About Us - Luminaria Candle Co.

When we arrived in the US as an academic family (https://www.academic-family.com/), our home changed a lot. More love, more laundry, more cooking, and for some reason, more mysterious odors from Coco. We wanted our home to smell beautiful, but we also wanted to be intentional about what we were burning around our family.

We started buying candles everywhere. The frustration with poor scent release and the amount of money we kept spending on disappointing candles made us want to try something different. So we started making our own.

That's when we fell in love with the science behind it.

Candle making is chemistry in disguise. It's temperature, timing, ratios, wick selection, melt pool behavior, and scent throw. Every variable matters, and that's exactly the kind of problem we love to solve. We started testing combinations the same way we'd optimize a protocol in the lab: observe, adjust, repeat. The goal was never just a candle that smelled "nice." It was fragrances that made our home feel clean, calm, and cozy.

Luminaria Candle Co. grew from that process, a way of combining science, family, and design into something simple but meaningful: clean home fragrance with an affordable luxury feel.

We are also a family shaped by resilience. Our Academic Baby was born prematurely after a HELLP syndrome pregnancy. That experience taught us how precious everyday moments really are, and how much comfort a familiar scent, a warm glow, and a quiet moment at home can bring. We hope to one day give back by donating a portion of our profits to the Preeclampsia Foundation, supporting other families facing similar challenges.

Thank you for supporting a small family business built on heart, science, and a whole lot of love. We hope our candles bring a little warmth into your home. 

— Academic Mom, Academic Dad & the whole Academic Family