Black-owned business spotlight: Happy Kat Candles and Gifts

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Business owner and candle designer Kathy Fogle has a lot to be happy about these days.

After spending more than a decade making candles for family and friends, a couple of years ago she was able to turn her hobby into a full-time business, Happy Kat Candles & Gifts.

Fogle became a hairstylist after graduating from high school and spent 30 years in that profession before moving into a sales and marketing position.

But once she took up candle making and started getting requests for her products, she began spending weekends at different area markets and festivals, selling her candles.

In 2016, she decided to launch a website to help sell her candles and that’s when everything clicked.

“We launched on faith and have been on a ride ever since,” Fogle said.

By the end of 2017, she was operating her own shop in the North Davidson Arts District, or NoDa.

A friend told her about Northlake Mall’s Battle of the Pop-Up competition and encouraged her to enter.

Fogle won the competition and, in June 2018, she opened Happy Kat Candles & Gifts at Northlake Mall.

The boutique is filled with Fogle’s creations – handmade dessert candles and tropical drink candles that look and smell good enough to eat, plus fragrant soy candles and wax melts.

Fogle also offers space to fellow local entrepreneurs to sell other types of handmade and homemade items, such as jewelry, bath and body products, clothing, greeting cards, gourmet foods and desserts and more.

Happy Kat also hosts events, such as sip and pour candle-making parties, tastings and crafting workshops.

The store is open seven days a week and is located on the second level of Northlake Mall near Belk.

To find out more, visit happykatcandles.com.

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