Episode 161 · November 5, 2024
Laura Blair: Crafting Candles with Intention
with Laura Blair, Founder, Blair Hollow Candle Company
38 min
Laura Blair: Crafting Candles with Intention
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In this episode
In this episode I sit down with Laura Blair, founder of Blair Hollow Candle Company, and honestly, I loved reconnecting with her. We actually knew each other back in our college days — she was finance, I was accounting — and we recently realized we live about a mile apart in the Tulsa area. Funny how life circles back around.
Laura's candle business started completely by accident. Because of her sensitivities to fragrances, she went down a research rabbit hole years ago trying to make one clean, non-toxic candle that wouldn't give her a headache. That hobby grew, especially during 2020, when she and her husband did porch drops all over the Tulsa Metro Area like Santa Claus every Saturday. When his job and her consulting work hit a standstill, those candles ended up covering all of their family's financial needs. That's when she started to wonder — maybe this is a real business.
What I love most is how thoughtful and intentional she is about every single candle, from the coconut wax to the hand-forged glass to fragrances inspired by real memories — like the Mr. Bones candle born from a Día de los Muertos experience in Mexico. Her candles even landed in the hands of celebrities through the Killers of the Flower Moon gift baskets. But the real gift, she says, was the community connection that rooted her back into Tulsa. If you're sitting on a God-given gift and wondering whether to take the next step, this conversation is your nudge. Keep going.
Key takeaways
- Pay attention to the universal cues — when opportunities keep circling back around, that's worth noticing and acting on.
- A clean, non-toxic candle takes real science: different waxes and oils burn differently, and Laura uses over 100 wick configurations to get each one right.
- Price ranges in candles come down to ingredients and shortcuts — cheaper candles often scent only the top layer, while Laura loads roughly 10% oil throughout the whole candle.
- Your day job and your creative side don't have to match — Laura is finance and tech by day and a true artist with fragrance and design on the side.
- Intentional sourcing matters: coconut and apricot wax, U.S.-made hand-forged glass from a family business in Texas, and natural plant- and wood-based oils.
- Deciding whether you're a hobby or a real business is its own hard work — straddling the fence can hold you back from steps like a website or a permanent location.
- The unexpected reward of putting yourself out there can be community — Laura's candles rooted her back into Tulsa and built her whole support network.
Chapters
- 00:00A universal cue: when opportunities keep circling back
- 00:30Meet Laura Blair and Blair Hollow Candle Company
- 02:00Live event announcements and joining the email list
- 03:30Reconnecting from college and living a mile apart
- 04:30How a hobby started by accident — and sensitivities to fragrance
- 07:00The science of wicks, waxes and why candles are hard to make
- 10:00From hobby to business: 2020 porch drops and family finances
- 14:00How the candles landed in celebrity gift baskets (Flower Moon)
- 18:00Pushing through fear and figuring out distribution
- 22:00Local stockists and the dedicated spot at Meadow Gold MAC
- 25:00The artistry of fragrance and the Mr. Bones story
- 30:00The math and standards behind every candle
- 34:00Developing scents, sense of smell, and coffee-bean palate cleansers
- 38:00The community connection that rooted Laura back into Tulsa
- 42:00Side hustle or business? The hard talks and the next step
- 46:00Grow more in 2024: Laura's word of the year, gratitude
“When those opportunities keep presenting themselves, and those things keep circling back around, you should pay attention to those universal cues.”
“I never had business intentions with it. The hobby started because I've always had sensitivities to candles.”
“The fact that you have a vision for something means you should chase it. You have this idea for a reason — go chase it.”
“The really wonderful surprise that came out of all this was the community connections that I built.”
“If it's hard to come up with three things to be grateful for, then it really should be my word.”
Resources mentioned
About Laura
Founder, Blair Hollow Candle Company
Laura Blair is the founder of Blair Hollow Candle Company, a curated, handmade, non-toxic candle business she started by accident out of her own sensitivities to fragrance. With a background in finance and tech, Laura also owns a consulting business and brings deep intention and artistry to every candle — from thoughtfully sourced oils and U.S.-made glass to fragrances inspired by personal memories. Her candles have reached customers across the country, including celebrities who received her custom Flower Moon candle in Killers of the Flower Moon gift baskets.
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