P.F. Candle Co.

Owned by husband and wife team Kristen Pumphrey and Thomas Neuberger, P.F. Candle Co., born Pommes Frittes after the eponymous blog originally inspired by Kristen's surname, is a Los Angeles-based fragrance company. The line is meant to make life smell better through candles, reed diffusers, room sprays, incense, and eau de parfum. The company was founded by Kristen in 2008. She lost her job when the recession hit, and relocated to Austin with the dream of making things by hand to pay the bills. The P.F. Candle Co. signature amber jar line was launched in 2012 after hours spent on the craft fair circuit and another cross-country move. P.F. got its big break in 2013, when the line was picked up by West Elm following an Etsy pop-up. The demand from this big break inspired Tom to join the business full time, after years of behind-the-scenes help. Since 2013, P.F. has expanded from two people to a team of 43. From a studio apartment operation to globally recognized brand, P.F. is a completely bootstrapped enterprise. With no formal business degrees or experience, this company has been built by the spirit of grit, passion, DIY, with a huge help from their independent boutique partners and customers that have continued to support them along the way.