1. The Story Behind awburn

The story behind awburn, and everything that's happened since.

In January 2026, I started a candle company.

No big team, no investors, no office. Just an idea, a lot of experimenting, and the hope that I could turn something I enjoyed into an actual business.

I called it awburn

My name is Andrew, and I'm the person behind it. I make the candles, experiment with fragrances, pack the orders, run the website, and do just about everything else that comes with running a small business.

Well, almost everything...

I have to give a shoutout to Crista, who helps me design the labels and product packaging. They're a huge reason why awburn looks as cute and professional as it does. I'll come up with an idea, and somehow they manage to make it look even better than I imagined.

If you've ever thought our packaging was cute, you probably have Crista to thank for that.

So, how's it going?

Starting a business has been a pretty interesting experience.

Some days I'll get a bunch of orders, and other days I'll find myself refreshing Shopify wondering if anybody is ever going to buy another candle.

I've spent countless hours testing wax, trying different fragrances, fixing mistakes, and figuring things out as I go.

But over the past few months, things have really started to pick up.

I've been making candles live on TikTok, meeting new customers, and even reconnecting with people who used to watch my YouTube videos over 17 years ago. Which is honestly pretty wild.

I've also had the chance to collaborate with some really cool creators and make limited-edition candles that I never would've thought of when I first started.

And somehow, this December, awburn is going on tour.

Yep. A candle company. On tour.

I'll be joining the Under the Lights company for nine performances of A Charlie Brown Christmas, with an exclusive candle made just for the shows.

I'm currently preparing hundreds of candles for it, and I'm equal parts excited and nervous.

Why a blog?

I figured it would be fun to have somewhere to document everything.

New fragrances, behind-the-scenes stuff, collaborations, things that go wrong (because trust me, they do), and whatever else comes along.

I don't really know where awburn will be a year from now, but I think it'll be pretty cool to look back and see how it all started.

If you've ordered a candle, watched one of my livestreams, or even just checked out the website, thank you. It genuinely means a lot.

It's been a pretty incredible first year so far, and I'm really excited to see what happens next.

— Andrew

Founder, awburn