Meet Kat Zangaro, creator and business owner of scented candle company, Hazel Sage + Cedar
At Bulk Apothecary, we are proud to support and highlight the talented Skincare and candle businesses that rely on our high-quality ingredients. Every month, we feature a standout creator and business owner from the maker community, showcasing their unique journey and passion for crafting.
This month, we’re excited to introduce you to Kat Zangaro, the inspiring woman who creates and sells scented candles as the owner of Hazel Sage & Cedar, a Luxurious scented candle brand known for lead-free, nickel-free cotton wicks and a smooth coconut soy wax blend with non-toxic indulgent fragrance oils.
Thank you for taking the time to share more about your business with us and the maker community. Could you introduce yourself and tell us about your journey as a scented candle maker and business owner? We’d love to hear how you started creating your candles.
I’m Kat Zangaro, owner of Hazel Sage + Cedar. I love my job as a Nurse Practitioner with The Cleveland Clinic. But before I loved science, I had always loved anything artistic I could get my hands on. I couldn’t wait to decorate my very own home and fill it with creative pieces I procured or made myself. I worked at Anthropologie for 6 years and fell in love with whimsical aesthetic. I’m a homebody who loves a transitional, traditional cozy ambiance with a whimsy flair. Nothing says home to me quite like lighting a candle in the kitchen and bathroom, the crackling of the fireplace in the living room, and my babies running around the playroom with a soccer ball. After I had my third child, a good friend said that our baby names together sound like a beautiful candle, so I thought I’d try my hand at something I’ve loved for so long. Here we are!
We love it when friends help us see our dreams! What sparked your passion for creating and selling your scented candles? We’d love to know what motivated you to start and share your creations with others.
My kids! The nostalgia and ambiance that a scented candle can bring to a space can bring you all the feels. The smell of lemons and ozone will always remind me of my honeymoon in Capri. The way our first home smelled of baby laundry and flowers when we first became parents. The same way seasonal scents like apples and crisp leaves or fireplace embers and pine can take you back to your favorite holiday memory. Two life goals of mine are: first, showing my children what passion and paving your own way looks like, and second, to make our home so cozy and filled with love that they’ll keep coming back to us to sink into our couch and let go like a big hug. I hope it always smells like home, where they grew up knowing they are rooted in love and always connected. Where their mom made candles inspired by them and what our home means to her – the home they made together. I will light that ‘Comfort’ candle that takes all 5 of us back and sink into the couch with them to recall. I can’t think of anything that will bring me more joy than this.
That is a beautiful, we could not agree more about how a scented candle can bring you back to those sweet moments. What do you love most about making and selling your scented candles?
I can be pretty Type A personality. I enjoy the repetition of measuring, pouring, labeling, packaging. Choosing special packaging makes me giddy. There’s something about the look and feel of a high-end product that is somewhat of a love language of mine. I love the creativity of finding scent combinations alongside Hazel, my daughter. She is so incredible at telling me straight up how she feels about a certain scent and also finding ways to improve it. She’s got that creative gene, and it is so fun getting to watch her exercise it in this way. This has been such a great mother-daughter bonding experience!
That is so sweet. I bet that time you spend together testing Fragrance oils is very special. Out of all the amazing scented candles you’ve created, what’s your personal favorite?
Our 100 oz custom label candles have to be my favorite! They come with a plantable wildflower-seeded duster and I get to customize the label with a “thank you” or inspirational message that the client may have written on a card instead. This way, they can read the message every time they light the candle which is so much better than losing or tossing the card right away. These candles last about 1.5 month and I make them as gifts quite often! I get to wrap them in a pretty box, and it just makes me so excited for them to receive it!
What a unique and inspiring product! That sounds like the perfect gift for a loved one. Speaking of favorites, What are your favorite Bulk Apothecary Products you have used in your candles?
I love their coconut soy 454 wax! It is smooth and luxurious and pairs well with their incredible high-quality toxin-free fragrance oils. Bulk always carries my favorite CD wick series, as well as, all of the equipment I have needed to begin my business. There’s not much you can’t find!
Thank you. We pride ourselves in being a company our maker community can count on to find high quality supplies at bulk prices. What’s one piece of advice that has been instrumental in helping you grow your scented candle business? We’re sure other makers in the community would love to hear your insights.
Ask for help from friends to try out your products. I have a group of these badass women I can rely on to come to every event, try out products and provide feedback, and of course, they’re my hype squad! Also, start slow. In the beginning, I wanted to work on 5 different products. Someone told me to refocus and get great at making one of them, then expand. I’m currently following that track.
That’s excellent advice! What are some of the biggest hurdles you’ve faced while making and growing your candle business?
My website! I thought I could figure it out on my own, but it turns out, I need to bring in a professional.
What’s your favorite part least favorite part of making and selling your scented candles?
My least favorite thing is not having enough time in the day to do all I want to do creatively, and also figuring out my website because it is so time-consuming and I just want to focus on creating!
Time really is precious! Tell me more about where your inspiration comes from to create?
I think loving being home with my family and making memories keeps me inspired. Seeing them playing a game in the living room with their jammies on, scattered blankets, a movie humming in the background is a scent for me. I hope I make fragrance products that ignite your memories, stir emotions, transport you into a daydream, all while bringing ambiance and beauty to your space.
I am sure you do that for many! What values does your business embody?
Family, Friends, Togetherness. The gift of giving. Bringing smiles to loved ones who feel loved. That’s what life is all about!
You really are inspiring, do you have any wisdom or advice for aspiring candle makers starting their creative journey?
Just go for it! Make your first product, try it out, make it a little better, try it out again, until you get it just right. Make 10 and give them to friends and family, get their input, improve it again. Keep going!!
It’s been wonderful getting to know more about you and your business! Before we wrap up, can you let everyone know the best way to explore more of your work and connect with you?
If you want to learn more about starting a business making scented candles, check out this blog, All About Fragrance Oils
