Built from the inside out
Six Figure Wick didn't start as a website. It started as a candle brand — built during COVID, when my design business stopped overnight and a friend nudged me toward a long-standing interest in fragrance and scent.
There was no roadmap. No formal training. Just materials ordered online and problems I didn't yet have names for. I learned by doing — by pouring batches that didn't work, by testing wick after wick, by ruining more than a few vessels before figuring out what actually performs versus what just looks good in theory. That process taught me more than any course or credential ever could have.
I'm Donna KaDell — a self-taught designer, creative director, and candle maker based in Toronto. My background is in art direction, retail display design, and branded environments. I think in systems. I care about how things look, how they feel, and whether they actually work. That combination is what became Six Figure Wick.
Why this site exists
Once I'd built a candle brand I was proud of, I kept running into the same thing: other makers asking the same questions I'd struggled with. How much fragrance oil? How do I price this? What wick do I use? Why is my candle tunneling? Why am I not making any money on Etsy?
The answers existed — scattered across forums, YouTube videos, supplier documentation, and trial and error. What didn't exist was a single, well-designed resource that treated candle makers like intelligent adults who want real information, not fear-based marketing or oversimplified tutorials.
So I built it.
What Six Figure Wick is
A free toolkit and knowledge base for candle makers who want to build something real. The calculators handle the math — fragrance load, jar fill, batch scaling, pricing, Etsy profit, wax conversion — so you can focus on the craft and the business. The guides and ebook handle the thinking — how to choose materials, how to price for profit, how to build a brand that communicates without having to explain itself, and how to grow beyond the studio.
Everything here is built on direct experience. Not academic theory. Not recycled blog content. Tested, refined, and written by someone who built a candle brand from scratch and learned every lesson the hard way.
The approach
Six Figure Wick operates on a few principles that run through everything on this site:
Clarity over claims. "Clean," "non-toxic," "the best wax" — most of these terms are marketing noise. This site explains what things actually mean and lets you make informed decisions.
Process over shortcuts. There are no shortcuts in candle making that don't eventually cost you. The makers who build sustainable businesses are the ones who test properly, document everything, and build their intuition through repetition.
Business thinking from the start. Candle making is a craft. A candle business is a different thing. Pricing, margins, brand positioning, wholesale readiness, scaling — these aren't afterthoughts. They're the foundation.
The tools
All calculators on Six Figure Wick are free, require no signup, and work on any device. They're built to remove the guesswork from the parts of candle making that don't need to be guesswork — so your attention can go toward the parts that do.
- Fragrance Load Calculator
- Jar Fill Calculator
- Candle Pricing Calculator
- Batch Scale Calculator
- Etsy Profit Calculator
- Wax Conversion Calculator
- Fragrance Blend Calculator
The ebook
The Six Figure Wick ebook is the longer version of everything this site is about. 62 pages. 16 chapters. The full arc from first pour to running a brand — covering materials, formulation, wick testing, pricing, branding, packaging, naming, wholesale, insurance, and when to hand off the pour entirely and step into the creative director role.
It's the book I wish I'd had when I started.
