Get cozy at home this winter with Dirt Road Candles, a locally grown business that started on a southern Iowa cattle farm.
Who doesn’t love the smell of Iowa timber, pumpkin spice latte, freshly picked apples or caramel corn?

Who doesn’t want their house to smell good as the nights cool and the windows are closed?

“It was about this time of year, around five years ago, that I started making candles,” says Michelle Myers, owner and chief candle maker at Dirt Road Candle Co., near Atlantic. “I like candles — the warm glow of the flame and the good smells.”

Michelle purchased a starter kit and she began making candles as gifts for friends and family. She got compliments and nudges to make them for sale. She started stocking the boutique section at a local feed store, and her weekend hobby grew.

“Around two and a half years ago, I wasn’t really making any money doing what I was doing. It was then I had to make a decision to get after it and go online or this business had to die,” Michelle...