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June 17, 2025 13 mins

Meet Christi Kisela , the creative force behind Aura and Ember Company, who traded her twenty-year corporate leadership career for a studio filled with "wax, wicks, and wonder." What began as a simple search for clean-burning candles for her son with asthma has blossomed into a luxury candle and fragrance business that's capturing Charlotte's attention through scent and story.

Christi takes us behind the scenes of her Charlotte-inspired Queens Boulevard Collection, where each candle is named after local streets with rich histories. As a self-proclaimed "closet history nerd," she reveals fascinating tidbits about how Charlotte's roads were originally named to guide people to churches, and how historic intersections like Trade and Tryon transformed from horse-and-buggy commerce centers to modern urban hubs. Each fragrance carries these stories and connects users to Charlotte's vibrant past and present.

What truly sets Aura and Ember apart is their custom business fragrance service. Christi designs signature scents exclusively for companies that become their olfactory trademark—a formula they own for life. "When a business gets to give out something as an appreciation that is their signature moment, it creates that elevated customer experience," she explains. The artistry extends beyond beautiful scents; it's precise chemistry requiring specific temperatures, mixing times, and cooling periods to create the perfect candle. From their popular Selwyn Reserve and Glen Eagles fragrances to their new Explicit Desire collection, Aura and Ember is redefining luxury as both accessible and personal. Visit them online at auraember.com, follow their market appearances on Instagram @auraandember_co, or look for their upcoming permanent location at The Local Focal in Charlotte's Elizabeth neighborhood. Your new signature scent awaits!

Aura & Amber Co.

Christi Kisela 

uraandembercompany@gmail.com

Auraember.com

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Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local
businesses and neighbors cometogether.
Here's your host, Regina Lee.

Speaker 2 (00:10):
Hi everybody and welcome to another episode of
the Good Neighbor Podcast herein Charlotte.
My name is Regina and I'm theowner of South Charlotte Media
Group, and one of my favoritethings to do is talk to local
business owners.
Today I'm chatting with ChristyKithla and she is the owner of
Aura and Ember Company.

(00:30):
Welcome, christy, thank you.

Speaker 3 (00:33):
Good morning Regina.
I'm so excited to be here.
Thank you for having me today.

Speaker 2 (00:37):
Well, I love your company.
You know what you do is verycreative.
I can tell you're so passionateabout it.
Tell everybody what Aura andEmber does.

Speaker 3 (00:49):
Yeah, absolutely so.
Aura and Ember is a luxurycandle and fragrance company and
we're rooted in centralstorytelling product that we
produce, from our moodywood-wicked candles to our small
batch fragrances, which areperfumes and colognes, they're

(01:11):
really crafted to evoke emotion,spark a connection and elevate,
you know, everyday routines.
We don't just sell a scent here, we sell a total vibe, and so,
whether you're looking to unwindafter a long day or you're
setting the mood for something alittle more intentional, auryn
Ember is right here to helplight the way and ignite the

(01:33):
flame.

Speaker 2 (01:34):
Well, I love that.
I am a big fragrance fan, lovecandles, so I'm just super
interested how did you get intothis?

Speaker 3 (01:42):
That is a great question.
So, after spending two decadesin corporate leadership, really
helping large organizationslearn how to run efficiently and
effectively, I knew there wassomething missing.
I wanted something that wasreally creative and personal and
passionate.
So Orin Ember was born during amoment of a personal

(02:04):
recalibration for me and reallytaking a step back and finding
an outlet for that creativityand to create some purpose.
And what started as a simplehobby honestly has become a
full-blown obsession withfragrance, design and connection
, and so now I've traded myboardroom for a studio full of

(02:26):
wax and wicks and wonder.

Speaker 2 (02:29):
I love that.
So were you candle making andthen just said, oh, I can make
this into a business.

Speaker 3 (02:35):
I was.
Yeah, I did it on the side.
So it actually it started as ahobby one, to have that creative
outlet.
Two, to make sure that my sonhas really bad asthma.
Hobby one to have that creativeoutlet two, to make sure that
my son has really bad asthma.
So we loved candles and wewanted to have something in the
house that was clean, that wecould all enjoy and appreciate.
So this started years ago andin December my husband looked at

(02:56):
me and said you know what?
You've gotten really good atthis.
What do you think about tryingto sell a few and see what
happens?
I was a little apprehensive atfirst and as the universe opens
and unfolds, here we are todayand I'm you know, I have a
candle and fragrance business.
It's really unbelievable.

