Summoning Circle

Summoning Circle

SUSTAINABILITY MEETS SPOOKY SEASON WITH CURSED CANDLE CO.

By Emily Jacobs

Self-described as a librarian by day and a candlemaker by night, Logan Heisman runs Cursed Candle Co., specializing in black-dyed candles, from their home in Lawrence.

Candlemaking started as just a hobby for Heisman right before the start of the pandemic.

“I like to jokingly tell people that I have apocalypse hobbies,” says Heisman.

Heisman got started with their hobby when they were broke for Christmas one year. While trying to think of gift ideas, they came up with the idea to make candles.

“I started with that, and then thought, I could make these black and make them really cool and make a whole brand out of it,” says Heisman. “And it just kind of grew from there.”

Heisman learned everything they know about the craft from the Internet. They started out using mason jars as vessels and selling them at farmer’s markets.

As Cursed Candle Co. grew, Heisman moved to using steel vessels as well as glass. They only use vessels that are recyclable and offer refills through a partnership with L.e.s.s., a sustainability shop in downtown Lawrence, where customers can drop off their used vessels to be cleaned and reused.

The candles use 100% soy wax and certified clean ingredients. Heisman is constantly coming up with new scents, matching ideas to fragrance names. They love coming up with fandom collections, including a Star Wars-inspired line (with light-side and darkside-themed candles) and a Lord of the Rings line for J.R.R. Tolkien’s birthday. Heisman even came up with an early 2000s nostalgia collection, where they collaborated with Lawrence-based Strange Rocks Ceramics for the vessels and created scents inspired by several different perfumes that were popular at that time, including Victoria’s Secret’s “Lovespell,” Bath and Body Works’ “Cucumber Melon,” and Abercrombie & Fitch’s “Fierce.”

Heisman also takes custom requests, which often include housewarming and wedding gifts. Their favorite custom order was for Canadian interior designer and tattoo artist, Hilary Jane.

“I’ve sincerely admired this person’s work for years,” Heisman says. “She’s on my list of travel destinations for a tattoo. And then she very randomly reached out to me wanting to do a collaboration on a candle. Her idea for the collaboration was to essentially recreate an ancient fragrance combination known as ‘Kyphi.’”

Kyphi, which Heisman says is sometimes referred to as “the fragrance of pharaohs,” is a unique combination of over a dozen ingredients.

“She had a sample that she wanted to match the fragrance to. Of course, doing this from a different country was a challenge because she couldn’t just hand it to me and be like, ‘Like this, please,’” Heisman says. “I think I sent her six different versions of this recipe, and she was like, ‘This one. This is it.’ So we made a line of those, and that was really cool.”

Heisman loves collaborating with local artists for product labels as well. They’ve done prayer candles (in black, of course) with local brand Wasteland Society and also did a collaboration with Lawrence’s Standard Electric Tattooing.

“I just really love putting dope art on my candles,” says Heisman.

Heisman works as a librarian in Lawrence during the day, primarily working in fundraising. They’ve donated their candles to various nonprofit efforts as incentives for people to participate to get a free candle.

After work, they go home to make candles, which they say takes up a majority of their free time.

“My partner would tell you that all I do is work,” Heisman says.

Cursed Candle Co. is largely a solo project, though Heisman says they hope to involve their partner more in the future and that they’ve had help from family and friends.

They hope to eventually take their business full-time so they can make their own schedule. However, Heisman isn’t interested in turning their brand into a brick-and-mortar. Instead, they want to combine business with their love of travel by taking their products abroad.

Currently, Heisman is getting ready to roll out new fall fragrances and preparing to travel to Hot Springs, AR, for a craft fair this October.

“I feel like I’m kind of on the precipice of it [success],” says Heisman. “I just poured more candles than I’ve ever poured at one time, I ordered more supplies than I ever have. I’ve gotten myself into these markets where I will be in front of bigger audiences than I’ve ever been in. So this really is my year.”