Meet Danielle | co-founder

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

Hi Danielle, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I grew up with a mother who loved to create. She made pottery in a kiln in our backyard and was always experimenting with different crafts, including candle making. She was my first creative mentor, and those early experiences stayed with me.
For many years I worked in real estate appraisal, which gave me a unique window into people’s homes. Walking through someone’s home is surprisingly intimate — you notice the photos on the walls, the objects people keep close, and the details that reflect people’s lives and memories. It made me appreciate how much atmosphere and design contribute to what makes a home feel special.
In 2017, my husband Taylor and I began developing what would become Backhouse Fragrances. We kept coming back to the idea that some of life’s most meaningful moments happen inside the home — welcoming friends, celebrating milestones, or creating a space that feels warm and personal.
What started with hand-poured candles inspired by meaningful memories eventually grew into something bigger. Today, Backhouse Fragrances focuses on thoughtfully curated gifts designed for meaningful moments, whether someone is sending a personal gift or a company is expressing appreciation through corporate gifting.
At its core, the idea behind backhouse has always been simple: create gifts that feel intentional, timeless, and memorable.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Backhouse Fragrances is a gifting-focused brand built around the idea that giving a great gift should feel easy, thoughtful, and beautifully presented.
What started as a small candle project has grown into a curated gifting collection that includes candles, gift boxes, and complementary pieces designed to work together. Everything we create is meant to feel timeless in a home and elevated when given as a gift.
One of the areas we’ve seen tremendous growth is corporate gifting. Many businesses want to send meaningful gifts to employees, clients, or partners but don’t have the time to curate something thoughtful themselves. We help make that process simple by offering gifts that feel personal, well-designed, and ready to send at scale.
What I’m most proud of is that the brand has grown while staying very intentional about design and presentation. Whether someone is sending a single thank-you gift or a large corporate order, the goal is always the same — to create a gift that feels elevated, thoughtful and memorable.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If a best friend were visiting Newport Beach for the week, we would start most mornings the same way we do at home — with a chai latte and croissant from C’est Si Bon. It’s one of those classic neighborhood spots that never gets old.
From there we would head toward the water and spend time around Lido Marina Village, which is one of our favorite places in Newport. You can walk along the harbor, browse beautiful boutiques, and grab lunch or a glass of wine overlooking the boats. It has that relaxed but elevated coastal feeling that makes Newport Beach so special. In fact, the atmosphere there was part of the inspiration behind our LIDO candle at backhouse — warm, timeless, and effortlessly California.
For brunch we love spots like Malibu Farm or Zinque in Lido Marina Village, and if we’re venturing toward Costa Mesa we’ll stop at Milligram, Haute Cakes or Juliette’s Cafe.
Later in the afternoon we’d walk Balboa Island, grab frozen bananas, and wander through the small shops along the bay.
For dinner, some of our longtime favorites are Bandera, Gulfstream, or CDM Restaurant — places that feel special but still relaxed enough to enjoy with friends and family.
Newport has so many great places, but the best days here usually follow the same rhythm: coffee in the morning, time by the water, great food, and ending the evening watching the sun set over the harbor.

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?
My biggest shoutout would have to go to my mom, Toni. She loved to create and was always experimenting with different crafts. We even had a pottery kiln in our backyard, and she introduced me to candle making when I was young. Watching her create things by hand taught me that the objects in a home can hold meaning, memories, and personality. That early creative influence stayed with me long before I ever imagined starting a business.
I’d also love to give a shoutout to my husband, Taylor. He has always been incredibly encouraging and has a way of pushing me forward in the best possible way. He’s great at offering business advice and helping me see things I might overlook. It’s invaluable to have someone in your corner who believes in what you’re building and constantly nudges you to think bigger and aim higher.

Website: https://backhousefragrances.com

Instagram: @backhousefragrances

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/81493758/admin/dashboard/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@backhousefragrances8826

Image Credits
Jack Somers