Meet Brittany Russell | Candle Maker & Explorer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Brittany Russell and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Brittany, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
Initially I think my thought process was quite the same as most people who have started their own business, to work for yourself and not have to rely on anyone else for your income or give your time away to things that don’t spark passion in you. However, it wasn’t until I moved to Colorado did I really find my reason and process behind my business.

Once I got here and found how passionate I was about this whole new life of opportunities that opened themselves to me my thought process changed. Sure, I wanted to still be my own boss and do my own thing, but all of a sudden I wanted to share my life and what I am passionate about with others and hopefully inspire and make them happy along the way.

I finally found a way to do this with my candles. Each candle starts with an experience or adventure that I have personally had. Then I take the things that I saw, felt, and experienced and find scents to go along with that place or event. Every candle has a story and these stories follow them. They are a direct reflection of the places, people, things, etc that I am passionate about. I want to inspire people to go find their own adventure. To go live their own truths and find the things that light a fire in their souls that bring them happiness, just like I have.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Asgard Apothecary is all about adventure and exploration and finding beauty in life through all seasons. The road to get here has been an incredibly difficult one, but it has been worth every second. Four years ago when I created the name Asgard Apothecary I would never have guessed I would be exploring the western side of the country, making candles, and genuinely loving my life.

The amount of times I gave up over the years are insurmountable, but I always kept coming back to it one way or another. I knew that in some shape this was what I was meant to do, I just didn’t know how. I spent four years trying to get it right and it never quite got there until now. The creativeness and the desire to make was there, but the passion wasn’t.

It wasn’t until 2020 did I even manage to make a candle that smelled like an actual candle. I distinctly remember saying that if after all these years this last batch didn’t turn out the way I wanted to that I was quitting this foolish dream forever. Guess what? The last candle I ever planned to make was the one that actually smelled. The one that reignited my passion for creating. I have one of these originals still sitting on my desk staring at me as a reminder.

The biggest lesson that I have learned is to never give up as cliché as it sounds. Step back, regroup, and make another plan even if you’ve been through countless plans? Absolutely. Completely give up? Never. If I would have given up one batch of candles earlier I wouldn’t be here today. Did I find immediate success even after I had a candle that smelled up a room, absolutely not, but I took that candle and I ran with it.

For all of 2020-2021 Asgard Apothecary was actually a brand that made candles and teas based on what I was passionate about then. At the time during Covid I was stuck inside away from nature and wasting away until I found my love for things like video games, movies, books, comics, etc. I had candles based off of Marvel, Star Wars, Mass Effect, etc. Things were completely different.

Then at the beginning of June of 2021 I got the chance to move out to Colorado. When we visited looking for a place to live before the actual move I knew I was home. I discovered just how much more to this country there is outside of the southeast that I had lived in my whole life. I found my love for nature and the outdoors and adventure for the first time. I found what made my soul come to life, what made me want to wake up everyday.

I kept up with the old brand of Asgard for a little while, but I just wasn’t passionate about those things anymore. More and more I found myself becoming one with traveling around and learning everything I could about what was around me. I spent more time outside in the summer of 2021 than I ever have before. I hiked, I camped, I rockhounded, I foraged, I climbed, I drove 4×4 trails, I explored places I’d never been. For the first time in my life I genuinely lived. I didn’t just exist to pay bills, debt, live for the weekend to play video games inside, and then go to a job I hated for 40 more hours a week, every week.

Finally I scrapped everything that was Asgard Apothecary at the beginning of 2022, because it just wasn’t me anymore. Do I still enjoy those things? Completely, but not in the way I once did. One day it simply clicked. I asked myself the question: What was I passionate about? I knew the answer. I knew it was this new life I had found. The next question was: How do I show the world what I’m all about? This was when the current brand of Asgard Apothecary was created.

Now the brand of Asgard is to live your life. To find what you love. We only live for a short time and we have no idea how long that time is. Whatever it is that you do to live your life. Do that. Mine is everything listed above. It wasn’t until I started living that I realized how much I was purely just existing. It seems silly to say so many profound things about candles, but candles aren’t the point. I simply show my passion for life through my candles. When you are passionate about what you’re doing people can tell. It shows in your effort, how you react, how you talk about this thing. Passion is infectious. I found my outlet in which I can share this with other people and you can see the difference in how others react when you love what you’re doing. That is what I take pride in, what makes me different, and it is the answer to why I never found success until now.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I’m not one for itineraries or being in the city, but we would be everywhere. I would show them the Sand Dunes and Black Canyon for longer day trips. Then we would be taking the Jeep up Gold Camp, Old Stage, Phantom Canyon, Shelf Road and all of the other back roads to see the beauty that is out there off the beaten path. For more touristy things going up to the top of Pikes Peak is definitely something incredible to experience. Exploring the little shops and restaurants of Manitou and the penny arcade would also be on the list!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
To all of the amazing people I’ve met in the past year I’ve been in Colorado. You all have loved and supported me like no one ever has and I wouldn’t be here without you all. Thank you for finally showing me what it is like to have a place to call home.

Website: www.asgardapothecary.com

Instagram: AsgardApothecary