Meet my family. Grace and Ivy Candle Co is family-owned and family-operated. We’re 3 generations working side by side to hand-pour each and every item you receive.
We’re the vision behind the candle company and the owners. Our youngest kiddo, Clayton (17), stops by to help when it’s cool. We’re serial entrepreneurs with three other amazing companies. I’m a fiction writer in the mornings, a CPA around lunch, and a Candleprenuer all afternoon/evening. Jacob works in all the companies when he’s not working on his own novels. My son (our last baby at home, a 6’3’’ baby) is heading to college in the next year or so. He’s brilliant, brave, and funnier than he should be.
Next up are Debbie and Roy, my Mom and Dad. Mom’s a retired preacher, and my father has supported the ministries and now all of these crazy ventures she and I keep coming up with. They’re all in where we’re concerned, and the feeling is mutual. Mom’s my best friend. And Dad, he’s a pretty close second, and he THINKS he’s funny.
Then there is my brother Brently. He’s a fiction writer by night (a vampire) and has been working his rear off next to me in the candle company since we set it up. He’s meticulous, which is SO helpful for some of our detailed wax tart projects. He and I have been writing fiction novels together for 6 years? Time flies when you’re having fun. He’s my only sibling, and I love him like he’s one of my kiddos. (Brent’s wife, Kathryn, is the beautiful woman beside him.)
Last but furthest from certainly not least is my sweet oldest baby girl, Katelyn. When she’s not running two of our biggest companies, she’s taking product images, helping with social media, bagging items, and calming her father and me down. She’s the better version of me, for sure. (Michael (hubs), Audrie, and Noah are with Katie per picture – my grandbabies!)
The Story of Why a Candle Company?
It’s been a rough couple of years for the ENTIRE family. From flooded homes to wayward kids to broken bones to marriages that are just now starting to heal, we’ve suffered more than ever these last few years.
When I (Laurie) was sitting out at a lake north of Nashville, TN, around February, Jacob and I had suffered a pretty hard blow in our lives (several in a row, honestly, in a matter of weeks), and I felt low. Lower than I have in a long, long time.
I found myself lighting a candle.
And I realized at that moment that I always reach for a candle, and it reminds me of my faith, of my family, of hope. And I thought, what if I spent the rest of my life creating a comfort company that brought hope into people’s homes when they needed it most. It could start with Candles, and then, the sky could be the limit. Jacob and I would be ready for whatever God wanted to do with it.
After moving from Tennessee to Texas to start the company, my whole family joined in. There’s nothing sweeter than the memories we’re making DAILY as we work hip to hip to bring this dream to life.
So from my family to yours, shine your light for all to see. That’s what we’re working hard to do.
Laurie & Jacob