Press
For immediate release
Roxie Morrow
Candylights
Phone: 540-318-8143
Fax: 540-318-8143
Email: jorabeels@yahoo.com
Website: www.candylights.net
Roxie Morrow
Candylights
Phone: 540-318-8143
Fax: 540-318-8143
Email: jorabeels@yahoo.com
Website: www.candylights.net
Virginia Woman’s Bright Idea Leads to Profitable Online Business
Candylights offers unique light bulbs and strands resembling candy
Roxie Morrow was looking for a business idea, and a light bulb went off.
“After working 9-5 jobs and not being respected for doing honest hard work, I knew I needed to go into business for myself,” says Morrow, who lives in Stafford, Va.
So Morrow started decorating lamps and hand “dipping” bulbs, a process that involves dipping light bulbs into color-tinted silicone to create fancy, decorative lights.
She opened her business, Candylights, in 2005 and created a Web site at www.candylights.net to sell her items, which quickly became a hit. Her shop is also a “front page boutique” on www.makeminepink.com, an online consortium that provides support and networking for women in businesse.So Morrow started decorating lamps and hand “dipping” bulbs, a process that involves dipping light bulbs into color-tinted silicone to create fancy, decorative lights.
“I’ve continued in business knowing that I’m offering a unique product and also feeling the sense of self worth each day through interacting with my customers,” Morrow says. “And my lights are ‘bulb-elicious!’”
The business -
She creates pastel-colored light “confections” resembling candy for every occasion, use and age – holidays, children, nightlights, chandeliers and “sugar-coated” (glitter) bulbs. There are even scented bulbs that fill the room with delightful smells when the bulbs get warm. Some are strands of lights – like those used for Christmas trees – while others are larger, single bulbs.
Morrow uses clear glass bulbs, attaches them to a hanging clip, dips them into the silicone mixture, and then hangs them upside down to dry for two hours. While she didn’t develop the process, she perfected it, making it her own “secret” formula.
“Our product is unique in that our color choices are highly sought after and are not available anywhere else,” she says. Colors include edible names such as bubblegum, lilac lollipop, icicle dream, cotton candy, wedding cake, butter cream, pistachio and melon ball.
For girls, Morrow sells light strands with “Hello Kitty”-themed, pink and white colors, and for boys there are Batman and Superman colors, as well as “slime green.” Candylights also sells cute gifts such as Marie Bling Night Light Set with a glittery blue bulb and bow, Let Them Eat Cupcakes Night Light Set with a pink frosty bulb, brown bow and cupcake-decorated base, as well as several other themes.
The gifts are priced from $7 to $14, and a strand of 35 lights, which are 15 feet long, are $11-13. Customers use the strands to decorate for holidays, parties, weddings or just to make their homes more festive.
Morrow says she has learned a lot about business since she first started. “I thought I was too small to advertise, and as result, my business was very slow in the beginning. Once I joined the wonderful group at Make Mine Pink and placed ads in multiple publications, it took off.” Morrow joined Make Mine Pink four years ago, and she credits the group with making her business what it is today. “My heart belongs to MMP,” she says. “The strong advice from the members and their willingness to share their experiences has been wonderful.”
She says her business has grown so much over the past year that she has had to hire her first employee, and work on updating her business plan and structure. Even though the economy has experienced a downturn, she is confident that customers will continue to shop with her as long as she offers unique products that brighten their days.
In the future she plans to offer NFL, college, sorority, cartoon and military colors. She is constantly brainstorming new ideas.
Morrow combines running her business with continuing to volunteer in her children’s schools. She has four daughters and a granddaughter and has been married 17 years to a man who is a retired from the Air Force.
“Now I’m able to take my husband on dates, and we spend time talking about the growth of Candylights and where it will be in a few years.”
The business has been a wonderful positive force in her life. A Type-I diabetic, she “fell hard” when first diagnosed, saying she was in “complete denial” for a number of years.
“But I finally realized that it wasn’t the end of the world, and I picked myself up and went on,” she says. Soon afterwards, she started her business. “This was just the medicine I needed to stay positive and focus on my life and health. If I can make someone smile each day with Candylights, that makes Diabetes not seem like such a struggle.”
You might say that Morrow has become the brightest light in her business, and her customers are thrilled.
