We believe in the positive wellness benefits of using non-toxic & eco-friendly candles, bath, skin care & home products. We use the highest quality ingredients in all of our handcrafted goods.

Our sustainable products are all made from raw materials in small batches and every detail is tended to by hand. Our welcoming, balancing and uplifting custom scent infusions are each designed to smell fresh and beautiful for your favorite spaces while inspiring good feels for all of life's moments.

Our Rustic Heart Candle Co. is a mother & son run business in the small mountain town of Truckee located in Lake Tahoe. We believe that when folks feel good in their body, mind and spirit it's empowering and contagious in the very best of ways. We're a family business that loves what we do and hope that you feel our sunshine & good vibes on your side every time you burn one of our candles and use one of our products.

We love and appreciate the support that our customers & clients have shown us for the last 8 years. Each one of you has helped our dreams come true and we’re so thankful to call you all friends.

A little about Chris…

I moved to Lake Tahoe in the late 80’s and worked as a videographer at Alpine Meadows and jumped cornices during lunch break. Summers were spent catering weddings, commercial work and cocktailing at Olympic Village Inn located in Squaw Valley. I was Miss Bridgetender in 1989 for the Miss Sierra Snowfest Pageant and won runner up and “Most Likely to Become Famous” (giggle). It was a beautiful, fun and free feeling time in life that included skiing, biking, hiking, boating, swimming and probably a little hitchhiking.

I moved back to Truckee 25 years ago and this is where I raised my kids. I have two children, Noah and Jessie. They’re my world and I love them to bits! I spent many of those years as a manager at the resort in Squaw Valley that I worked at when I was younger, very full circle. My passion had always been food so I spent a good amount of time in the catering industry. I would move on to help manage a historic lodge and their special events. But, I never really felt like I’d found “my thing”.

In 2016, I started getting more conscious of what I put in and around my body. I’d been sick for months and it seemed to be getting worse not better. I burned candles constantly, they felt soothing and nurturing. I started hearing a lot of chatter about candles being toxic and bad for you. I was naïve in thinking that “they” wouldn’t be able to sell them to people if that was the case. I was very wrong and didn’t have to dig to deep to discover how very toxic candles are for our health. They don’t scream I’m poisonous, the toxins are invisible and damaging to the functions of our bodies. I didn’t know who to trust or believe and health matters so I decided to make my own candles. First up was a criteria list for my definition of the ‘perfect candle’.

I spent the next 1 ½ years, in my free time, researching and testing many different waxes, oils, wicks. There were failures and subpar successes and one day I’d finally checked all of the boxes on that list. I felt so much happiness when I would make them for me, friends, family & coworkers. My son Noah and his now fiancé Laynee suggested I should sell them at our local evening summer weekly event Truckee Thursdays. That felt like a big deal and I’m not going to lie, I was slightly terrified. What if people didn’t like them? But, I thought what the heck do I have to lose and did it anyway.

The good news that at the first market people didn’t tell me to pack up my candles and go home. I got to meet so many people that didn’t know about invisible toxins or how clean aromatherapy can positively affect our homes, attitudes & daily lives. I fell in love & it all felt so natural. The kind of natural that I had only felt being a Mom and loving my kids. I knew I had finally found “my thing”.

The following June of 2019 I decided I wanted to go all in on my dreams and I quit my full time job. I hit the road on weekends attending markets, shows and festivals around California and Nevada. I had zero idea what I was doing or how to do it - but with all good things I figured it out and LOVED IT. It was a beautiful balance of solitary time listening to music (always) and the production of making candles that I knew were going to provide people with joy and sunshine. And, then the people part. Interacting, sharing, learning, listening, educating, laughing, crying and everything in between never feels anything less than magical. I still feel this way at every market, festival and when each person comes into our store.

About 3 ½ years in, my health issues had become massively disabling with no answers from doctors. It was scary and I was having great difficulty with the smallest of tasks. Enter my son Noah who stepped in to help me and my business while working his full time job. He fell in love with both parts of the business too and asked if I’d like to become partners and do it together. Working with one of my favorite humans doing something we love was a very easy “yes”. It was also a godsend as little did we know that I would spend the next many years fighting for my life. I’ll share more of that journey sometime in the near future.

We worked out little hearts out and just under 3 years ago we opened our store in Truckee. Customers came from hours away to come to our grand opening and we were pretty excited. We LOVE our shop! We’ve grown our business to include eco friendly cleaning products, organic bath & body products, custom candle classes and refill services.

We still get just as jazzed every time one of you walks through our door or seeing all of your faces at a show. We love that you always leave with a smile and a little pep to your step. And, when you share your stories of how our products positively impact your lives you add some pep to our steps. Thank you all so much for your support and helping our dreams come true.

Chris