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In honor of Women’s History Month, Squarespace is highlighting working women who are also balancing parenthood along with their professional pursuits — and inspiring other women along the way. We spoke to entrepreneur Lauren Lowe, who co-founded The Burlap Bag with her husband Josiah Lowe almost a decade ago after the two discovered a passion for making their own candles. Lowe shared with us how she’s been balancing work life and family life during the past year, as well as how her team looks to support their local community in times of crisis.
SQUARESPACE: What initially inspired you to launch The Burlap Bag, an eco-friendly candle company, with your husband?
Lauren Lowe: We started our brand as a store for handmade gifts over nine years ago. We always knew we wanted to be our own bosses and do something different. A few years into our store, we started making and selling candles. The candles majorly took off, and we embraced their success! We closed down our store after seven years so we could fully focus on candles, which are now in more than 2,000 stores worldwide.
SQSP: You started selling a “Texas Love” candle to support your fellow Texans dealing with the recent winter weather crisis. How big of a role does supporting your community play in your current business?
LL: Supporting our community is SUPER important to us. Our community (Austinites, Texans, and all Candle Connoisseurs) have made our brand into who we are. We've relied on word-of-mouth, people giving our candles as gifts, and devoted customers over the past 9 years. We give back as often as we can. We raised $6,000 for Texans with the weather crisis, $11,000 to people affected by Covid in early 2020, and $9,000 for Black artists and mamas. If we see a group in our community who needs help, we love to make a silly candle and donate the proceeds. It not only raises money, but also awareness.
SQSP: For many parents, and particularly for women, the pandemic has directly impacted day-to-day routines. How has family life in your household shifted in the last year?
LL: Our three-year-old and seven-year-old have been home (or coming to “Candle Land” with us) for 51 weeks now. 51!!! We definitely struggle constantly to find a work/school/relax/constantly-snacking balance with our kids. My husband and I will take shifts with the kids while the other works, or I'll work on my laptop outside while they play in the front yard, or we have the seven-year-old "teach" the three-year-old some school things — she loves to boss him around! I do end up working more in the evenings after they go to sleep than we did pre-pandemic, but I'm trying to force weekends to be no-work days!
SQSP: Has your approach to your online presence changed at all throughout the pandemic? If so, how?
LL: We've been sharing more behind-the-scenes videos with our social media channels. It's been a fun way for me to be creative, but since they are less than 60 seconds, I don't have to spend too much time making them. Our customers love seeing the real life aspects — our kids running around “Candle Land,” the stack of packages going out that is taller than I am, how many candles we poured in a day, etc.
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