June 2010: Donna Crisp, Rainbow Candles
A wise Marketeer always listens to their customers. Donna Crisp is one of those wise Marketeers. When she and her husband started selling their sand candles at Market several years back, she was worried about how messy the drips down the side looked, and tried hard to avoid them. She put out a few drippy candles just to move them along, and those are the ones folks bought. They loved the drips! Now all the sand candles have plenty of pretty wax drips down the sides.
Many a wise Marketeer has also developed a craft learned in the 1970s into a successful business in the 2000s, always updating and adapting their product to meet current tastes and needs. Donna’s husband Mike started making those classic sand candles in the 70s, incorporating driftwood and little planters. He and Donna have taken that skill, done plenty of research into sustainable and eco-friendly waxes and wicks, and keep adapting their product to suit their customers.
They use earth-friendly palm wax, made with kernels harvested from the palm oil tree. It’s a natural and renewable resource that creates clean burning candles with a unique crystalized look that is naturally occurring. They also use only cotton and paper wicks, and the maximum amount of fragrance oil possible, pouring candles weekly to keep the scents fresh. The sand for the candles is local Willamette River sand.
I find myself pointing my camera at the Rainbow Candle booth frequently. It’s always colorful and tidy, full of camera-eye candy. The displays are appropriate to the products and highlight them well, with a consistent dark background color. The signs are colorful, legible and informative, and the products on display change frequently in color and style. It’s always an interesting place to stop and look.
I asked which fragrance is most popular. Donna said that up until now, Nag Champa has always been the runaway best seller, but this season the favorite has shifted to fruity aromas like their Orange Creme. Does this indicate anything about a change in the economy? Shifting demographics? Pop cultural influences on Eugenians? One can always speculate, but really, as long as folks keep buying candles, Donna’s happy.
You can find Donna and Rainbow Candles in space 342 on the Food Court block, just to the right of the stage against the back wall. You can also find out more at their website, RainbowCandles.net, but it's always better to stop by and have a look for yourself!
