Seven years. 🕯️✨
It feels surreal to write that number. What started as an idea has turned into a journey we never could have mapped out. We’ve weathered plenty along the way: a pandemic that cleared every event off our calendar, a pivot into wholesale with a showroom and reps, late nights wrapping and packing for pop-ups, and a return to our website community that kept us moving even when the world shut down.
From the outside, it might look like success means landing in big stores or getting your product on shelves everywhere. And for some, maybe it does. But what we’ve learned in seven years is this: shelves don’t build connection. People do.
Why Wholesale Wasn’t Our Answer
For a while, wholesale looked like the next step. “Making it” meant stores, reach, growth… right? But the reality was different.
One shop put our candles on the floor. Another tossed our carefully boxed candles into a basket. Too often, candles were treated as an afterthought - stripped of the story and care that went into them.
And the numbers? Small case orders didn’t change much, even when the stores added up. They just gave us the “job” of filling boxes, shipping cases, and chasing invoices - work that pulled us away from what connected us to you, or to the reason we started in the first place.
What We Learned About “Making It”
Making it, we’ve realized, has nothing to do with shelves. Success is showing up, staying consistent, and creating with meaning. It’s meeting you at festivals and pop-ups, slipping notes into orders, and sharing stories through scent. That’s where community grows.
Candles were never the end goal. They’ve always been the way we built something bigger:
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13,000+ trees planted (and counting!) in U.S. National Forests 🌲
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Stories told through fragrance - each blend carrying memory, mood, and meaning
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A community that’s grown one candle at a time, with people who’ve become more than customers
What’s Next
Seven years in, our vision hasn’t changed. If anything, it’s sharper:
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More roots: Deepening our connection to the forests we support
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More trees: Expanding the impact of each candle made
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More intention: Staying true to why we began, not chasing mass production
Sales keep the lights on, sure. But more importantly, they keep forests growing. And that’s the measure of success we care about.
So thank you for showing up, supporting us, and being part of a journey that’s always been bigger than jars and wax. Seven years later, it’s still about trees, stories, and community. And we wouldn’t be here without you. 💛
Your candle friends,
Michelle & Darren
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