{"id":382099,"date":"2026-07-01T13:42:17","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T13:42:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/382099\/"},"modified":"2026-07-01T13:42:17","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T13:42:17","slug":"happy-organics-produce-inspired-beeswax-candles-are-handmade-in-l-a","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/382099\/","title":{"rendered":"Happy Organics produce-inspired beeswax candles are handmade in L.A."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Jessica Gonzalez hustles behind her booth at the recent Renegade Craft Fair, frantically ringing up sales, answering questions and packaging her beeswax candles.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s hot on the grounds of the Los Angeles State Historic Park in April, but 35-year-old Gonzalez and her fianc\u00e9, Jordan Colindres, keep their cool as a crowd gathers to admire her Happy Organics<\/a> candle collection, a homage to her family\u2019s produce company in the Central Valley that looks like real fruits and vegetables.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love doing in-person events because it\u2019s so fun to see people\u2019s reactions,\u201d she said a few months later. \u201cIt makes me feel good to see other people finding joy in my candles. They often say, \u2018Oh, that\u2019s really funny.\u2019 And it is funny to have a cherry candle on top of your birthday cake.\u201d<\/p>\n

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1. A staff member pulls a beeswax corn candle, $26, out of its mold at Happy Organics\u2019 studio in downtown Los Angeles. 2. Each Beeswax Mixed Berry Birthday Candles set is cast from real mixed berries \u2014 strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries and cherries. A set of 10 is $30. 3. Bartlett green pears and heirloom tomatoes, $24 to $40. <\/p>\n

Judging by the smiles and charmed looks on shoppers\u2019 faces, her produce-inspired candles are less about illuminating rooms and more about sharing the joy she sought when she first started the company in 2018.<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/a> <\/p>\n

In this series, we highlight independent makers and artists, from glassblowers to fiber artists, who are creating original products in and around Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

But then, it\u2019s hard not to smile at the playfully elegant Bosc pears, puckered mandarins and green-and-purple asparagus taper candles which range in price from $12 to $40. Some are molded into corn on the cob, celery and rhubarb shapes. Others are made to look like mushrooms, figs, tomatoes and snap peas. The most popular are the small birthday candles shaped like raspberries, cherries and blackberries, packed in molded-pulp baskets just like you\u2019d find at the grocery store or farmers market.<\/p>\n

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Share via Close extra sharing options <\/p>\n

Gonzalez didn\u2019t start out as a designer. The youngest of nine children, she was born in 1991 in Salinas and later moved to Merced, where she grew up on a 10-acre farm. She studied computer science at Mills College, then worked in tech consulting in the Bay Area and eventually became the CTO of an ag-tech company. When her mother, Angela, became ill in 2016, she returned to Merced to be with her family.<\/p>\n

When her mom died suddenly soon after she moved home, Gonzalez left the tech industry. \u201cI wasn\u2019t connected with what I was doing,\u201d she said. \u201cI wanted to find something more meaningful; something I loved. I didn\u2019t want my ego to keep me stuck in what I studied in college. I decided to let myself try new hobbies and passions and look for joy again.\u201d<\/p>\n

After her mother\u2019s death, she began working with her father, Salvador, and her uncles at the family\u2019s apiary, where they managed more than 30 hives. (Her grandfather was also a beekeeper in Michoac\u00e1n, Mexico.) Soon, she began selling their raw honey at local farmers markets. In a heartbreaking turn, her father was diagnosed with cancer a year later, so she started making cannabis-infused honey, balms and chocolates to help ease his pain. <\/p>\n

When she saw that the beeswax candles, which last significantly longer than paraffin candles, were selling faster than the honey, she decided to focus on making candles from the leftovers from her uncles\u2019 hives.<\/p>\n

She was only 25, but it was a turning point. \u201cIt was one of those moments where I felt like I needed to change my path,\u201d she said. \u201cI needed to change everything in my life.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Jessica <\/p>\n

Jessica Gonzalez and her father Salvador on their family farm in Merced. (Gonzalez family) <\/p>\n

\"Gonzalez <\/p>\n

Gonzalez at Happy Organics\u2019 studio in downtown Los Angeles. (Christina House \/ Los Angeles Times) <\/p>\n

When her father died in 2018, she inherited his bees and started Happy Organics, although she hadn\u2019t planned on starting a business. After experiencing so much loss, making candles became a kind of therapy. \u201cIt felt great to work with my hands again, something I thought I\u2019d never have time for,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Her oldest sister, Sonia Gonzalez, said Gonzalez reminds her a lot of their father, who reinvented himself many times over the years.<\/p>\n

