Little Otter Candles, Jessica Alexander says, has emerged from her love for candles and home fragrances and out of many months of research into candle-making. The transformation of her earliest efforts at production became the genesis of the current enterprise following “an outpouring of positive feedback” from family and friends for whom she had produced a modest batch of candles. Their review provided the impetus for her to transform a passion into an entrepreneurial pursuit.
Little Otter Candles was launched during the challenging times of the COVID-19 pandemic. Accordingly, she believes that the venture may well have served to infuse a measure of inspiration and inspiration into the lives of people whose spirits were negatively impacted by the onslaught of the global pandemic.
Jessica’s Little Otter enterprise follows a rich and respected widespread tradition in candle-making. Long perceived as symbolizing life, love and celebration, candles are also commonly used as part of religious ceremonies and holidays events. In each instance they possess a different meaning, depending on the tradition and beliefs associated with the ritual or ceremony.
In the instance of Little Otter, the candles have their origin in the company owner’s love for working with her hands, the skill deriving from months of research, sharing the outcomes with friends and family and eventually transforming a hobby into a profitable business.
On May 20th last year Dr. Alexander, a qualified Dentist, suppressed her COVID-19 concerns sufficiently to officially launch Little Otter Candles & Melts “We launched with four unique scented candles and melts that carried simple statements designed to inspire and motivate our customers,” she says.
Beyond the candles themselves, Jessica ‘talks up’ her packaging which she says seeks to realize easy identification as well as distinction from “our competitors.” Exquisite candles apart, customers are offered the option of having the labels for their candles personalized.
While the constraint of lockdowns confined marketing to the social media platform Jessica is far from disappointed with the marketing strides which she has made.
Little Otter Candles, Jessica says, are “hand-poured in small batches” and are essentially intended “to help you put your feet up, forget the worries and to just relax.” The creation of such an environment, she believes, is important in a national and global environment where concern for the welfare and future or the human community is as high as it has ever been. The enterprise also provides assurances about the chemical-free nature of a product that is designed for home use.
Each candle is labelled with a message that “focuses on self-worth, self-confidence and self-motivation.” That makes their acquisition deliberate, fitting in perhaps, with a particular interlude of challenge or a desire to create a particular mindset to meet the ‘needs’ of a particular circumstance. It is, Jessica believes, probably not accidental that the Little Otter story is, in a sense, centered around the intervention of COVID-19. The initiative, she says, “was founded to bring about encouragement and inspiration in our daily lives.”
Mindful of the environmental impact of her products Jessica says that Little Otter’s candles are all made from “100% soy wax, a vegetable wax created from the oil of soya beans, grown in several regions of Guyana by local farmers, a circumstance which, Jessica says, means that the production of the wax makes a direct contribution to the livelihoods of local farmers.
All of the products are hand made in small batches in the Alexanders’ home studio at Nandy Park on the East Bank of Demerara and can be purchased at the Babe Cave and Rose Blush Beauty Studio. Customers also have the option of contacting Jessica directly on telephone number 657-1201 to place orders. She offers the option of pickup or delivery service. • The Little Otter Candles ±657-1201
• The Babe Cave: 129A Duncan Street Georgetown ±600-2118
• Rose Blush Beauty Lounge: 195 Camp Street, Georgetown ±696-2032
