Yankee Candle Flagship Festival September 25-26

Have you ever wondered just how Yankee Candle captures such authentic and true-to-life fragrances in our candles? Yesterday I had the privilege and pleasure to listen to some of members of our Fragrance Committee as they talked about the components of fragrance and just how different notes and accords are combined in the perfect recipe to achieve those distinctive scents. As I sat there I wished every Yankee Candle fan could be privy to the discussion and learn all about the science and art of crafting our candles. Good News! We are excited to announce our first-ever Flagship Festival at Yankee Candle South Deerfield MA and Yankee Candle Williamsburg VA. Visit our flagship stores on the weekend of September 25-26 and you can spend time with members of our Fragrance Committee and others who light the fire of our imaginations! In both stores there are opportunities for our facebook fans to get to know one another and mingle with other passionate candle connoisseurs. We'll have some exclusive special edition jar candles and you can even express your affection for Yankee Candle on video! Make plans now for our First Ever Flagship Festivals - I'm sure you'll have a wick-ed good time!

True Confessions from a Yankee Candle Fanatic

Shhh ... don't tell my husband, but I've fallen for an old flame. Every year when the days grow shorter and the air is a little cooler, memories come flooding back. I'm filled with warmth as I think of a sweet and spicy favorite friend: Yankee Candle's Spiced Pumpkin. Oh, I've tried others like Autumn Leaves™ and MacIntosh Spice. I've even had a little crush on Harvest® for a time. But none of those scents tugs at my heart the way that good ol' Spiced Pumpkin does. I don't know whether it's the spicy clove, the warm nutmeg, or the sweet brown sugar that fills my soul with a glowing happiness. Maybe it's the unmistakably authentic pumpkin scent. Whatever the reason, I just know that Spiced Pumpkin will never fail me. It will bring true-to-life fragrance to my home from the first light to the last - satisfaction guaranteed!

Evening Picnics by the Light of Yankee Candles

Summer seems to begin with a flurry of activity: the end of the school year, graduations, dance recitals, parades, weddings, travel and vacation. Beginning in August, there are a few precious weeks that end up being some of my favorite moments. Those days when summer is waning and the days are growing shorter, but the sun is still strong and the evenings still warm. The farm stands are bursting with late harvest crops and no meal is complete without freshly picked sweet corn and plump, juicy tomatoes. Because I know that these nights won't last and cold weather bringing busy schedules is just around the bend, my goal is to enjoy every moment outside. Tonight, I'll set the patio table, light Conceal® candles, and dine on sliced freshly ripened beefsteak tomatoes with mozzarella, drizzled with balsamic vinegar and served with a baguette. As the evening stars begin to twinkle we'll sip a glass of chilled Riesling and listen to the carefree play of children acting as if back to school is a long, long time from now!

Future Yankee Candle Chandlers

For her 7th birthday last year, my daughter knew just what kind of a party she wanted: Wax Works. Wax Works is the name of the hands-on DIY section of Yankee Candle flagship stores in South Deerfield MA and Williamsburg VA. At Wax Works, wannabee Yankee Candle chandlers of all ages can try their hands (literally) at making candles and other wax products. Ella and her friends gathered in the party room adjacent to the Wax Works section of the store. When the party started, each of them was able to craft their own custom-scented jar candle, dip their own hanging candles, and create their own wax hand mold! It's great because the party fun became the party favor that they could take home with them. The kids had a blast and their creations were so memorable. I'm sure we'll be booking birthday number 8 there this year!

Yankee Candle Builds Bikes for Big Brothers Big Sisters

August is a funny month to work at Yankee Candle. It's a time when we're dressed for the heat of the summer, but our stores are selling Halloween and we're thinking of Christmas. It’s like all of the fall/winter holidays merge together!

Every August shortly after unveiling our Halloween collection in the stores and on the website, our corporate offices host the retail sales team in a 3-day conference to pump everyone up for the holiday season. District Sales Managers and Store Managers travel from all across the country to South Deerfield MA in order to learn everything they can about the new candles and accessories they'll be selling during the busiest time of the year. For this year's meeting, we added a different element: team building for charity. About 100 Yankee Candle employees from several different departments joined together in what they believed to be a standard team building activity. What they didn't know was that their teamwork would have a lasting impact on them and on families in the neighboring community.

Through the help of a company called TeamBonding, Yankee Candle partnered with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Franklin County in Massachusetts. BBBS-FC identified 26 children from the area who were in need of bicycles and YC put together teams to build bikes for them. While we were laboring over the mechanics of the bikes and testing them for safety, the kids were making their own candles in our store! At the end of the event, the sales teams brought the fruits of their labor to the excited children and their families! I don’t know who received the greater gift, the kids or those of us who made the bikes for them. I do know that when Christmas came to Yankee Candle it was on a hot August day that I’ll never forget!

Yankee Candle: The Mystery of Yankee Manor