Backed by Swifties and social media, an NC business has put its town on the map
Jennifer Swenk didn’t take up candle-making to turn a profit. Or to attract visitors from all over the world to her hometown in the North Carolina mountains. Or to turn her dad into an internet celebrity.
Her mom was battling cancer, and the daughter thought soy candles might brighten her day. But no one in the Alleghany County town of Sparta, with a population of fewer than 2,000, sold soy candles in 2018, “and to get them shipped would be really expensive,” Jennifer recalled.
So she learned to make them herself. Requests from her sisters and friends for their own candles followed, and a business dubbed Sparta Candle Co. was born.
“I ultimately just started the business to provide soy candles to the people that I love in my life, and it really just grew from there,” Jennifer said.
That growth has included a launch into social media stardom, with more than a million combined followers on TikTok and Instagram clamoring for videos from the business, often starring Jennifer’s elderly father, Duane Swenk, and his love for music megastar Taylor Swift.
“He’s a grandfather to thousands of people now,” Jennifer said. “People come from all over the world to Sparta to meet him and to trade friendship bracelets with him.”
Aware of the fickle nature of the internet’s affection, Jennifer, her family and her team spend their days not just trying to grow the business but harnessing the spotlight to power a flurry of philanthropic efforts big and small.
“Fame like this doesn’t last forever, so as long as we have it … we really want to focus on being responsible with that kind of influence and use it for good as much as we can,” Jennifer said.
Harnessing the power of social media
The journey to fame for Sparta Candle Co. began during the COVID-19 pandemic when, “like every other millennial,” Jennifer started using TikTok. She realized quickly it could be an asset for her business.
“I started just throwing things up against the wall to see what would stick. And I noticed that every video that I made that had my dad in it did way better than anything else, so we just really kind of honed in on that,” she said. “And that’s how the TikTok star was born.”
Duane, who retired from a career in corporate real estate in 2021, describes himself as a “part-time Jack of all trades” for his daughter’s company. He’s cut candle wicks, done carpentry and stamped boxes.
He’s also the face of the company’s social media empire — more than 890,000 followers on TikTok, plus 140,000 on Instagram.
Some of Duane’s videos have more than 1 million views, including the series “Cuttin’ Up with Duane,” which feature the star cutting up Sparta soaps and describing the products with an ASMR-like vibe.
Finding stardom in the Swiftie universe
Things accelerated when the company’s Swift-themed content started going viral among “Swifties.” Jennifer, a devoted Taylor Swift fan since the star’s early days, set out to create candles and soaps themed around Swift’s albums with scents that matched each work’s distinct vibe.
Swift’s rabid fanbase took notice of that attention to detail. And the rise of Swift’s record-setting “Eras Tour,” and its obsessive following on social media, opened the door for more videos themed around the star.
Duane sported replicas of Swift’s tour outfits, donned a clown nose and rainbow wig to try and decode Swift’s notorious “Easter eggs” about her future plans and lip-synced to some of her biggest hits.
“When you get to be my age, you’re a little more comfortable with making a little fun of yourself,” he said of his online persona. “To me, it’s kind of cool knowing that … I can put a smile on people’s faces, and don’t try to sell much online. We just try to have fun and make people happy.”
While he credits Jennifer as the creative force behind the content, Duane’s Swiftie credentials are legitimate too. As a father of four daughters, he’s heard plenty of her music and first saw her live way back in 2006 when she was the opening act at a George Strait concert in Greensboro.
His favorite video so far was a play on the song “Getaway Car,” a cult classic among die-hard Swifties off the singer’s 2016 “reputation” album, and he’s taken quickly to the singer’s latest, “The Life of a Showgirl.”
“I can’t pick a favorite song,” he said of the 2025 album.
Sparta’s Chief Operating Officer Cole Edwards said the staff didn’t truly understand how famous Duane and the company were among Swifties until they attended Eras Tour shows in Miami, Indianapolis and Vancouver.
