This is the third article in a Vendor Profile Series intended to share the history and diversity of the Market through the stories of our vendors, as we celebrate our 25th Season. This article is written by journalist Barry Courter.
Cassandra Tucker knew nothing about the Chattanooga Market in 2014 when she began looking for new ways to sell her locally produced candles, lip balm and shower steamers.
Cassandra makes all of her products herself using plant-based, consciously sourced ingredients. Every product is handcrafted locally in Chattanooga by Cassandra and her family. She is self-taught, though she has taken some classes regarding her products and said she is constantly learning about them and believes much of her inspiration comes from above.
"I think I am able to be my most authentic self literally, and I can be Cassandra inside a brand."
She said being accepted as a vendor for the market, "was like winning the lottery."
Today, the market represents about 60% of Divine Purity Aurapothocary's business. The rest comes from sales in stores locally and around the country including Birmingham, Houston, Phoenix, and Charlotte. She also sells products online.
“It's our business, but it's also a community.” -- Cassandra Tucker
Even those outlets have ties to the market Cassandra says.
“Most of those stores out-of-town are because of someone coming to the Chattanooga Market and buying something,” she says.
“We don't know who they are, but I'll get a note saying, 'Hey, we want to sell your product.'”
Cassandra is a firm believer that God has a plan for her and that things happen for a reason. She doesn't spend a lot of time thinking about the whys or the hows, she just knows that when doors she didn't even know existed are opened, she needs to step on through.
Like when someone in administration at Unum bought one of her products, and unbeknownst to Cassandra recommended that Divine Purity products be part of 1,300 employee-appreciation gift bags.
Cassandra said it took six weeks to fill an order for equal numbers of soaps, lip balms and shower steamers.
“The reason it took that long is the soaps. I don't keep 1,300 bars of soap around, so we had to make it,” she says with a laugh.
She also believes it was divine intervention that led her to walk away from her job as a loan processor in 2014 to focus on her fledging business after being inspired to skip a day selling at the Chattanooga Market and to go to church to hear a particular speaker.
“There was a message being taught and the speaker said 'There is somebody here who needs to step out on faith,” Cassandra says.
The following Monday she turned in her notice.
“My husband (Ray) had been telling me to quit for awhile, but I'm not a very adventurous person.”
The move has paid off for not only Cassandra, but Ray, who left his job in 2015 to focus on the business.
Cassandra says the Chattanooga Market is a huge part of their successful business.
“That is the difference in how we pay our bills. Yeah, we have stores everywhere, but our products are not in people's faces all the time.
“At the market, you get to know your customers and they get to know you. They become mini families. We know their babies and watch them grow up.
