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The 4th anniversary of Val's death is here. The boys and I celebrate the value of family and friends each Christmas with a deep understanding of what that means.

Over 6 years ago, Val was diagnosed with breast cancer. At the time her prognosis was pretty good and we looked forward to getting through the challenge and beginning life again on the other side. Val's treatment needs were pretty heavy though and she needed a lot of support and help in getting to and from the hospital, being able to rest in bed, with household chores and caring for our children, and help in caring for surgical wounds and the effects of chemotherapy.

In response, I resigned from my full-time job as a mental health counselor and began to create a new, mostly self-employed life that enabled me to maintain a flexible schedule and be responsive to the needs and demands of family life with cancer. Part of that newly created life was Campton Candle Co.

Campton Candle Co., in part, allowed me to be available to and care for Val and our two young sons as her disease progressed. It also enabled me to engage in what I think of as creative therapy. Making things and being creative has long been an important aspect of life to me and I found that expressing my creativity during Val's illness was even more important and a good way to find some partial relief from the growing tensions of life with cancer.

None of the need for flexibility has abated since Val's death nearly four year ago. The boys are still young and they need a parent nearby and available. My patched together career, now as a part-time guidance counselor and working to grow Campton Candle Co., allow me to do just that. It's the traditional Yankee way of life in rural New Hampshire, wearing many hats to make ends meet, upgraded by technology and the internet; but most of what I make is still made by hand with few machines and less technology.

I make everything at home: candles and soap in the kitchen, sterling jewelry and ornaments in the dining room, and shaker pegboards and quilt racks in the garage. All of our natural candle wax is melted on the stove in an old fashioned double boiler and hand poured into individual votive molds one at a time; each earring, bracelet, and ornament is shaped using hand tools and strengthened with hammer and anvil; each shaker pegboard is cut on a table saw, each peg installed by hand, and the finished product hand oiled with a cloth. Each and every item we sell is made by hand.

The internet and technology allow me to find the people like you who are interested in handcrafted candles and jewelry and wooden things; and you all allow me to grow Campton Candle and to be at home and available to my sons. This Christmas as we celebrate Val and life, family and friends, I will be certain to take a moment to think of and to be thankful for each of you too. Each of you is part of the story of Campton Candle and part of the story of our family.

Thanks and best wishes for a happy and healthy holiday season.

Sincerely,

Ken Little

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