At age ten, Gabrielle Marchetti got a craft kit for her birthday to make candles. Back then, she had no way of knowing that years later, she would be running a successful business in Chattanooga that sells candles locally and all over the country.
In 2019, Gabrielle founded Forget Me Not Candles with a passion to bring aesthetically pleasing, nontoxic, clean burning candles to the home accessories industry. In the process, she has taken scented candles, something found in most homes, and intentionally worked to make them as beautiful, functional, and healthy as possible.
“It is really important to have clean ingredients in your home because toxic ingredients chip away at your health without you realizing it,” explains Gabrielle. “Ingredients make a difference in long-term health effects and immediate effects, and with cleaner candles, you address both of those things. We are one of the only companies that produce 100% soy candles that don't trigger allergies or have allergens. They also don't have any endocrine or hormone disruptors, and they are all vetted to make sure that they are headache free.”
Gabrielle has also been very intentional in her approach to candle scents, which are available in 25 to 30 different fragrances at a time. The objective is to make all the scents pleasing to a large range of people without being overpowering. “The candle scents are designed to be universal enough to be giftable,” she shares. “The ultimate goal is for people to have selections and for them to love them all so much, they don’t know which one to choose. I think we’ve achieved that goal!” Gabrielle’s personal favorite scent is cozy cashmere, which has been the top-selling scent over the last year.
The hand-poured candles burn evenly for up to 180 hours, allowing consumers to get the maximum benefit from each candle, and they are tastefully designed to seamlessly compliment any home décor. “I know there are people out there like me who have not purchased something for the sole reason that it just would not look good in their home,” she shares. “They really care about how things look, and they want to curate the appearance and feel of their home. We’ve designed our candles so that whether they're trying to complement their home decor or wanting to elevate an area in their home, our candles work for both.”
Over the last six years, the company has expanded to include a large on-line customer base and in addition to being sold in the Chattanooga shop, the candles are now sold in 150 retailers across the United States. Forget Me Not Candles has also grown from a one-woman solo venture into a thriving team of seven women.
“We have built a team intentionally and with so much care… everyone works together so well,” says Gabrielle. “When it's the right personalities and you have the right intention and pillars behind what you're doing, you can do anything.”
In addition to believing in the quality and purpose of her products, Gabrielle has an entrepreneurial spirit and really enjoys the different aspects and challenges of running a business. “I’ve always been obsessed with marketing and design, so I’ve poured a lot of that into the business,” she says. “I also love the autonomy that owning a business brings and being able to consistently innovate and make improvements. If something bad happens, it's on me, but if something good happens, it's on me too.”
An Atlanta native, Gabrielle moved to Chattanooga eight years ago. She embraces all that the area has to offer and admits that there is still so much exploring to do in the future.
“It’s such a beautiful city and leaves a lot of room for inspiration, but my favorite thing about Chattanooga is the convenience of the city blended with nature,” she explains. “It’s so nice to be able to take my son bike riding or paddleboarding on any given day. We have a membership to use the bikes and scooters that are on the streets around town and it’s really nice because we can bike across town in 10 minutes. Paddle boarding has also been so attainable because we can walk right to the river. Sometimes I can’t believe that we live in a place where you vacation in your own town.”
To find out more about Forget Me Not Candles and its mission to provide clean, nontoxic products for homes and businesses, visit forgetmenotcandlesco.com. Also visit the storefront location at 4200 N Access Road, Suite 102, and follow @forget.me.not.candles.