Check Out Laura Johnson’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Laura Johnson.

Hi Laura, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My background is in fine art, photography, performance, and fragrance – four things that blended together to create Waximalist. I started making candles in 2020 as a hobby and as something to fill my time during the pandemic. I loved making them for my house and giving them as gifts. I made hundreds of candles and tested so many different fragrance oil blends. I started to hone in on my favorite blends as well as the best practices for creating a well-burning candle. Working in fragrance for years (at LA’s Scent Bar and Luckyscent) gave me stylistic reference points within the fragrance landscape, experience with identifying scent notes, and the ability to express myself when talking about fragrance.

I started to feel inspired not only by the scents I was creating but also by the images, lifestyles, moods, and characters they evoked. I started to see them as characters on a stage and wanted to dress them in the right costumes for their role. I started designing my labels with public domain artwork because it was a free resource, but I quickly realized how much I was getting out of looking at gorgeous art and wanted to make it the soul of the brand. I have always been captivated by archetypes and saw each candle that way, slowly designing each fragrance to fit the archetype in my mind.

I see a lot of minimal brand design when it comes to candles, fragrances and products for the home, which I definitely appreciate, but with Waximalist I wanted to create something different in the candle landscape: statement candles with a flare for drama, maximalist tendencies and an appreciation of art history.

The Waximalist fragrances are special because they are all unique fragrance blends I’ve created myself. I use multiple fragrance oils from different sources to create my own scents, so you won’t find them anywhere else. I design and test the scent extensively, hand-pour the candles in my garage in Calabasas, design the labels myself, and do all the photography for the brand. I love that I can employ so much of my experience and creativity – it really feels like play, which is something I’m trying to prioritize for Waximalist.

One thing I’ve really loved creating for the brand is playlists to go with the candles – I’ve only created four so far because I’m trying to take my time with it and really have the music match the candle’s vibe. When you receive a Waximalist candle, there’s a QR code to listen to the playlist inside the box. You can also access the playlists through my Instagram, @Waximalist. I love being able to expand the personality of each candle into an experience. I love the idea of creating an immersive experience with a product that’s more than just a scent – it’s a whole fantasy.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I think my struggle has been finding the right audience and the right customers for my candles because they’re very unique. I think you really need to be a candle lover to be interested in Waximalist, and you need to be somewhat of a maximalist! I’m trying to connect with more people who see themselves in the brand.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
With Waximalist, I’m proud that I do everything for the brand, from creating the scents to designing the labels and boxes, running the social media, taking all the photography. I love that it’s entirely my own vision, and it’s really rewarding when I meet people who appreciate the brand that way that I do. I’m also really proud of the quality of the brand – my fragrance oils are cruelty-free, phthalate-free, carcinogen free and contain no Prop 65 ingredients. My wax is vegan, cruelty-free, and free of parabens, toxins, phthalates, mutagens, and carcinogens. My wax and my wooden wicks come from renewable sources. I make my candles in small batches so I can really control their quality. My labels are printed in full color with a reflective foil that really makes them gorgeous.

I’ve done extensive testing with my candles and even come up with a completely unique and custom wick shape that helps them burn more evenly. The temperature at the top of a candle is actually cooler than it is as it burns deeper into the vessel. That’s because the flame is more insulated within the walls of the vessel as it burns further down and maintains more heat (stay with me, candle nerd here). Because of that, a wick that was the right size at the top of the vessel may burn too hot or create too much of a flame near the bottom of the vessel. I’ve created a wick that subtly tapers as it reaches the bottom of the vessel, therefore balancing the size of the flame throughout its entire burn. I cut these wicks by hand when I create each candle. I give instructions to my customers on how to trim the wick and how to have the best experience with their candles.

Another thing that sets my brand apart is the samples I give out! I create little tea light samples of all my candles. I give them out for free when you order, and I also have sample boxes available on my website – you can sample the whole line, buy a curated sample box or create your own box!

What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
I’d love to see the continuation of safe ingredients, resource sharing, prioritizing product testing and safety as well as proliferating customer knowledge about safe candle burning. I would also love the technology to create more true-to-life fragrances – especially with some notoriously tricky ones. Also maybe with AI, I can describe a smell I’m looking for, smell swatches, fine-tune it – then order the oil? Let’s do that!

Pricing:

• Vegan coconut soy wax candle $42-44
• Sample Box $12-18

Contact Info:

• Website: waximalist.com
• Instagram: @waximalist
• Other: tiktok @waximalist

Image Credits
Laura Johnson