"The Regions of Texas Collection Candles didn’t begin as a collection. I wanted a candle—a single scent—to represent Texas. In retrospect, that was probably naive.
I searched for the perfect candle maker to collaborate with, and my search took me to Denton, Texas. There, a yankee named Carrie Crumbley was quietly formulating amazing soy candles. An aside: I think ‘Carrie Crumbley' just sounds like a great candle maker . . . Anyway, over the course of several months, she’d mail me combinations of scents, usually variations on grapefruit and woodsmoke and similar Texas-y elements, and I’d offer my reactions. But as the process dragged on, I realized it was impossible reducing Texas down to just one scent. I also realized that after a dozen prototype candles, we had the foundation to create an entire collection—one for each region of Texas.
I focused on capturing some sort of natural element associated with each region. Prickly Pear and Agave for West Texas, for example, and Fresh Cotton and Saddle (leather) for the panhandle. East Texas was a little tricky; I knew it had to include loblolly pine, but the pine oils and scents available for most candles didn’t smell like loblolly. Then I read that loblolly reminds people of rosemary, so I asked Carrie to use rosemary oil instead.
The other challenge was the coast. What does the coastline smell like? We couldn’t do a Gulf Shrimp scent; no good. In the end Carrie suggested combining a salt-like scent, together with a few secret scents she knew were always winners, and we named it Matagorda Morning. It’s the most ambiguous scent in the Collection. It’s also the best-seller.
My personal favorite: Marrs Orange & Hot Pepper. There’s really nothing else like it.” - vf