Rebranding Journey: From The Candle Nurse to Cellar & Ash

Hey friends! Emily here. If you’ve been following along, you know I’m in the middle of an exciting transformation — rebranding The Candle Nurse Handcrafted Scented Wax into Cellar & Ash Fragrance Co. Our official launch is set for July 2026, and I couldn’t be more excited about this new chapter.

This isn’t just a name change. It’s a shift into a broader world of luxury home fragrance — candles, wax melts, and more — crafted with care, creativity, and performance in mind.

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Pre-Order Update: Storybook Season

As we wrap up the Candle Nurse era, we’re holding a few final pre-orders. Coming up is our Storybook Season Pre-Order (Volumes 1–3) running from:

• Thursday, October 2nd at 4:00 PM PST
• Through Sunday, October 5th at 7:00 PM PST

I’ve already shared all the fragrances and pricing in a previous video, so if you missed it, go check that out. We’re so excited to bring these blends back for one of the last times under The Candle Nurse label.

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Candle Testing: Finding the Perfect Wax

Rebranding also means candle testing — and lots of it. We’ve been working through six different waxes to see which will become the foundation for Cellar & Ash. Testing hasn’t been perfect (any candle maker knows the struggle), but each step teaches us more.

Here are a few highlights from my recent tests:

• Golden Brands 415 & 454: Performed really well in 4 oz jelly jars. Both had great cold and hot throw, though 415 is trickier to work with.
• NS-55 (Natural State Fragrance): Amazing scent throw, but burn issues kept popping up. This one may not make the cut.
• Soy 10 & 5114 Hybrids: Promising blends, smooth tops, and good fragrance performance, though they come with higher costs and challenges.

One big takeaway? I had been overwicking with CDN wicks, which caused way too much smoke. Now, I’m shifting to CD wicks to see if that solves the problem.

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A Peek Behind the Scenes

This round of testing was done in 7 oz amber jars, which will be one of the signature vessels for Cellar & Ash. I’m also exploring 12 oz double-wick jars and 2 oz discovery sets so customers can experience a range of fragrances before committing to a full size.

We’ve been using Cassiss & Jasmine (Hive & Honey) as our test fragrance oil, since it’s strong and helps show how each wax performs.

Fun note: while working in the studio, my husband Bill surprised me with teal and gold Belgian chocolates (he knows my favorite color!). Little moments like this keep the rebranding journey extra special.

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Collaboration Spotlight

Another exciting update — I collaborated with my friend and fellow YouTuber, Stephanie Melton, to create a brand-new fragrance. Inspired by Cinderella, this fairy-tale blend is called Cinders & Silk. It will be part of our upcoming pre-order, and I can’t wait for you to experience it!

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What’s Next?

The road to rebranding is full of testing, learning, and refining. Not every wax or wick is a win, but each round gets us closer to the perfect, luxury candle line we’re building for Cellar & Ash.

Thank you so much for following along, supporting the pre-orders, and cheering on this journey. I’ll keep bringing you behind the scenes as we move from wax melts to candles, and finally to a full fragrance collection.

Stay tuned — the best is yet to come.

— Emily