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    Shop Talk: Handmade Body Care Brand Tiki Botanicals Grows to 3 Locations

    Husband and wife Jim and Candyce Thieken turned their shared hobby into a successful Columbus business.

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    Tiki Botanicals sells various handcrafted items such as soaps, sugar scrubs, body oils, bath bombs, shampoo and candles. The brand has grown to a trio of retail locations – 650 S. Third St. in German Village, 1727 W. Lane Ave. in Upper Arlington and 12 W. Olentangy St. in Powell.

    “We focus on bath and body care products crafted out of the best ingredients possible,” said Jim. “We try to keep everything as plant-based as possible, and all of our products are formulated by us, made by us, and fragranced by us right there in our German Village store.”

    The couple founded Tiki Botanicals in 2018. Jim said Candyce, a hobbyist soapmaker, introduced him to the world of handmade bath and body care products.

    “She just happened to bring all of her soap-making supplies to my apartment and she made the mistake of leaving them there, and I turned all of her oils and butters — which I didn’t know the cost of at the time — into a bunch of soap, and I thought it was fun,” Jim said. “The little joke was that she was angry at me for a few weeks because I had used hundreds of dollars worth of her oils and butters to make soap and I had no clue I had even done that.”

    Jim jumped into the hobby head-on and first researched how to make lotion, then moved to shampoo and conditioner, while Candyce made body butters, oils and sugar scrubs. The two started selling their products on Etsy, but Jim said the space was too crowded for business. 

    “It was tough to gain traction, you were almost lost in a sea of handcrafted products similar to ours with not an easy way to differentiate it,” Jim said. “Most of our business is scent-based, I mean you’ve got to walk in, either smell it or feel it to know the difference.” 

    In April 2019, the couple opened their first retail storefront out of the ground floor of their German Village home. The business expanded and they opened the Upper Arlington and Powell locations in January 2021. At the same time, Jim said he and Candyce were ready to reclaim their house. 

    When the space at 650 S. Third St., the former home of Starbucks, became available, Jim said they took their opportunity and relocated two blocks down in June of 2021. 

    Tiki Botanicals’ German Village location is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. – 7 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. More information about the shop and additional location hours can be found on its website at tikibotanicals.com.

    All photos by Ashly Kimmel

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    Ashley Kimmel
    Ashley Kimmel
    Ashley Kimmel is a freelance reporter for Columbus Underground. She graduated from OSU with a BA in Journalism. Ashley has lived in Columbus her entire life and is passionate about the growing community and supporting small businesses.
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