The ExMo Candle Co., Arlington, VA (2026)

05/28/2025

So I brought half my library out onto the high seas with … First up (obviously) is The Boy Detective & the Summer of ‘74 by 😍📖
Anyone else always pack too many books (and too much underwear) on vacation? 😄
Adri’s cousin is starting a charter business on Nicaragua’s Emerald Coast, and we’re tagging along as he takes his boat on its maiden voyage through the Panama Canal and up the Pacific Coast of Central America until we arrive in Nica.
More photos to come! And if anyone wants a charter in Nica… I know a guy 🤗

04/15/2025

We had a great run, heathens. Thanks for everything you did to make our business successful, fun, and meaningful.
We’ve been temporarily closed for a while, and we’ve come to the realization that it needs to be permanent. (Gus is off gallivanting in the steppes, and he just won’t come home! Silly tapir!)
So enjoy the candles you have, and here’s to always lighting outer darkness together.
Thanks again, for everything.
🧡

12/14/2023

👀

12/13/2023

OMG 😂

12/02/2023

We suspect that developing this candle summoned the ghost of Porter Rockwell himself, for the spirit of contention has blazed within the hearts of hosts Bryce Blankenagel and Shannon Grover ever since embarking on the quest to make them a Creator Candle! 😱
They just couldn’t agree! They both wanted a DESTROYING ANGEL candle that called up images of the rugged old Danite. But as to what such a candle should smell like? Well— You’re going to have to decide. Bryce and Shannon can’t.
We explored TeamShannon’s claim in our last post, but how about TeamBryce?
This candle is the Old West in a jar. It transports you back to early Utah, an apostate on the run from the Destroying Angel himself.
So be careful lighting it—it ain’t for the faint of heart! 🫢
Whichever Destroying Angel candle has sold more by January 1 shall become the permanent Glass Box Creator Candle. The losing team? …they may find themselves at the bottom of the Great Salt Lake! Splash! 🫢
If you want TeamBryce to survive this bitter feud, cast your vote at:
exmocandles.com
➡️ Glass Box Wars
Who here is TeamBryce?!
🤠🔥

11/27/2023

In the Glass Box Wars, both Shannon and Bryce wanted to create a DESTROYING ANGEL candle that invoked the spirit of infamous Mormon gunslinger Porter Rockwell, nicknamed the Destroying Angel of Mormondom.
But these two fiery Mormon history podcasters couldn’t agree on a damned scent! (Almost as if they’d been possessed by the spirit of Porter Rockwell himself… did we accidentally awaken him making this candle??? 👀)
I’ll be back later this week to make the case for Team Bryce, but here let’s look at Team Shannon’s claim!
Only one of these candles will survive the bitter feud! Whichever has sold more by January 1 will become the permanent Creator Candle. And the other—it shall disappear forever in a cloud of dragon smoke. P**f!
To cast your lot in with a side and help decide what will be the forever Glass Box Podcast Creator Candle, visit:
exmocandles.com
➡️ Glass Box Wars
Who here is Team Shannon?!
🐲🔥

11/27/2023

Pausing normal programming for some Adri appreciation 🧡
8 years ago today, he took me up into a treehouse and asked me to be his wife. (That was before he knew the full scope of my sleep-talking 😅)
And whether it’s camping at the edge of the world or trying out a crazy exmo candles pandemic business together, there’s no one who makes life as beautiful or as much of an adventure as you do, Adri. I love your curiosity, your genuine kindness, your intelligence, your humor, and how you say yes to life. (And how you say yes to ME 😁)
And right now I REALLY love the way you label candles while I slack off and write this mushy post about you 😉😜
Since this business is so personal, just sharing a little something personal with you guys. And showing off my hunk, too 😏😛 You can’t tell me anyone looks hotter with a bulldog on their head than my man.
10 years together.
8 years promised.
6 years married.
2 years in business.
Forever yours, mi amor.

11/25/2023

You've heard of the 12 tribes of Israel, but have you heard of the 13 shell companies of Zion?
On 2/21/23, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced charges against the Mormon Church and its investment arm, Ensign Peak, for obscuring the church's stock portfolio over 22 years, from 1997 to 2019.
The church filed forms for 13 separate shell companies rather than disclose their equity investments. An act which, according to the SEC press release, "obscured the Church's portfolio and misstated Ensign Peak's control over the Church's investment decisions".
The press release states "the Church was concerned that disclosure of its portfolio, which by 2018 grew to approximately $32 billion, would lead to negative consequences."
Negative consequences like members deciding to not pay tithing before feeding their families?
Negative consequences like bad press? Hmmm, if only a prophet, seer, and revelator could have predicted the bad press from committing securities fraud...
The press release goes on: "We allege that the LDS Church's investment manager, with the Church's knowledge, went to great lengths to avoid disclosing the Church's investments, depriving the Commission and the investing public of accurate market information[.]"
So much for the 9th commandment. Thou shalt not bear false witness?
So much for the Mormon Church's 12th article of faith, too: "We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law." 😏
Maybe the next time a Mormon bishop asks a teen for explicit details of their naughty deeds, the kid should filter their answer through 13 fibs.
Maybe the next time a Mormon mom faces the prospect of being barred from her son's wedding because she's not caught up on her tithing, she should tell her bishop she doesn't have to give him honest information because doing so "would lead to negative consequences."
What's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander, right?
Hope you enjoy this newest candle in our Christmas lineup! 😜😁🎄 Happy holidays!!!
❤️💚 Jen + Adri + Gus
LABEL IDEA:

