Victoria Jones of True Vintage Candle on Building a Luxury Refillable Vintage Candle Brand

Victoria Jones of True Vintage Candle on Building a Luxury Refillable Vintage Candle Brand

Victoria Jones is the Founder of True Vintage Candle, a luxury home fragrance brand creating refillable vintage candles crafted in rare antique vessels and vintage inspired designs. Featuring a clean burning coconut beeswax blend and perfume grade fine fragrance, True Vintage Candle combines timeless design with elevated scent to create luxury candles meant to live beautifully beyond their first burn.

After more than 25 years leading brand and marketing strategy for Fortune 100 and 500 companies, Victoria launched True Vintage Candle to merge fragrance, design, and purpose into a women founded candle brand focused on craftsmanship, sustainability, and emotional connection in the home. Each refillable candle is designed to be reused or repurposed, offering both luxury and longevity in the growing premium candle market.

Please share a brief introduction and your business:

After more than two decades leading brand and marketing strategy for Fortune 500 and mid-market organizations, I decided to build something more personal and with purpose, combining my professional expertise with my passion for fragrance, design, and creating meaningful experiences in the home.

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True Vintage Candle creates luxury candles in vintage and vintage-inspired vessels, blending timeless design with fine fragrance craftsmanship and a clean-burning signature coconut beeswax blend. Some pieces are rare antique finds lovingly sourced across the country, while others are heirloom-inspired designs brought to life with mid-century soul. Every candle is created to live beyond its first burn, designed to be refilled, reused, or repurposed as beautiful objects in the home. Our goal is to help people create spaces that feel comforting, personal, and emotionally grounding while building a business that gives back and serves others through every candle we create.

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About the Founder
Victoria Jones is a three-time founder and executive brand leader with a 25-year career building category-defining brands and businesses. Victoria has combined creative vision with strategic discipline to bring ideas to life at scale. She has held leadership roles guiding brand, marketing, and digital transformation for Fortune 100 and 500 companies, where her work has driven growth, redefined the customer experience, and built enduring brand equity. Inspired by the art of fragrance and the power of storytelling, Victoria trained in Grasse, France, the birthplace of perfumery, before launching True Vintage Candle: a purpose-driven brand where timeless design, perfume-grade fragrance, and social impact converge. At the heart of her work is a deep belief that business can be a force for beauty, meaning, and good.

Do you have a co-founder?

Nope, I don't want one. It is like a marriage. I already have a marriage :)

Are you a mamaprenista?

I am a mama. The hardest job you love the most. I pillar integrated my kids as much as possible. They were always around our business, aware of it. They were always a priority, but I had a really good help with my mother and a nanny. I think women leaders need a wife. Get the help so you can be an emotionally available mom, not just physically. And I always took my kids to school or picked them up every day - this is quality time - at least one or the other each day. Also, I sold my business to be available when they were in high school. That was my personal dream. It was awesome. Glad I did it.

Take us back to when you launched? What was your marketing strategy?

We launched intentionally small, focusing on storytelling, social media, word-of-mouth, and local community engagement. Because 1/2 of our products are one-of-a-kind vintage glass, the product itself is part of the marketing story. The response is passionate and energizing, but it will take more than that to make the sales! Customers love the vintage connection, love of milk glass is everywhere, and they LOVE the fragrance quality. The authenticity and vintage-inspired resonates, but the one-of-a-kind candles are expensive, so we need to find the right buyers. The aromatic candles are for everyone at lower price points. The aromatic candles are selling well.

Did you always know you wanted to be an entrepreneur?

Entrepreneurship has always been part of my path since I was 24! :) I’ve built businesses, teams, and brands throughout my career. What’s different now is that this business reflects who I am personally, not just professionally. It’s entrepreneurship with intention. I am so excited about this season. It is my 2nd half.

What accomplishments are you the most proud of to date in your business?