Speaker 2 (03:15):
Okay, tell us what that first moment, or who was
your first customer.
How did you take that leap?
Share the story, yeah that's agreat question.

Speaker 3 (03:24):
So I my actually my very first customer was my
neighbor and one of our verygood friends and I just happened
to mention it in passing.
We had a cookout and some folksover and I was like, oh yeah, I
started, you know, selling thecandles on the side and I see
what this happens and how thisgoes.
And they they were my first andthey've been, you know,

(03:45):
phenomenal customers and repeatssince then.
So it's been great and nowtheir friends are starting to
purchase and their familymembers and word of mouth is
starting to really take shape.
It's fantastic.

Speaker 2 (03:59):
Well, one of the things I loved on your website
is the names of your fragrances,so talk a little bit about that
.

Speaker 3 (04:06):
Yeah, so we have a couple of different collections.
Our main collection that welaunched first was our Queens
Boulevard collection.
So all of the candles are namedafter Charlotte roads, and that
came to be because I've livedin Charlotte for 30 years.
I love this city, I love thegrowth that we've seen over the
past 30 years.

(04:27):
Past 30 years.
I'm also a little bit of acloset history nerd, so, having
the opportunity to, you know,look into why these roads were
named the way that they were, Ihad no idea that Charlotte was
so originally rooted in a churchcommunity and a lot of the
roads were named as a way tolead people to those churches.

(04:47):
So it's been a very interestingkind of way to learn more about
Charlotte and the place that Icall home and have been for a
long time.
But it's also inspiring, right.
There's something special andunique about each of these roads
and you drive down them and youthink about, you know what life
must have been like 100 yearsago.
So it's been really interesting.

(05:08):
And I think back to probably oneof my favorites was trade and
try on right, and so you know,years and years and years ago it
really was the epicenter ofcommerce and people would come
from Pennsylvania.
They would come from all overto what we know today as trade
and try on and they would buygoods and, you know, go on their

(05:29):
way.
So it's just a very interestingthing to kind of think about
trade and try on, you know, backin the day of horse and
carriage right and horse andbuggy to where we are today and
it's still a very central partof our city.

Speaker 2 (05:45):
Very much so.
I love it to hear too there'sgreat history.
Where do you come up with thesense you know?
Are you concocting theseyourself?
History when do you come upwith the sense you know?

Speaker 3 (05:56):
are you concocting these yourself and where do you
get the inspiration?
Yeah, that's a great questiontoo.
So I do a lot of them myself.
We, because we love luxury andmy husband is a teacher, so
we've always been.
You know, where can we?
How can we live and do thingsthat feel luxurious?
You know, where can we, how canwe live and do things that feel
luxurious but be on a budget,and so that's where the

(06:18):
inspiration really comes from.
So I think about things likesome of my favorite perfumes and
some of his favorite colognesover you know time.
So, like he loves Gucci Sportright, one of his favorite
colognes so Mint Street is myinterpretation of Gucci Sport.
So for me that's reallyexciting too, because I get to

(06:38):
play chemist and so part of youknow, part of the way that I
work is I love to have hands-on,I love to work through things.
So having that trial and errorand really, you know, diving
into the different fragrancesand scents has been so much fun.
So, yeah, the inspirationreally comes from the things
that we love and we enjoy andthat bring light and love to us,

(07:00):
and we hope that it does forothers as well.

Speaker 2 (07:03):
So on your website you have you offer private
events, you have somethingcalled the Candle Lab.
Yeah, what is all that?

Speaker 3 (07:15):
So we have our retail side right, which I love.
It is very, very fun.
But we also do a lot of workwith local businesses.
So I had an opportunity acouple months ago Gosh, I can't
believe it's been a few monthsnow to work with Community one
insurance in Matthews and itcreated swag candles for them
and it was really great.

(07:35):
So we designed his fragrance.
So that fragrance no otherperson will ever have access to,
that is his for life.
And you know the candles arevery simple, that we used a
white tin.
We had a creative, you knowscent him and then his logo on
it.
So he's now.
You know he has events, he cangive those out.

(07:56):
You know customers recognize,you know, that fragrance as his
own and that, I think, is wherea lot of my passion really
resides is finding that uniqueconnection.
So each company, each person,has something that is special
for them, right, and it justcreates that elevated customer

(08:17):
service experience.
When a business gets to giveout something as an appreciation
, that is their signature moment.
So I absolutely love that.
It's a lot of fun.

