The Clean Burn
By: Lydia Gleiser
Being the oldest child in her family, Arielle was born with natural leadership and a spark that refused to be dimmed. Like the candles she would one day create, Arielle’s personal flame would grow brighter through challenges and triumphs, love and loss.
"All the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle."
- St. Francis of Assisi
Being the oldest child in her family, Arielle was born with natural leadership and a spark that refused to be dimmed. Like the candles she would one day create, Arielle’s personal flame would grow brighter through challenges and triumphs, love and loss.
Throughout her teen years, Arielle always remembers working and being active in sports, getting good grades, and babysitting.
“I had the typical busy teenage childhood and always had a job. If I wasn’t at school, I was at practice, and if I wasn’t at practice, I was working,” Arielle laughs.
It was during this time that Arielle found a strong interest in working with children.
After graduating from Woodbury Central High School, Arielle pursued a degree in early childhood education. Caring for children felt like a natural extension of who she was becoming as a young adult. Around that same time, she made another defining choice and joined the National Air Guard, where she spent the next year in basic training — an experience that tested her physically and mentally.
As life evolved, so did her direction. Arielle pursued her associate’s degree in early childhood while also working for her cousin’s daycare.
“This was back in 2014 and during that summer there was a big hailstorm,” Arielle recalls. “My now husband, Cody, worked for his parents’ roofing company called Kuchel Roofing. The roofing company was getting slammed with calls.”
Cody asked Arielle if she could help by working as a secretary for Kuchel Roofing, fielding calls and scheduling appointments for potential clients, something she would be able to do while finishing her schooling. Not wanting to give up her dream of working with children, Arielle decided to attend online classes and open an in-home daycare, being able to still work remote as a secretary for Kuchel Roofing.
As busy as she was, Arielle felt that taking care of other children made her feel whole, but she soon realized that to feel complete she wanted to be a mother more than anything.
Years passed and pregnancy did not come easily for Arielle and Cody. After getting married in 2015, Arielle eventually made the difficult decision and
closed her in-home daycare to focus on herself and her health while infertility became a quiet companion.
“It was a very emotional time, and doctors could only do so much,” Arielle shares as moments of hope turned to moments of sadness and anger.
Arielle began to look closely at her environment. What she ate, what she cleaned with, what she brought into her home.
“I started looking into different products and the harmful chemicals that they were filled with including candles from a very popular, big box company that I would stock up on during their big candle sale,” Arielle says.
Slowly and intentionally, she began removing toxins and replacing products with more natural options, candles were one of the first things she reconsidered.
Candles had always been a part of her home, symbolizing comfort and calm, but once Arielle started reading labels and learning about synthetic fragrances and paraffin wax, they no longer felt harmless.
“I was at a point in my life where I was going to try whatever I needed to do to create the healthiest environment for my potential family,” Arielle remembers.
Arielle became intentional about even the smallest details while her attentions shifted inwards toward healing, simplifying and aligning her life with the values she was developing.
Her curiosity didn’t stop at just candles; it turned into research. She began searching for local wax sources, studying natural oils and looking for companies that held the same standards that she was beginning to live by. When she found local wax and suppliers who prioritized clean, natural ingredients, she created a plan and put it into action by creating candles herself.
What began as a personal choice became a creative outlet and then something more. As Arielle poured wax, tested scents and made candles for herself and close family and friends to enjoy, she was unknowingly building the foundation of a business rooted in care, safety and intention.
She also found herself stepping into the most important role of her life, motherhood.
Her first child, Kendall, was everything Arielle had been praying for. Motherhood was overwhelming, filled with love and it felt deeply right. But joy and grief were never far apart as Arielle experienced a miscarriage within a year after Kendall was born.
The following year, she went on to be blessed with another child, a son named Kalvin, followed by two more miscarriages.
Each loss carried its own weight. Each pregnancy held hope and yet fear, but through it all Arielle kept moving forward because giving up was never an option. Her candle business, now called Divine Candle Co., continued to grow slowly alongside her family, shaped by the same patience and persistence that motherhood required.
During this already tender season of life, Arielle faced another profound loss. Her father became sick and she stepped into the role of his caretaker. It was a responsibility taken on with love, responsibility
and compassion.
Now caring for her father, while working full time, raising young children and nurturing a growing business, Arielle was stretched thin in every direction.
“I began to adjust to my new busy life of taking care of my dad along with my own family while Cody and I prayed for another child, but at the time God just wasn’t allowing it to happen,” Arielle says.
Once she settled into her caregiving role for her father, embracing her new way of life, he passed away. It has been almost a year, but the grief is still raw and settling in layers for Arielle. Some days are heavier than others and it remains something that Arielle still carries with her. Loss, she has learned, doesn’t just disappear, it changes shape and becomes a part of you.
“I miss my father so much,” Arielle shares. “I just got so used to him being there, seeing him every day and becoming a part of our home.”
And while the loss of her father has been significant, she has found that God will only give you what you can handle in that moment.
Arielle has also learned that great loss can bring deeper love. Months after her father passed away, she discovered she was pregnant again — her due date falls in the same month as his passing, a connection she feels is deeply spiritual.
“Looking back, things happened for a reason,” Arielle reflects in a positive way. “At the time, I wanted to get pregnant again so bad, but now I know that there was no way that I would have been able to handle getting pregnant again, while caring for my family, working and then caring for my ailing father. God had it happen the way it was supposed to happen.”
As Divine Oil and Co. continues to thrive, Arielle continues to reflect on her own life. She has come to realize that her greatest pride isn’t measured in sales or success alone. It’s in the family she has built; the children she longed for and the home she fought to create. And it’s in the clean candle business she started with intention, resilience and love.
“I was able to take something so meaningful, that I designed by hand, and share it with others,” Arielle says. Something she feels incredibly grateful for.
What Arielle created was never just about candles and good smelling scents. It was about making better choices when life felt uncertain. Creating unbreakable bonds with your loved ones and the power of faith. Always protecting what matters most and most importantly, being able to build something meaningful from struggle, hope and a quiet steady flame.
More About Arielle
Some of Arielle’s favorite vices include a Pink Alani Slush, staying active every day, her annual trip to Siesta Keys and going on park crawls with her family.
Divine Oil and Co. have expanded their products. Arielle said that as her children have gotten older, she has found herself being challenged by creating bath bombs and body scrubs. Her favorite scent that she created is called My Boyfriend’s Hoodie.
To stay active in her community Arielle serves as the treasurer of New Hope Church and helps plan the Panther Ball — a fundraiser for Kingsley-Pierson High School.
Arielle and Cody are high school sweethearts and have been together since their junior year in high school!
Among the many mentors in her life, Arielle shares that her cousin Kelsey is among the list as she has always been there for her. She also praises Sasha Davis’ support and her personal development group that helped to bring Arielle’s candle company to fruition.