“There would just be a constant line of like 50 people just dying to meet him and like people jumping out of their cars in the middle of the street to run and get a picture on the sidewalk,” Edwards said.
Duane learned quickly to carry friendship bracelets, which became a trademark of the tour in reference to a lyric in the song “You’re On Your Own Kid,” to trade with fans and brought mini-soaps to hand out.
“I’ve got a lot of cyber-grandkids,” he said.
The attention has translated into sales, too.
The team had to learn the ins and outs of international shipping quickly, and they’ve seen visitors from across the world at their storefront on Sparta’s Main Street. The furthest travelers so far have been from Australia, Edwards said.
Duane makes an effort to be in the store frequently so he can greet fans, like a young girl undergoing cancer treatment at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Tennessee who traveled to Sparta with her mom and met Duane with a “bear hug” and friendship bracelets.
“That makes me feel good,” he said.
Giving back through hurricanes and hunger
Giving back to the community has been central to Sparta’s mission.
Those efforts accelerated when the storm Helene ravaged Western North Carolina in 2024, killing more than 100 people and leaving thousands without power, running water or, in some cases, a home to return to.
Suddenly, candles were more a necessity than a luxury, and Sparta leaped into action to figure out how to donate their products to families in need. Fans from across the world reached out on social media asking to fund donations, and suppliers chipped in too.
In the end, Sparta donated more than 16,000 candles across hard-hit communities, including Asheville, Black Mountain, Spruce Pine and Boone.
“We didn’t want to just, you know, do something, just for the sake of saying that we were helping,” Edwards said. “... They needed light, and it would also not just provide light, but also bring a sense of comfort to them as well.”
The business took to social media again this year to help address food insecurity as local food banks and pantries struggled to keep up with demand amid federal funding cuts and disruptions. Sparta posted recipes and encouraged supporters to bring all the necessary ingredients to the store to be bagged up and donated.
“Over the span of two weeks, we did 215 meals for the community,” Edwards said.
The work continues outside of major events.
The Sparta team regularly volunteers together at local food banks, assisted living facilities and thrift stores. They’ve held holiday toy drives in recent years and proceeds from their “Mountains of Pride” collection fund scholarships for LGBTQ+ students.
“It always blows me away at how quick people are to help,” Jennifer said of the philanthropic support from fans. “I’m so grateful that the following that we have created are just the most generous giving people, and they always want to help our causes. We could never do anything without them.”
Keeping ‘focus’ on ‘one of the coolest places on earth’
As the business has grown, so has Sparta Candle Co.’s footprint.
The team moved the majority of its production and shipping operations to a 15,000 square-foot facility down the street from their storefront earlier this year.
Known as “the Dream House,” the former grocery store now boasts brightly painted walls and fixtures, a disco ball and clothing racks for Duane’s extensive costume wardrobe. Employees, many Sparta natives, hand pour and package candles and soaps while father and daughter, armed with a smartphone and mini-microphone, plan their next viral video.
Sparta has started selling some of its products wholesale through other retailers, and they’ve gotten inquiries about franchising the business. They were recently tapped by the movie studio Lionsgate to make custom soaps as gifts for the cast and crew of the movie “The Housemaid,” starring Amanda Seyfried and Sydney Sweeney.
And an official collaboration with Swift’s team, Jennifer acknowledged, would be a dream come true.
But maintaining the business’s small town roots is more important than the potential payday that could come with expansion, Jennifer believes.
“I think it would cheapen the brand a little bit, and it would take the focus away from Sparta,” Jennifer said. “... The reason why I decided to name it Sparta Candle Co. is I love living here. I think it is one of the coolest places on earth.”
She wants the company’s success to be the town’s success too, and for kids growing up in Sparta just like she did to feel a sense of pride in the work. That includes naming products after local landmarks, encouraging visitors to patronize other local businesses and paying every employee a living wage.
“Our community just really, really needs the focus to be here,” she said.
This story was originally published December 25, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