Speaker 2 (08:30):
That is cool.
So you can have custom candles.
How about?
Is there custom fragrance aswell?

Speaker 3 (08:35):
Yes, absolutely yeah.
So that custom fragrance forindividuals.
So companies have the option,right, they can say, yeah, I'll
take one of your standardfragrances or they can create
something that's special justfor them.
So when we do that creation ofthat signature scent for that
company and for their candles,no one else ever gets access to

(08:57):
that fragrance.
That is their formula for life.

Speaker 2 (09:01):
That is super cool, very cool.
What kind of misconceptions doyou find in your industry or
when people reach out to you?

Speaker 3 (09:10):
The biggest myth is that candles are just candles.
I don't think people realizethat there's an artistry to this
.
So when you're making candles,you have to melt the wax, right,
that's all good.
Well, you need to melt it to acertain temperature and then you
have to mix in the fragrances,and those fragrances need to be

(09:32):
mixed for a full two minutes toreally absorb into the wax.
And then you want to let thewax cool to a certain
temperature before you pour itso that it properly adheres to
the candle tin itself.
There's also the chemistryaspect of it, right, of getting
the fragrance mixture just rightand being able to maintain that

(09:53):
recipe so that you can recreatethat recipe over and over and
over again.
And for me there's so muchemotion that goes into these
candles.
Right, and making sure thatevery person has a unique
experience.
Scent is powerful, right, it'stied to memories, it's tied to

(10:16):
moods, it can even be tied toidentity.
So having that ability to kindof bring all of that forward is
something I think people youknow, maybe just don't
understand.
So you, you know, at at Auraand Ember, we're both luxury and
we're personal, and I thinkthat's what makes us different.

Speaker 2 (10:35):
What are your top sellers?

Speaker 3 (10:39):
Sell and Reserve is a big seller.
Uh, glen Eagles is our had,consistently our top, especially
in the fragrance department.
Um, everybody loves to wearthat one is consistently our top
, especially in the fragrancedepartment.
Everybody loves to wear thatone.
And Mint Street is our third.
Now I will say too, we justlaunched our Explicit Desire

(11:02):
collection, and Undress Me isour first launch in that and it
has been a huge success.
So I have to make more today.

Speaker 2 (11:09):
Oh, that is awesome.
How do people find yourproducts?
Where are you?
Where do you sell?

Speaker 3 (11:15):
We are.
So today we are online, so wehave our website, auraembercom.
Folks can also follow us onInstagram at auraandember
underscore co.
To get all the behind thescenes information, exclusive
deals and find the markets thatwe're going to be in.

(11:35):
I am also very excited to sharewith you that the local focal
is a vendor-based storefront.
They are opening in Elizabeththis summer and we will have a
permanent spot in a brick andmortar, so follow along on
Instagram and get all the infoabout the grand opening and come
out and meet us and smell allthe products.

Speaker 2 (11:57):
So do people order online just because of the name
of it, because they can't smellit?
I mean, how does that work?

Speaker 3 (12:04):
Most of the orders that we get online have been
from word of mouth or frompeople that we've met at markets
that are coming back forreorders, and we also have a
recycle program.
So you know, when folks get tothe bottom of their container,
they mail it back to me, I cleanit out, I refill that fragrance
and get it back to them andthey get a big discount, which

(12:26):
is awesome.
So that's where a lot of ouronline orders have come from
that is super cool.

Speaker 2 (12:31):
Yeah, idea there.
Well, this has been amazing, solet's wrap up.
Wrap up by you telling us howto find you, all of those places
, um, that you want to shareyeah, absolutely so.

Speaker 3 (12:44):
Check out our website at aura embercom and do follow
us on Instagram at aura andember underscore co.
That has the very first pinthat you're going to see every
month is all of the markets thatwe're going to be at or our
pop-up locations, so we'd lovefor everybody to come out and

(13:05):
smell the candles and again,please be sure to follow us for
the local focal and when thatopens, you'll be able to come
smell candles seven days a week.

Speaker 2 (13:15):
Very cool.
Well, it has been a pleasurechatting with you today, Christy
, and learning about yourbusiness.
Thank you for being on the show.

Speaker 3 (13:23):
Regina, thank you so much for having me.
I really appreciate it.

Speaker 1 (13:28):
Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor
Podcast.
To nominate your favorite localbusinesses to be featured on
the show, go toGNPSouthCharlottecom.
That's GNPSouthCharlottecom, orcall 980-351-5719.
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