Meet Emma Dollyhigh | Owner of Moody Candles

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

Hi Emma, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I’ve always had the dream of starting my own business, channeling my creativity, and becoming my own boss. I wanted to create something tangible that people with would enjoy and use on a daily bases. I never imagined myself starting a candle business, and enjoying it. But here I am learning more and more everyday about the science behind candle making, that I once thought I wasn’t capable of accomplishing. After making my first candles for friends as gifts, I thought “Hmm I can do this, I can learn the art of candle making, and create a business from the ground up”. It’s still up and coming, but I’m doing the damn thing.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
The creation of my candles has definitely been a process. Before I could dive into the creativity realm or my business, I had to dial in the science behind candle making. That process took about a year to have a final product I was confident in selling. My candles focus on creative design and clean ingredients. My first candle I launched is called “Serotonin”, I wanted to create a scent that releases the most serotonin in your brain when burning. I must say, it smells incredible. The concept behind my scents sets my candle business apart from others. I am currently the designer of all of our labels and graphics, I started out not knowing a thing about graphic design but accepted the challenge, thank you Youtube videos. I now really enjoy being able to have a vision for design concepts and making it happen. I’ve learned that asking for help is necessary and trying to juggle everything at once isn’t the easiest route.

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 live in Costa Mesa, California. Its a Saturday morning and caffeine is needed, so Daydream coffee shop it is. Tucked away in the industrial side of Newport Beach is a coffee shop and surf shop all in one. The iced matcha there is incredible. If the sun is out which it most likely is, then take a dip in the ocean at a local beach. Grab an afternoon hazy ipa at our local brewery “Salty Bear” and sip in the sun. For dinner and drinks I would highly recommend the restaurant 2145 in westside Costa Mesa, the stone oven pizza is to die for.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My business wouldn’t be what is today without the constant support from my friends and family. I would like to recognize and thank Lissie and Amanda for always encouraging me and giving me confidence in my vision for Moody Candles.

Website: www.moodycandles.co

Instagram: moodycandles_co

Other: emma@moodycandles.co

Image Credits
Hunter Gawne