Hi there, could you please introduce yourself and Mythologie Candles?
I’m Leah McHenry, founder of Mythologie Candles, which was born in Lynden, Washington! We create high-quality, handcrafted candles for lovers of history, fantasy, and mythology. We officially launched in March 2020 during extremely uncertain times, which was very interesting. Despite encountering many obstacles, our little family business exploded almost overnight. It’s been a wild ride and we are excited about what the future holds!
You also have an amazing music career in Celtic metal! How did you find that niche?
My first and primary “career” is being a mother to my five kids, all of whom have been homeschooled these past 17 years (they range in age from 17 to 9). I am also a singer and songwriter, and early on, I decided to infuse my love of fantasy and Celtic culture with heavy metal and see what I came up with! The result is what some fans have described as “Loreena McKennitt, Lord of the Rings, and Metallica in a blender.”
Since I was a full-time mom, touring was not a realistic route for me, so I had to learn online marketing in order to promote my music and find fans who were looking for my style of music. … I soon began to build my career purely online. [Learn more about McHenry’s music at leahmchenrymusic.com.]
We read that Mythologie Candles came about after a project for your fifth album! What’s the story behind that?
Yes, I originally began creating candles as a reward for an album crowdfunding campaign! I wanted to find a way to create a more immersive listening experience. I imagined people listening to the album and lighting different candles, then closing their eyes and feeling like they had been transported to another time and place.
That was when I realized that I had a knack for scent design and storytelling through fragrance. … After all the wonderful feedback from my fans about the candles, that was when I really began to crystalize the idea of creating a brand around fantasy candles.
What is the philosophy behind using scent to create an immersive experience for your customers, while listening to your music, playing a D&D campaign, or even reading their favorite fantasy novel?
The philosophy behind these candles is that when you’re watching a film, reading a book, or playing a game, you’re utilizing all your main senses except for one very important one: your sense of smell, which is one of the most powerful senses of all!
We all have memories and nostalgia attached to different scents, but what if you could create and change the entire vibe of an experience by transforming a space or event through fragrance? That’s what we’re aiming to do. If someone plays a tabletop game and they are in a fictional forest, imagine being able to really feel like you’re there because the entire room smells like damp moss, mushrooms, and dirt with fresh fir needles? That game will be incredibly memorable and more fun!
How do you create your candles?
We work with a fragrance house in the USA, and I custom design our scents by mixing various oils together to achieve really unique scents that can’t be found anywhere else!
We manufacture all our candles in-house, which are hand-poured by real people in the local area. We have all the raw materials and make it all by hand, from melting huge drums of wax to custom-mixing fragrance oils, to pouring thousands of candles per week, and inspecting every single candle for quality!
Do you have any favorite candles, or anything else you’d like to tell our readers?
Some of my favorite candles include our Camelot Collection and our staples such as Book of Kells, The Alchemist, and Cave Troll!
We have a lot of exciting plans for future expansion and look forward to putting plans in place in the new year. Although we’ve been primarily an online business, we’re eager to meet locals and find ways we can help the community transform their spaces and hobbies into a more immersive fantasy experience!
