The matter is man-made-- the candle empire started with waste glass bottles.

In the eyes of most people, Adam Fetsch, who didn't even go to college, started a business by making candles.

Don't underestimate his candles. In 2015, Candlefish retail was sold in 300 stores across the United States, 25 in Japan, and two in Canada and Mexico.

I don't like doing the same thing all the time, Adam said. I haven't worked for more than a year or two every time. In 2008, Adam moved to Charleston, South Carolina, to escape the harsh winter in Indiana, where he found a job in a bar.

"at that time I noticed a lot of wine and champagne bottles being thrown into the dustbin. What a waste. "said Adam.

"can't you use it to do something? "he thought.

So Adam put a saw in the backyard of his rented house and used it to cut the bottle in half, hoping to reuse the empty bottles.

I had hoped to make a water cup, but because there was no suitable polishing tool, Adam didn't have the patience to polish it. So making a water cup out of an empty bottle is like many things he gave up halfway in the past, and he stopped when he encountered difficulties.

But one day when the opportunity came, he found a wine-related gift market, in which candles and fragrances were the most common choices for many gifts.

So Adam went back to the backyard and poured the wax into the halfway sawed bottles. He took the homemade candles to the shops to sell.

Although the edge of the candle cup made from the bottle is still rough, the boss bought six of the first store he came into contact with. Magda Pelzer, another owner of the largest local gift shop, was fascinated by the handmade candle cups and ordered 12 cases in one breath because of the uniqueness of the products.

Adam found a blue ocean in the gift market.

Many gift shop owners gave Adam a lot of advice on handmade candles. Adam listened attentively and made various improvements.

In the fall of 2010, Adam left the restaurant where he worked and decided to make candles all day. He rents a 100-square-foot warehouse behind Tommy Condon's bar and restaurant in downtown Charleston, where he soaks the labels of recycled bottles for removal and cuts and polishes them himself. Every weekend he goes to the nearby market to sell his handmade candle cups.

Candlefish was originally a species of fish from the North Pacific, also known as "candle fish", because it is rich in oil during the spawning period, and people used to air-dry the high-fat candle fish as torches and candles as lighting objects. Inspired by this, Adam chose "Candlefish" as the name of the candle brand, giving the word a new meaning.

It was not until March 2011 that the Candlefish business began to take off. Adam began to work on maintaining the consistency and quality of the candles. In 2012, his business expanded to the point of renting a 7000-square-foot warehouse and employing 11 people to complete orders.

He hired Stitch Design Co. To improve the brand, it launched eight wine-scented candles, such as Merlot and Pinot Noir, as well as four seasonal fragrances, including mimosa, Sangria, prickly cider and wine.

"Candlefish is not just a candle, it is a business related to incense, from vision and flavors to candle design. "said Adam.

Candlefish candles retail for $24 to $30 each, and when the candle burns out, the empty bottle can add new candle oil for $2.

In addition to making unique products, Candlefish also opens physical stores. Every time a new product is released, Candlefish will hold a party to celebrate, allowing guests to experience the fun of making candles together; the workshop experience activities not only narrow the distance between the public and the brand, but also help people to have a deeper understanding of the details of the production of fragrant candles, and establish their delicate and unique brand impression. The next two stores hold regular experience workshops, which not only teach candle making, but also extend to other fragrance courses, such as essential oil production teaching.

"you can find all kinds of novel flavors here. "said Adam.

The ideas of each series are interesting, not only the classic wine-scented candle "REWINED" series, but also the "42 Pressed" series inspired by the smell of 42 cities in cooperation with the 42 Pressed design team; inject a small creativity into the glass bottle with wax oil to make the fragrance become a kind of memory, like a map clue, take people to revisit the memory of a city and find the fragrance that makes them familiar and charming.

The staff in the Candlefish store will carefully recommend the fragrance according to people's different needs, and record the guest's preference and tried fragrance number with a small card. After all, sniffing this thing is so subjective that you will find your own unique fragrance only if you keep trying and experiencing it. The small card will also be kept to facilitate customers to find the right flavor more accurately when they visit next time.

In addition to constantly innovating the field of his own products, Adam also introduced the concept of aroma library, whether it is a physical store in Ponce City Market in Atlanta or a pop-up store, which is designed like a library and a scattered candle display cabinet "Fragrance Library", which strongly attracts people's attention.

For Adam, Candlefish represents the overall sense of sight, smell and touch.

It is not only a storefront with all kinds of fragrance, but also people have a deeper experience of smell through the process of making candles. Adam hopes that customers can open their senses, read and absorb comprehensively, and wander in a library made up of aroma stacks.