Meet Kelsea Olivia, the founder of the distinguished creative agency East Olivia.

She is known for creating whimsical yet bold, large scale floral installations that will transform any space into an IG ready centerpiece and quite literally make you stop and smell the roses (or peonies or pampas grass). Her blooming creations are truly what Dazey dreams are made of and we are thrilled to feature her on the Boss Blog today. 

One thing that immediately stands out about Kelsea is her genuine eagerness to create community and carry out the mantra “empowered women, empower women” in her work. After just a few DMs and a fun coffee date, this gal went from a being super cool floral artist on my screen to a true badass business woman pitching the idea for a Dazey x East Olivia collab at the Create & Cultivate Self Care Summit. I’m inspired by her hustle to live out the ideas she dreams up and to see this one come to life today too! 

To prep for the big install, we met at the Penthouse to snap some content! During our hang, I got to learn more about what the floral design industry is like and how Kelsea stands up for sustainable practices throughout her work. Watch the IGTV feature on this badass babe to learn all about her tricks and even how she is leaning into self care these days and learning to slow down. Follow along throughout the weekend to see our collab come to life at the Create & Cultivate Self Care Summit too! 

 Click here to watch the IGTV Q&A with Kelsea Olivia

The sweet duo of P.F. Candle Co, Kristen and Tom, have just opened up their flagship shop in Echo Park. The space is fresh with stacks of amber candles, diffusers, and incense galore, along with a quaint, curated collection of handmade home goods. Warm and welcoming, like the founders themselves, the new P.F. Candle flagship is a space cultivated by passion and hustle. Read on to learn how the owners of P.F. Candle Co. stay on top of their business, mental health, and lessons they've learned along the way. (In the interview "K" is Kristen and "T" is Tom.)

Tell us about the beginnings of P.F. Candle Co. Do you remember how the process got started? What was it like to create your first batch of candles together?

K - I started P.F. in 2008. Everyone knows us for our candles and home fragrance goods now, but originally, I was making a lot of different products for our Etsy shop and craft fairs. Candles were the thing that stuck. It wasn’t until 2012 that I started enlisting Tom in making the candles during the busy season. Our entire bedroom was filled with racks of candles – we didn’t have any space left! In 2013, Tom came on board full time when there was a big order on the horizon.

T - I remember very well when the business went from second bedroom to studio. I got Kristen to bother the buyer of West Elm to write a PO by guaranteeing that I would make it in the required time no matter what. Yeah, that order was 4,000 candles, and I could only make 100 a day, so our first batch was us trying to figure out how to make 4,000 candles in a month. A lot of stress, but I wouldn’t change a thing about it, because it was also a lot of fun.

Was there ever an “aha” moment that helped move the brand forward?

K - I’ll always remember doing a market in 2013 where Tom and I both had a line 30-minutes long to buy our candles. It was when we realized – oh, people really like this!

T - Kristen has always been about the brand. For me the “aha" in the business was to try and create the type of business that others would want to work for. My experience in the workforce was pretty demoralizing, so I didn’t want our employees to have that experience.

What is the biggest lesson you have learned on maintaining a strong partnership in and outside of the office?

K - Running a business is similar to having a kid, in that it really tests your relationship because you are both in “stress” mode 24/7. It’s just about recognizing that the reason you’re stressed is because you have a ton of work (or a newborn baby, or both) and not because it’s something your partner did. The worst thing you can do is take it out on your partner. Having clearly defined roles and tasks is a lifesaver, too.

T - Defining our roles, which has only happened recently. Also learning to love talking about the business, because it is both of our passion.

You have a day off, a mental health day. This day is all about you realigning and gaining back positive energy. What does your ideal mental health day look like?

K - Going for a long hike followed by a vegetarian meal. 

T - Going for a hike. Nature is pretty rejuvenating because there isn’t much to think about out there. Just walking, breathing, eating, and drinking.

Self care matters because.... 

K - You only get one body to take you through this life! Unless we all become cyborgs in the future.

T - There is a Vox article about the pitfalls of extreme altruism. The moral of the story is if you don’t take care of yourself you can’t take care of others. 

As entrepreneurs, what is one piece of advice you can give to others on cultivating productivity in your passion? 

K - For us, it’s less about cultivating productivity and more about staying busy. Saying yes to every opportunity. Keep yourself busy. If you’re having to convince yourself to be productive, it’s probably not your passion.

T - This a place where most people tell you there is one thing you can do that will change everything. The truth is, cultivating productivity in your passion is the result of a lot of small things. Just try and like what you do and try and be good at it.

My current definition of success is: 

K - Setting a goal and achieving it. We have large overarching goals, that are broken down into smaller, bite size goal.  When you set small goals every day, you feel success every day, and that keeps you going.

