Local Handmade

Story By Hannah Lester Photos By Kristin Morrison

Kudzu Hill Handmade followed from the shared desire that many Americans face — the desire to own their own business and work for themselves. “We wanted the freedom that it brings to work for yourself,” said Kerry Weldon, one of the owners.

Weldon and Jeanne Moye started Kudzu Hill, and if you’ve been around Auburn or Opelika long enough, then you know their product has taken off.

“It seemed like there was a need for what we were doing, and people really responded,” Weldon said.

While the company does not have a brick-and-mortar store, its products are available in businesses around the area. Kudzu Hill also sells at local markets, flea markets and similar places.

In 2020, Kudzu Hill moved from selling only at markets to bulk products that could head into local stores.

Weldon and Moye sell soaps and candles in a variety of scents — some even locally related like the College and Magnolia candle.

“We did our research actually,” Weldon said. “We started looking into very different candle formulations, soap making, things like that.”

Out of all that research, the two chose what they felt would work for them.

“We started with what we liked,” Weldon said, which for her meant scents like cedarwood. “… Anything that’s very earthy.”

Weldon makes the soap, while Moye, who is also Weldon’s wife, makes the candles.

“It works out really well,” Weldon said.

Right now, Weldon runs the business full time while Moye works another full-time position.

Weldon said she’s able to see how much they’ve grown since 2019 and she said she’s learned a lot. Learning how to run a business in general has been the most difficult thing since starting Kudzu Hill, she said.

“There’s not really a guidebook for it, right?” Weldon said. “So, I’ve learned a lot and I continue to learn a lot.”

On the Kudzu Hill Facebook page, the following candles are available: - Fallen Leaves - Christmas Hearth - Cypress & Bayberry - Snowflakes - Peppermint Bark - Night Forest - Cedarwood Tobacco - Lavender - Ocean Shores - Pacific Trail - College and Magnolia

- Coffee Shop and - Black Sea.

The candles come in $10, 8-ounce tins, or $25, 17-ounce glass. These candles are 100% soy wax and use pure essential oils, along with fragrance oils. There are also dough bowl candles available for $35.

The soaps are all natural with pure essential oils and fragrance oils, cost $9 and are available in the following scents: - Fallen Leaves - Christsmas Hearth - Blue Spruce - Speakeasy - Rosemary Lemon Verbena - Oat Milk - Patchouli Rose - Lavender - Cedarwood Tobacco - Southern Pine - Railroad Town (Gardenia Tuberose) - Ocean Shores - Coffee Shop - College and Magnolia - Eucalyptus and - Peppermint.

The oils used to scent the products are “free of many potentially hazardous chemicals, such as phthalates,” Weldon said. “And, we do not use chemical dyes in our candles.”

Kudzu Hill’s Facebook page is: www.facebook.com/kudzuhillhandmade but you can also find its products in local businesses such as ACE Hardware on University Drive in Auburn or Market Street Paint Shop and Boonie Hat Coffee Company on 8th Street in Opelika.