A Conversation with Jenny Mason

My mom is my North Star; she is a woman with a heart of gold and to know her is to love her. She pours her heart and soul into everything she does in life, whether baking a galette, throwing a tea party, or making handmade soap. So when the idea of making a springtime Leahlani candle came up, there was no one else I would trust with the job. She knew the task, and I trusted her 100% because I knew what would go into it; hours of testing and weeks of perfecting — and made with the most special kind of love I know — my mother's. Working and collaborating with my mother is an honor and a gift, and I am so excited to share her talent with you all.

xoxo Leah

When I was approached to do this Mother's Day candle collaboration with Leahlani, my first thought was to create a Bless scented candle. I rolled up my sleeves and, using the ingredients for the Bless Bar as a guide, went to work calculating fragrance loads and testing the limits of essential oils in wax. I sent tester candles to Hali in New York and Leah in Kauai, tweaking the formula about a dozen times until I switched gears and turned my efforts towards creating a spring-inspired fragrance; I needed more time to recreate Bless in a candle. Hali came up with the name, which is brilliant, 'Lei Day.' A spring fragrance named Lei Day gave me more freedom to combine floral and green scents. It took 26 different waxy versions of spring to develop our Lei Day. 

The obvious, of course, all the joys of spring florals and greenery in full bloom.   

I began making soap in 2010; I added candles to our soap shop in about 2015 but never had time to market them. 

First of all, I'm touched that they asked me to do this. Many elements are involved in designing, producing, and marketing a straightforward project like the Lei Day candle. Working through these elements and tackling challenges with my girls gives us time together during our busy days. We are all geographically spread out and live in different time zones, but we connect almost daily - my first favorite part. My second favorite part is the things I learn from them. Their insightful design and business tips also cross over into my personal projects: the tiny house project and an English narrowboat I'm designing this year. I'm very grateful they've included me in their circle.

Roses. Who doesn't love sticking their nose in a rosebush and getting a whiff of true rose? It's an outbreathe; I find the fragrance relaxing. Silly maybe, but it makes me think of my teenage days, my black and white cat - Molly, and French block print patterned fabrics I scattered over things in my room. Although I was happy to layer four different fragrances and essential oils to create Lei Day to capture spring in bloom, I love single-note scents. I have no need for top and bottom notes, just spread rose out with more of the same. I love citrus too, the bright and cheery lemons, oranges, and grapefruits; those you can mix.