The secret to making a great product is:

 K - Always Be Improving. Test your product, take feedback, and implement it. Never settle for “good enough.”

 T - Caring about about the product and caring what your customers think about that product. Customers are the source of the most valid criticism.

Kristen: Is there a matriarchal figure that you admire or one that has influenced your path? 

K - I love me some Martha Stewart, she’s just the boss queen.

Tom: As the business has grown, I’m sure the amount of work to do in a day has grown with it. What mindset and productivity hacks do you have to stay on top of it all while also steering clear of burn out?  

T - I like to use Apple apps, like Notifications, Reminders, and Calendar to keep me on top of things. I’ve taken this trick from Kristen – when I remember something or a great idea, I immediately write it down in the Reminders app and set a time for it to notify me when I’m back in the office. That way, I don’t forget it! The only times I’ve experienced burnout is when I’ve lost joy in doing my job, and didn’t want to come in. It’s also important to keep your staff happy, because they will always motivate you.

 Kristen is wearing the Matriarchy tee in Clay and Tom is wearing the Stress Doesn't Equal Success Men's Tee (sold out). 

Us ladies know that empowered women, empower women. With fearless attitudes and a serious love for food and architecture, Natasha Case and Freya Estreller joined forces to develop a business that would excite the community. They spontaneously launched Coolhaus during Coachella 2009 in a renovated postal truck. Their aim was to create ice cream flavors that captured familiar experiences and memories, which you can see through signature blends such as Milkshake and Fries.

We are stoked to dive deep with a fellow proud, woman-owned business that blends innovation, curiosity, and heart so effortlessly. Read on to learn how the founder, Natasha Case moves her business through leadership, team building, and how she balances work and life.

Tell us about your transition from graduating architecture school to starting Coolhaus. What inspired this jump into building a business?

My partner, Freya Estreller and I started baking cookies, making ice cream, and combining them into “cool houses” in 2008. With mutual backgrounds in the design and real estate fields, we began naming our ice cream sandwiches after architects and architectural movements that inspired us – and eventually decided to take our new found passion (dubbed “Farchitecture,” or Food + Architecture) to our hometown streets in Los Angeles.

After a few days on Craigslist (and some time convincing their families they weren’t crazy), we found and bought a beat-up old postal van, trekked out to the world-famous Coachella Valley Music Festival with our ice cream in April 2009 to make our debut, and, well…the rest is history.

Why ice cream?

Not only is it delicious, but it’s a great canvas for experimentalism. There are so many options with flavors, textures, ingredients that you can really create almost anything.

What influences your eclectic assortment of flavors?

I’m a foodie, so I’m inspired by real-life, every day food experiences.  I can be eating something delicious and think, “Wow, that would be a great ice cream.”  We are also driven by our clients – we want to offer them delicious and exciting options.

What has been one of your biggest challenges as a businesswoman?

Money is always challenging. Learning how to get raise and how to spend it the right way. Also, building a good team around can also be a challenge, you really have to rely on instinct and intuition.

Yes, totally. Learning how to professionally handle money and build a team are definitely real challenges. Let’s dive into the topic of team building a bit more. Is there a rule of thumb you’ve developed or resource you use when it comes to knowing who to collaborate with and who not to?

As far as team building, the biggest keys are sharing a vision and being an inspiring leader beyond the day to day tasks of the business are. It's possible to drive your team to kick ass and have a great time doing it. For collaboration, consider the shared equity and the effort that is going into you. Before initiating a business collaboration ask yourself these three questions:

1. What kind of outcome are you going to get and vice versa?

2. In what ways will it move the dial?

3. And most importantly, is what you are achieving together truly original?

If you could offer one tip to someone starting a new venture, what would it be?

Think BIG and walk through a wall when you don’t know it’s there….

Could you tell us about a time you had to brace yourself and walk through a wall?

Everyday! It's a constant. At Coolhaus every day is innovation, pushing the edge, working up against deadlines, fine tuning product and packaging. There are so many battles, but I truly love problem solving battles that are all about ice cream and cookies!

We love that Coolhaus embraces being a certified women-owned business. Why is this aspect of your business particularly important / special to you?

This is such an important cause, overall, and has been a challenge our World faces, and particularly in the food business.  Many don’t expect a woman to be the owner, so to change this you have to lead by example…..

To us, no matter what type of work you do it’s important to balance your work load with self care. What has been your experience in creating this balance?

Take advantage of the flexibility you can have in your schedule as an entrepreneur.  Don’t work nonstop, don’t over do it – allow yourself to take breaks and enjoy some of the freedoms associated with being the boss.

I will love more by…

Recognizing the meaningful contributions that the people around me are making to our World.

What are you excited about for Coolhaus?

Continuing to innovate the category and gain notoriety for being a women-owned business.  We also have some exciting varieties coming including a Holiday collection, which will launch in the Fall.