Carol Whipple had been an all-electric consumer and member of ECI REC for 35 years. When her son Ryan renovated their old garage into a beautiful candle shop in 2009, she also became a small business member of the Cooperative. "My goal was to make high quality candles at affordable prices," said Carol.

This small business started with a simple idea that soon turned into a passion. Ryan had always loved burning candles, but cheap, store-bought candles lost their fragrance quickly as they burned and often burned incompletely. So Carol learned how to make soy candles, ordered ten pounds of wax and a few fragrances, and started experimenting. Today, she has over 200 scents—and a whole shop full of candles!

The Emmy Lou Candles contains soy candles, votives, tea-lights, candle tarts, and much more. Also available at the shop are chocolate and candy lollipops and other treats in over 100 shapes from Carol's son Blair's business, Polar Blair's Den.

When Carol heard of the Co-op Connections program, she decided to take advantage of the opportunity to reach more customers. She is offering a free votive with in-store or online purchases over $5.00. "It was incredibly easy to sign up to take part in the Co-op Connections program. ECI is very flexible—we decided the terms of the discount we wanted to offer to our customers, and there was no other cost to participating," said Carol. Carol has also taken advantage of energy efficiency rebates through ECI.

"We're a business with a big heart. If we can make people smile with our products and friendly service, we've reached our goal," said Carol.

The Emmy Lou Candles is located on 2356 Highway 21, just 2 ½ miles south of Dysart. Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday–Saturday, or by appointment. Check them out at www.emmyloucandles.com and www.polarblairsden.com.