We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Danielle Ruth a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Danielle, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?
It was a tail end of a weekend event on a Sunday afternoon in Foxborough, Massachusetts. I was standing in the middle of the Profound Market surrounded by incredibly talented artists from all over, a crowd of people, and friends squeezed into our 10×10 booth to buy our all natural soy candles. Candles I started making while on maternity leave with my second child. It was the busiest market I have ever attended and I’ve attended quite a few. Many people would have been overwhelmed but the hustle and bustle excited me. I realized that I have fostered and propelled forward a passion project turned side hustle. I am one of many that manage my time between my full-time job, motherhood, and my hobby. It was in that moment that I knew I wanted to do this as much as I could.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
For folks who aren’t familiar with us; I’m Dani– Founder + Candle Maker at Love The Ruth’s Soy Candles. I started curating candles while on maternity leave. I defied all friends who advised me to “sleep when the baby sleeps”, instead I started a candle company… a successful one at that. It started over a glass of wine in my in-laws kitchen. I was curating candles as gifts for friends and family. After being encouraged to sign up at a local market as a vendor it evolved into much more.
Love The Ruth’s is a candle company based out of Massachusetts. Our candles are made with 100% natural soy wax and feature high quality fragrance and essential oil blends. Our products are eco friendly, cruelty free, and phthalate-free. Every single candle is poured by hand in small batches by me.
We have expanded into storefronts scattered throughout the U.S and fulfill a lot of wholesale orders.
Many people ask about the name Love The Ruth’s. Ruth is our last name. As someone who takes pride in giving gifts or finding the perfect cards, I always sign it “Love, The Ruth’s”. It was the only name for our business that made sense. These candles are gifts from our home to yours.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
One of the greatest things about candle making is experimenting with scents and vessels while creating something beautiful. It sparks my inner creativity and has exposed me to a network of incredible people, giving me opportunity to collaborate with artists that transforms my work into a form of art I am able to share with everyone.
Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?
I wish I was exposed to the network of people I have met when attending events. When I first decided to pursue candle making I dove into researching and experimenting. I was testing scents, products, vessels, wicks, all of it. The first step is taking a chance and I must admit, I did that in silence because there was a huge possibility that it could have failed, and if you are like me, failure is OK but not exactly something you want to share out loud. There were a few bad batches when testing, fortunately it did not defeat me, but rather sparked a light that made me work harder. It wasn’t until I started attending events as a vendor that I was introduced to other makers that had similar experiences when they started their journey.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.lovetheruths.com
- Instagram: @lovetheruths
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lovetheruths/
Image Credits
Coastal Cottage Candle Artwork; Artist, Maria DeVito Palmer Designs