From the Kitchen to the Shelf: What It Means to See My Candles at Live Freely Market Hampton NH

Checking out the display of Summer Escapes and Happy Hour candles at Live Freely Market

Display of Thimble and Hearth Summer Escapes and Happy Hour Candles

The back of my car filled with boxes of candles and home fragrance products, all made by me!

Selfie of Elizabeth, founder of Thimble and Hearth, with a trunkful of boxes of products

Thimble and Hearth Coastal Living home fragrance products at Live Freely Market

Elizabeth, founder of Thimble and Hearth, and her husband posing in front of candle display

For a long time, I wasn't sure what my "next chapter" looked like.

I spent 17 years as a homemaker and mom, which I love wholeheartedly, and before that I was a piano teacher. I loved teaching. I labsolutely oved the students, the creativity, the sense of purpose it gave me. But teaching piano after school hours and having my own young kids just didn't mix, and that chapter quietly closed.

For something like a decade after that, I tried to figure out what came next. Culinary school (and then COVID happened, and also, I realized that was not my calling). Editing and proofreading (fine, but it didn't light me up). I never had the drive to pursue performing piano professionally. I just kept looking for the thing that felt like mine.

Then I started making candles for fun.

At first, my goal was genuinely tiny: make and sell just enough to fund buying more candle supplies. That was it. But something shifted. I started to think, what if I could make enough to save for a vacation? What if it could help me save for a downpayment on my dream beach home someday? The goals started growing, and so did the dream.

I remember walking through Live Freely Market before I even had a real business. I was shopping for Christmas gifts and I just stopped and looked around at what these incredibly talented local makers had built. It was so inspiring to see what other people in my community were making. I left that day thinking maybe I could work my way up to doing that, too.

I knew I wasn't ready for a full booth. I was too new, too small, still figuring it out. But when the owner, Alyssa announced the opportunity for smaller businesses to rent bookshelf space in the shop, I jumped at the opportunity! That was a fit for where I was. It felt like a door opening at exactly the right moment.

Being accepted to the shop meant more than I expected it to.

And then seeing my candles on that shelf? I won't pretend I was totally cool about it. It felt surreal. It still does. Something I made, with my hands, in my home, is sitting in a real store for real people to discover.

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/ce85c1_12185bc3a492415082efa78e77fb057e/1080p/mp4/file.mp4

My first candle retail display!

Younger me, the one who wasn't sure she could do any of this, would be really proud.

If you're local to the Hampton, NH area, I would love for you to come visit me at Live Freely Market. It's a weekend-only curated maker market, and it is such a special place filled with makers who pour their hearts into what they do. I can't think of a better home for Thimble & Hearth's first retail chapter.

Click here to visit the website for hours and more details: https://livefreelynh.com/

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/ce85c1_1699c230ad194a68b5da546780e8fa44/1080p/mp4/file.mp4

A quick walk through to show you where my shelves are at Live Freely Market! There's even more to this market, especially on event weekends!

Thank you for being part of this journey. It means everything.

With love, Elizabeth