(my bro 🤗)
Idea to put stocks as an ingredient:

11/24/2023

Flip through to see our giveaway winners!!! 🎉🎉🎉
First, thank you SO MUCH to everyone who supports our small business. Through buying our candles, leaving reviews, telling your friends, interacting with our social posts, all of it. It means so much.
These winners were chosen by random drawing. And if you’re one of the winners, I will be reaching out tonight via email to verify your current address.
We can’t wait to look into your past orders to curate a surprise candle from our permanent collection that you don’t already have and that we think you will LOVE. ❤️🎁
And if you didn’t win this time, you still have a shot for future giveaways! As you can see, some of the winning reviews were recent, but some were from 2021 and 2022. Any review you leave now will be an entry in all future review giveaways. So fingers crossed for next time! 🤗 And please keep reviewing…it helps our small business sooooo much.
Hope your holidays are filled with love and laughter and little flickers of candlelight giving you every cozy vibe.
🧡
Jen + Adri + Gus
exmocandles.con

11/18/2023

Let's talk about how Mormonism conditions victims to think this type of behavior could be from God. How Mormonism conditions victims to not challenge authority, even when something might not feel right.
These are what came to my mind, but I'd love to hear your insights, too!
🗡️ Nephi slaying Laban. One of the first stories in the Book of Mormon. Laban is passed out drunk. God commands Nephi to behead him. As kids, we learn that something that normally seems wrong--and unnecessary, as Laban was blacked out drunk--can be both righteous and necessary, if God commands it. Even if we can't understand why.
🙏 Authority. We're taught to honor and obey priesthood authority. Temple recommends are contingent on sustaining our leaders. We believe our bishops are called by and possess themselves the power of discernment. Within our families, our dads and husbands preside as priesthood authorities.
Over and over, we're taught to obey, to defer, to mistrust our own intuition if it clashes with priesthood authority.
And because the priesthood is only held by men, our conditioning to obey priesthood authority often results in an unease about saying no to men in general.
📝 The Happiness Letter. When Nancy Rigdon didn't want to become one of Joseph Smith's wives, he penned the oft-quoted Happiness Letter to convince her to change her mind. In it, the prophet teaches:
"That which is wrong under one circumstance, may be, and often is, right under another. God said thou shalt not kill,--at another time he said thou shalt utterly destroy. This is the principle on which the government of heaven is conducted--by revelation adapted to the circumstances in which the children of the kingdom are placed. Whatever God requires is right, no matter what it is, although we may not see the reason thereof till long after the events transpire."
👎 And of course, we're taught to scoff at, revile, and pity the people who didn't believe Joseph Smith. Or the skeptical Laman and Lemuel who didn't put blind faith in Lehi and Nephi's prophetic instructions. You don't want to be one of those evil, stupid skeptics when ~you're~ put to the test, do you?
🧡 Jen (+ Adri + Gus)

11/14/2023

Thank you, thank you, thank you if you have left website reviews for your candles. 🧡
On a practical level, it helps sales so much. It’s really hard for someone to make the decision to buy a candle when they can’t even smell it first. And reviews help Google know we’re legit, so they help with our search rankings.
And the practical reasons are why we ask for reviews, why we do giveaways.
🎁 Giveaway is 11/23, BTW!
BUT…
We love reading your reviews for very human reasons.
🕯️ We’re two people working at a three-foot countertop in a basement apartment. Reading your reviews helps us feel connected to you. When you talk about lighting your candle to celebrate removing your records from the church, or you talk about lighting your candle when you’re at home reading with your wife… it helps us remember that this business isn’t just our little countertop. It feels good to know where the candles are going, and that they mean something to you just like they mean something to us.
💞 We know the names of our customers. We recognize you when you pop up with a second order. And if you’re someone who has written us a note at checkout, or left a review, or connected with us on social, I remember that and I tell Adri about you when we’re packaging up your new order. It makes it feel like we’re sending the candles off to a friend.
🔥 And man oh man… So many of you explode with creativity in your reviews!!! The laughs you’ve given us, the way I can tell when you’ve ever so carefully chosen a word… It doesn’t feel like we’ve sold you a candle, and you’ve left us a review… It feels like we’re vibing!
🙏 And lastly… our operation is small. There have been times we’ve thought of folding the business and moving on. But your reviews really do help us feel proud of what we’re doing, and that it’s worth continuing, even in the lean months.
So from the bottom of our hearts, we thank you for taking the time to come review your candles. We know it’s a hassle. But it means the world.
We can’t wait to draw those 12 names on Thanksgiving!!! (These slides share newer reviews, but ALL reviews are entries, past ones too.)
🧡 Jen (+ Adri + Gus)
exmocandles.com

11/13/2023

Glass Box Wars Limited Edition: Only One Will Survive The spirit of contention burns in the bosoms of the hosts of the Glass Box Podcast! