THE LARRABEE STORY

In 2010, I was living in my apartment on Larrabee Street in West Hollywood, California. That December I took a candle making glass in Los Angeles with friends. Having been a life-long scented candle aficionado, I was eager to learn. I enjoyed it enough that I bought some equipment and supplies to take home. The plan was to make a dozen scented soy wax candles and give them as holiday gifts. 

At that time, I had been working as a story producer in television. My friend Michelle called to ask if I was available to come east and produce "Real Housewives of New Jersey" with her. It had created a lot of buzz with its first season, and I grew up in New Jersey a few minutes from where all the Housewives drama was filmed. So, I took the job. I packed up my Jeep and drove east. As a result, that plan to make those candles got delayed.. nine years.

I spent the next few years focused on my television career as a storyteller. I got to work on some great shows like "Season 25: Oprah Behind the Scenes," "Long Island Medium," & "Moonshiners." Until I eventually found myself working in Austin, Texas in 2018. I loved Austin, and I had high hopes for the job and my future. But it turned out to be an awful work experience with a horrible boss. I finally quit, but my mental health had taken the toll. As I struggled with severe depression and anxiety, I used my time left in Austin to take some classes like coffee barista basics, chocolate making and candle making (once again).

In 2019, I was back home on Larrabee Street in West Hollywood, CA. At that point, I didn't want to go back to my career in television. I had completely shut down creatively. That's when I stumbled upon the box of candle making supplies & equipment I had purchased nine years earlier.. And I finally made those candles. 

I gave those first candles as gifts, and people really enjoyed them. And the candle making turned out to be a process that allowed me to focus and gave me a break from the anxiety and depression I was still struggling to manage. Making candles had turned out to be more than a hobby, but a calming tool for healing as well.

Inspired by my love for vanilla, that first candle smelled like baking cookies. I found myself buying more wax & experimenting with fragrances. The next was an evergreen scent inspired by family's Christmas tree farm in upstate New York. Eventually, those became the first two LARRABEE candles named "Get Baked" & "Snowridge."  Before I gave away those candles, I decided to include to include the story about what inspired each of them.

Months later, I realized I had instinctually returned to what I missed most from my television career, storytelling. Each new scent had a story, and I loved the that I could create candles that have a personal connection from the very beginning.

LARRABEE just sort of happened, but not by accident. It was born out of  struggle, desire for change, and the need to re-kindle creativity. It's an endeavor I never planned, yet was working towards all along. It's rooted in stories from my life, which is why I want every candle to be like that very first batch I poured in my place on Larrabee Street -- a personally inspired & thoughtfully crafted gift made for you to enjoy in your home.

-Jeffrey