\"A \"A <\/p>\n

The nopal cactus is cast from a real nopal and hand-poured in 100% pure beeswax in the Los Angeles studio. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe grew up as a village boy in the rural mountains of Michoac\u00e1n, Mexico, and went on to work in restaurants, cut down Christmas trees and pick strawberries and broccoli in the fields of Salinas,\u201d she wrote in an email. \u201cFrom there, he started selling produce door-to-door, then at flea markets and eventually built his own produce distribution business from the ground up. As the youngest of nine kids from a working-class family, Jessica\u2019s always been incredibly resourceful, responsible, and amazing at reinventing herself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Like a lot of millennials, Gonzalez taught herself how to make candles by watching YouTube videos. She started with hand-dipped tapers, working in the garage on the farm that helped her feel safe and connected to her parents. \u201cIt was a really nice environment to try something new and creative,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

Inspired by her family\u2019s produce, she cast real corn, strawberries and cherries in plaster, then made a silicone mold to create copies. Even when using the same mold, color can vary from batch to batch, and how it cools also affects the result. \u201cThat\u2019s just how handmade things are,\u201d she said. \u201cThere\u2019s always some variation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Cherry <\/p>\n

Cherry molds make cherry candles at Happy Organics\u2019 studio in downtown Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

\"A <\/p>\n

A variety of fruit and veggie candles.<\/p>\n

When she moved to Los Angeles in 2023 to be with Colindres, her business took off. \u201cL.A. is a great place to grow,\u201d she said. \u201cThere\u2019s so much opportunity here. When I go to a farmers market, I never know who I\u2019ll meet.\u201d<\/p>\n

She sold her candles in person at craft shows, the Hollywood Farmers\u2019 Market and most recently, during a residency at the P.F. Candle Co. <\/a>showroom in Echo Park. <\/p>\n

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\"Jessica <\/p>\n

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1. A staff member trims the wicks on a pair of carrot birthday candles, $22. 2. Gonzalez passes by shelves of candles at Happy Organics\u2019 studio in downtown Los Angeles. 3. Asparagus taper candles, $30. <\/p>\n

\u201cI have a lot of respect for her as a fellow candle maker (making molds is not easy), but getting to know her story more and how her choice of foods and wax is reflective of her family\u2019s history gave it so much meaning,\u201d P.F. Candle Co. founder and creative director Kristen Pumphrey said in an email. \u201cIt\u2019s been a tough couple of years for L.A. businesses, so we gotta stick together \u2014 there\u2019s this wonderful sense of community hosting a local brand that\u2019s so passionate about their work.\u201d<\/p>\n

As her business has expanded, her products are now available at Terrain<\/a>, Joan\u2019s on Third<\/a> and the MoMA Design Store<\/a> in addition to her website<\/a>. She has also had to source beeswax from other vendors across the country to keep up with demand.<\/p>\n

Kimberly Curtis, owner of Hide & Seek Vintage<\/a> in Studio City, said Gonzalez\u2019s strawberry and cherry birthday candles \u201cflew off the shelves last year\u201d during the holidays. \u201cOur customers love them,\u201d she added. <\/p>\n

\"Jessica <\/p>\n

Gonzalez holds a cabbage candle.<\/p>\n

Still, Gonzalez stays connected to her Central Valley roots. Everything she and her small team make in downtown Los Angeles is handmade and \u201ctakes time,\u201d she said, describing the steps involved in crafting quality candles. Right now, her favorite is the Nopal Cactus candle, which she made using a clipping from an employee\u2019s yard. While others help her with production, wholesale management and packaging, she focuses on sales, content and all-new product development.<\/p>\n

When asked if she has advice for others who want to start their own business, Gonzalez admits she sometimes feels overwhelmed.<\/p>\n

\"17 <\/p>\n

In 2013, Gonzalez and her family gathered at their Merced ranch to celebrate her parents\u2019 anniversary.<\/p>\n

(Gonzalez family)<\/p>\n

\u201cThe biggest thing that has gotten me through the toughest spots is my why or my reason for starting,\u201d she said. \u201cI think that has to be really strong. That\u2019s what brought me a lot of comfort when I felt like quitting: going back to the beginning and remembering why I started this.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Gonzalez, her reason is always close to her heart. \u201cI wanted to feel connected to my parents in some way,\u201d she said. \u201cThis was a good representation of my upbringing.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jessica Gonzalez hustles behind her booth at the recent Renegade Craft Fair, frantically ringing up sales, answering questions…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":382100,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[154409,387,133036,134388,66974,1431,23128,6314,98257,45798,48,52,51,47,50,49,1741,39002,99300,315,72],"class_list":["post-382099","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-beeswax-candle","tag-business","tag-candle","tag-cherry","tag-corn","tag-family","tag-farmer-market","tag-father","tag-jessica-gonzalez","tag-joy","tag-la","tag-la-headlines","tag-la-news","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-headlines","tag-los-angeles-news","tag-lot","tag-other-people","tag-strawberry","tag-time","tag-year"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/382099","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=382099"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/382099\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/382100"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=382099"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=382099"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=382099"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}