Daily Inspiration: Meet Lorna Umphrey

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lorna Umphrey

Hi Lorna, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I’ve always had a love for candles and knew what an indulgence it was to be able to purchase my favorite brand of candle, which was not often. When an unexpected corporate job layoff happened, a local maker store was offering a candle making course so with nothing else to do with my time, I signed up and thought why not. After taking the course and realizing how much fun (and not so difficult it was) to make a candle, I was hooked. From years of scouring thrift stores with my mom as a kid, I realized that the best places to find candle vessels was right there – at my local secondhand store. The idea of being on the hunt for the perfect find of an antique or vintage tea cup or depression era candy dish became nearly the most exciting part of the candle-making process. From there I learned how to create various scent combinations that appealed to a broad audience of mostly friends and past co-workers, and kept building my little side hustle to what it is today – Lo Candles. I love the idea of creating such a unique gift in a re-usable, sustainable antique piece that can be repurposed over and over.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Creating a small business is never a smooth road. I think the biggest struggle is just taking that initial step of putting your art or craft out in the world and being vulnerable. I can remember doing my first pop-up with a couple of other makers at a residence. Even though the traffic wasn’t like doing a pop-up at a retail store, it was still very nerve-wracking and anxiety-inducing for me. I had to think of my display, logo placement, pricing, inventory to even how do people pay for my items. After that initial event, I realized the biggest pressure was the pressure I was putting on myself as a perfectionist. At the end of the day, the best reminder is that I’m doing this for me and noone else and it’s something that I love. The added extra bonus I learned was – hey, I can actually make some money from this!

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’ve worked in the entertainment industry for over 15 years so to be able to have a side hustle that allows me to utilize my own personal creativity is such a needed outlet. I’m a candle maker, founder of Lo Candles, and specialize in creating beautiful vintage and antique candles. I’m most proud of creating wonderful scents that my friends, family and customers rave about all wrapped up in a beautiful vintage glass piece. Every unique piece of glassware is handpicked by myself (or friends and family!) from all over the globe and hand poured in Los Angeles.

Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
I have my friends and family to thank as they’ve endlessly endured me asking hundreds of questions about how to run a business, how should my invite look, do you like how this smells, would you buy this? Without them, I’d be stuck at my computer with just an endless idea swirling in my head and no action plan.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.locandles.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/locandles