Conversations with Van & Finn Ingolia

Today we’d like to introduce you to Van & Finn Ingolia.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Hello candle lovers, we are Van (15 years old) & Finn (13 years old), brothers and the proud owners of Smelly Brothers Candle Co. We started our business during the pandemic while our sports and schools were shut down. We had a lot of extra time on our hands. We have always been interested in science. To keep ourselves busy, we were doing various science experiments. Our aunt knew we have always enjoyed having wax melts in our rooms because depending on the fragrance we used, it would help us relax, focus, energize and make our rooms smell great! She suggested we try making some candles. We did and they were a success!

We gave our candles as gifts to teachers, family and friends. They enjoyed them so much, they encouraged us to start our own business.

We knew that if we were going to start a business we could be proud of, we would have to use the cleanest and finest ingredients available. We did a lot of research to create our luxurious candle using soy and coconut waxes and the finest fragrances that will fill your home. We are proud to say our candles are phthalate-free, clean-burning, long-lasting and animal and environment-friendly. We don’t use anything that we wouldn’t use in our own homes and around our pets.

We started selling our candles at maker’s pop-ups and art strolls. At one of our pop-ups, a very kind store owner approached our booth and inquired about our candles. She asked if we would be interested in selling our candles in her store. This was a huge honor and a great opportunity to build our business, so we accepted her offer and started our journey in retail.

Giving back to the community has always been important to us. When we first started Smelly Brothers Candle Co. in 2021, we thought we would give a portion of our sales to charities that help animals. As we continued to grow, we noticed there were many more phenomenal charities that help other causes in the world. At that point, we decided to pick a different charity every month to give back to. We are happy to share with you that we have given to various charities that help animals, wildlife habitats, children, families, domestic violence survivors, and several health foundations.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Having a small business never comes without challenges. Being your own boss has become so popular, there are many different candle businesses and more pop up daily. It’s sometimes hard to stand out with so many other companies. You have to have something special to keep your customer coming back for more. We’re constantly looking for ways to stand out among the crowd and to find our customers.

With stores closing and malls struggling, it has been difficult for us to find a store that supports local small businesses and stays in business themselves. We’ve had some stores lose leases and the kind store owner that invited us into her shop when we first started chose to retire after 26 successful years.

Thankfully with the support of our community, we have been successful at To Dye For Hair Studio in our hometown, 6707 Bright Ave. Whittier, CA 90601. We’re always looking for other retail locations to help us grow. Having our own website helps our customers find us in the comfort of their own home and we are able to ship anywhere in the continental US.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
As brothers, we work well together. We both have strengths we bring to the table. Van is very creative, he comes up with different fragrance ideas and has a good nose for what works together. Finn is the mathematician, he creates the formulas that give the proper balance to our candles. We both love collaborating on naming our one-of-a-kind fragrances and designing the artwork of our logo. When it comes to the business, we know it runs better when we work together.

What makes you happy?
Well, we’re still kids, so playing video games is how we relax. Finn also enjoys D&D club. Van enjoys high school sports and being part of a team. We like to unplug at the beach while surfing which has given us inspiration for some of our summer fragrances.

We appreciate the support of our family and friends who have encouraged us on our journey, and mostly appreciate the support of our Smelly Brothers Candle Co Community. We could not make such an impact in the world without your help and continued patronage.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.smellybrotherscandleco.com
• Instagram: @smellybrotherscandleco
• Facebook: @smellybrotherscandleco
• Other: https://www.etsy.com/shop/SmellyBrothersCandle