an award-winning candle business, and she’ll be the first to tell you that she is bountifully blessed. Prior to launching Flirty Flame Candle Company, LLC in 2021, Sherry got a degree in computer science with a minor in business administration from Alabama A&M. She spent 19 years in the Medicare insurance field, and she also was the co-owner with her nephew Darron Howard of Landon’s Place, a successful restaurant on Elm Street.
It was the late, great Athens City Councilman Frank Travis who became a raving fan customer of Landon’s, and encouraged Sherry to apply for the TVA Commissary contract. She landed the contract, and Landon’s did well. Unbeknownst to Sherry, COVID was about to change everything blessedly for the better.
Sherry has always enjoyed making parties special, especially those for family events. And it was for one such gathering during COVID that she promised to bring candles, not just her signature cupcakes, cookies, and chocolate covered pretzels. Her family came together in order to honor her mom, who ALWAYS found a way to put a candle into something sweet and then celebrate. Sherry ordered a candle making kit, and discovered a way to make a candle that smells like a birthday cake. The candles were a hit with her family, so, as she says, “I ordered another kit, and another, and another…” During the pandemic Sherry actually got COVID herself, and it was while she was lying in bed sick that the idea of going into the candle business came to her. She had no idea that she would go on to become an award-winning entrepreneur.
Sherry is an avid researcher, and she did a deep dive into all things candle. She found out about aromatherapy, the power of color and fragrance to trigger wonderful memories, and even found a way to make “gender reveal” candles. That discovery was a happy accident and now a trade secret, and here is what happens: the candle starts out being white, and after ten minutes it turns either blue or pink. Gender reveal parties are some of Sherry’s favorites because the occasion is such a happy surprise.
Sherry began to do vendor events in 2021, and we first met at her booth at the Athens Farmer’s Market. For a while she shared a brick-and-mortar store with other artisans at the Decatur Mall, and the time came when she felt that she wanted to pursue making “pours” into something more mobile that could involve participants in a celebratory setting. Her vision and dream was to make the first mobile candle pouring service in the State of Alabama, and here’s how that happened.
Sherry pitched her idea for a mobile candle-pour service at the Singing River Trail Launch earlier this spring, and won the grand prize of $7500. The idea of someone bringing the event, empowering the guests to select their fragrance, make their own candles as well as memories wowed the judges, and part of her award package was to display colorful tablescapes and beautiful candles in the window of the Athens State University Launch Box across from the Courthouse steps on Marion Street. This is where I have my office, and I was happily greeted by Sherry’s creativity every day. I was sad when the day came for that installation to go, but there are still candles at the facility. If a “pour” is not something you can do right now, Flirty Flame candles are for sale at Athens Florist as well as the Flirty Flame online store at www.flirtyflamecandle.com.
By: Ali Elizabeth Turner
December 6, 2024