Ha! I love these questions. I joke with everyone that I have been "singing from tree to tree." I am pouring a candle one day, then running Klaviyo the next. So I am proud of doing everything m to get this off the ground. I think I want these memories before I hand things off and start growing the team. I love building. I also love seeing customers send photos of our candles in their homes. Knowing something we created has become part of someone’s everyday life is really cool. And launching a business rooted in giving back and servant leadership feels like the right next chapter in my career.

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What is one thing you wish you had known when you started your Entreprenista journey?

That clarity comes from action, not planning. I get tempted to spend too much time perfecting the strategy instead of testing ideas. Businesses evolve through real customer feedback. Looking back, my past businesses have been forgiving and allowed for pivots and changes. Start sooner. Adjust faster.

When hiring, what is your go-to interview question?

What has been the most stressful thing that has happened in your life personally or professionally? What did you learn from it? What did it teach you about yourself?

What did you do before starting your own business?

I spent over twenty years as a brand and marketing executive helping organizations reposition, grow, and modernize their marketing and customer experience strategies. I led large teams, built national campaigns, and helped companies align brand, digital, and business growth. I also founded and scaled a successful brand consultancy.

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True Vintage Candle brings together all past experience from brand storytelling to customer experience but now applied to something personal and purpose-driven.

What made you take the leap to start your own business?

After decades of helping other organizations grow, I reached a point where I wanted to build something aligned with my own passions and values. Home fragrance has always been personal to me. Scent changes mood, memory, and how a space feels. I wanted to create products that bring comfort and beauty into people’s homes while building a company that also gives back and supports causes close to my heart. It felt like the right time to combine experience, passion, and purpose.

Do you have any recent wins?

Our biggest win was the 1st wholesale client 3 weeks ago! Also, seeing customers return. It feels like the beginning of something special and fun. I hope it works because I am having a blast and feel like I could pour so much energy into this.

What's one app on your phone that you cannot live without?

SoulSpace - centers me spiritually

Who are your customers?

Our customers are women who care deeply about how their homes feel. They love design, fragrance, and atmosphere, and they see scent as part of creating comfort, energy, and memory in their spaces. Many are women balancing careers, families, and full lives who want their homes to feel intentional and welcoming. They appreciate quality, craftsmanship, and pieces that feel special, not mass-produced. And increasingly, our customers love knowing their purchase supports a purpose beyond the product.

What's your top productivity tip?

90/10 rule. Done beats perfectly. Momentum matters more than perfection, especially when you're building something new.

What's your favorite business tool?

Notion - so powerful for organization and the calendar is great too

What's your approach to work-life balance?

So bad at this. Some days, business gets more attention. On other days, family comes first. The key is knowing your priorities and letting them shift with intention, not guilt. Entrepreneurship gives me the flexibility I love. I could not do corporate again, but it requires discipline about when to shut work off. Which is hard because there is always 'another' idea to make something better. I keep a charge on my wall, called the 'parking lot,' where I write my ideas and keep them safe, then discipline myself not to work on them until a later date.

How do you avoid burn-out?

Movement and walks between work sprints. Protect at least one evening a week with no work. Go see or do something inspirational, like an art show or shopping, where you can see lots of new ideas at least once every 2 weeks. Burnout usually comes from misalignment, not workload, so I check in often and adjust. and 2 fabulous travel adventures per year.

What advice do you have for aspiring Entreprenistas?

You can do it!

From launching intentionally small storytelling and community driven marketing to securing her first wholesale client, Victoria Jones is building True Vintage Candle with a focus on quality, sustainability, and strategic growth. Her luxury refillable candles resonate with women who value fine fragrance, one of a kind vintage vessels, and thoughtfully designed home décor.

Her advice to founders is simple: clarity comes from action. Start sooner, test faster, and let customer feedback shape the evolution of your brand.

If you are a woman founder building a purpose driven brand and looking to grow alongside ambitious entrepreneurs, Entreprenista connects you with the community and resources to scale with confidence. Learn more about joining Entreprenista League.