Meet Hannah Perri | Owner & Creator of Wrightwood Candle Co.

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

Hi Hannah, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
Now or never, as cliché as it sounds. Prior to starting my candle business, I worked full-time in recruiting. Making candles was a fun hobby at first. My husband and I talked about my future career. If I was going to make a drastic change, it was important that I did something exciting, fulfilling, and that would allow me to be hands on and creative. I did not start my business with a grandiose plan. In fact, it was quite the opposite. I had money set aside that I used for testing, design, and marketing. I knew I had a lot of research ahead of me so I could make a product I was proud of. After two years, I am finally starting to feel like I have my footing!

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Candlemaking started as something I did in my spare time. I always loved burning candles, but didn’t like all the additives and chemicals many of them emitted into the air. I bought a candle making kit and made some candle tins. Right away, I fell in love with the process and how therapeutic it was. I bought some more supplies and made candles as gifts. Everyone loved them!

Fast forward to present day, my company is currently over two years old and now located in beautiful Denver, Colorado. We moved from Chicago to Denver in February 2019. I loved the creative community in Chicago, and am so happy to have met so many wonderful makers here too. I have participated in a number of art markets, sell online, and you can even find my candles in a handful of retail locations in Colorado and across the country! I am very proud to have created a candle line that is clean-burning, natural, and distinctive. All of my candles are made using soy-coconut wax in reusable containers with lead-free braided cotton or untreated wood wicks. They contain no dyes and are phthalate-free. Each candle is prepped, hand poured, cleaned, and labeled by me personally. I also recently expanded my line to include wax melts and linen & room sprays.

All of my fragrances are carefully selected to create an experience or bring you back to a time or place. I have a few unique scents that you can find only in my line! The sense of smell is closely linked with memory, probably more so than any of our other senses.

The road to starting a new business is never easy and truly a rollercoaster. You’ll have your days of doubt, excitement, fear, joy, and everything in between. Especially this time of year (September through December), all small businesses are hustling to make most of their income. I once saw a quote that said, “learn to rest, not to quit.” and it really stuck with me. It’s important to stick to your vision, but also take time to relax and focus on your well-being. I’ve also found that having a great network of other makers/creatives to talk with is so important.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Wow, so many amazing places come to mind when visiting Denver or Colorado in general. If we had an entire week, I would want them to enjoy not only the Denver metro area, but the mountains too!

For great places to eat and drink, some of my favorite restaurants are in River North (RiNo), Lower Downtown (LoDo) and Northwest Denver. Really can’t go wrong with whatever you choose. Avanti is a go-to with visitors not only for their various dining options and bars, but the beautiful views of downtown. You can then pop over to Zuni Street Brewery for some fine craft beers and to enjoy their patio. When we first moved to Denver, we dined at Acorn in RiNo. I loved the contemporary, American faire. For a nicer meal with organic meat and produce, Urban Farmer in LoDo is wonderful! One of my favorite breakfast spots, Sunny’s, is located in the Sunnyside neighborhood. Fresh, delicious food with a cozy atmosphere.

For hiking and sightseeing, I would take them to the Flatirons near Boulder, St Mary’s Glacier near Idaho Springs, and my absolute favorite hike to date, Maroon Bells near Aspen. Breckenridge and Steamboat Springs are two of my favorite mountain towns. So beautiful! Based on the season, river tubing down Clear Creek in Golden is so much fun. Still need to try white water rafting – it’s on my list!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Although there’s always a few that come to mind, I would like to dedicate this shoutout to my good friend and fellow small business owner, Elle from Homebody Candle Co. in Chicago. I honestly don’t know what I would do without all of her help, support, and guidance every day. She has truly shown me the meaning of community over competition.

Website: https://www.wrightwoodcandleco.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wrightwoodcandleco
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wrightwoodcandleco