Power Out After the Storm in St. Louis? Light a Candle

It seems sadly ironic that the day after the area’s worst storm in years and right in the middle of a terrible heat wave, some 7,500-candle saleswomen have their convention in downtown St. Louis. Across the nation PartyLite Gifts has some 39,000 independent salespeople who sell candles at Tupperware-like parties, usually in people’s homes. With over 490,000 homes in the St. Louis area without power after 80 mile an hour winds ripped through the area, it seems that all the candle salespeople had to do was to go door-to-door to make a fortune. The only problem was that in the ensuing 102-degree heat, the candles probably would have melted. Good thing for them that the air-conditioning was still working at the convention center downtown.

The sales force at PartyLites is mostly female, attracted by the part-time stay-at-home hours and incentives like a trip to far away places. A lot of the women choose to sell candles at home because it gives them more time to spend with their children, some of them even giving up more lucrative jobs in the business and academic fields.