Meet Rob Crist | Candle Maker

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

Hi Rob, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
Both of us love scented candles, but most commercially available ones were too strong and gave us headaches. We started making our own candles using soy wax and clean fragrance oils that didn’t bother us. Our friends liked them so much that we decided to start selling them.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
We set out to create candles that not only smell nice but are clean burning. Sustainable soy wax and fragrances that are free from toxins, mutagens, carcinogens, parabens, phthalates, etc. We spent months researching and sourcing the highest quality ingredients while developing the techniques that we use today. There was a lot of trial and error, especially where the fragrance blends are concerned, but we had so fun making everything we were never discouraged. The reddit forums and other candlemakers were so incredibly helpful whenever we hit a roadblock. The greatest lesson we learned throughout was to ask all of the questions, because there is a huge community of extremely helpful people.

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?
The Zoo and Safari Park would definitely be on the list. Balboa Park, a Torrey Pines hike, La Jolla Cove, and one of the great music venues. The Casbah, Belly Up, The Observatory, Soda Bar, and so many more! A tour of our favorite mexican joints – City Taco, Los Tacos, Jorge’s, La Especial Norte, and Lucha Libre would be on the list. Other amazing restaurants such as Trattoria i Trulli, Valentina, Vigilucci’s, and Cowboy Star. For drinks, nothing beats a good dive bar. Bar Tivoli in Downtown, Whistle Stop in South Park, West End in PB, and The Shanty in Cardiff ( shoutout Troy and Matt). Of course, THE BEACH!!!

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?
The r/candlemaking subreddit has been an incredibly helpful group. Our friends and family have also been awesome as our product testers / moral support.

Website: cinderandflora.com

Instagram: @cinder_and_flora

Facebook: facebook.com/cinderandflora