For the last year I've described Torch & Tome as a clean bookish candle company for readers, and I present myself as a candlemaker who creates for the scent sensitive and story obsessed. All of that is true, but lately I've been realizing that description feels incomplete in the depth that I feel when I’m in this space.

I feel deeply that the candles matter. The books matter. Ingredient disclosure and quality matter. Supporting authors and creative crafts matter.

When I think about the moments that inspired this business, they all have something else in common. They're the relatable bookish moments like:

• Escaping your to-do list by settling into a quiet space with a book.
• Getting cozy on a rainy afternoon and reading for hours.
• The comfort of a book in your lap and a candle burning nearby after years of giving candles up because none ever felt safe enough to trust.
• Revisiting chapters that keep you up too late.
• Blabbing about characters to anyone who will listen (pets included).

As a reader, a mom, a veteran, and someone who has spent the last several years learning what healing looks like, I've realized I care a lot about creating those spaces. Not perfectly curated aesthetic spaces and social media posts that resemble the dreamy Pinterest boards that I admire. Just spaces that feel safe, comforting, and genuinely enjoyable to exist in.

Torch & Tome will always be about books and candles, but I think it's also becoming about creating refuge and honestly, I'm excited to explore that.

The big realization I'm feeling is this: I want Torch & Tome to become a place readers feel seen. I’d like to build friendships and trust within the reader community that I already love and adore. Absolutely, candles are the product I offer, but authenticity and creating scents that feel true to the books, characters, and worlds that inspire them are what I care most about.

I want Torch & Tome to feel like the friend who always has a book recommendation, understands why you're chasing a certain atmosphere, and never makes you feel silly for caring about the small things. Because I care about those things too.

I relate to many of you because first and foremost, I’m a reader. I’m a homebody who chooses books, candles, and stories as my personal refuge. Maybe you do too. Maybe you're looking for refuge from overstimulation, migraines, difficult seasons, motherhood overwhelm, stress, noise, loneliness, or simply the pace of modern life. If that's the case, I think we're probably looking for a lot of the same things.

Torch & Tome is the place where those things meet alongside our favorite books, and I wanted to express that. My military background has always trained me to think in terms of a mission. When I sit down and think about what I'm building here, that's the clearest way I can describe it. The candles and books support the mission, but the mission itself is creating refuge. If you've found your way here because you're looking for a little more of that in your own life, I want to reintroduce myself as Torch and welcome you into this little corner of my world.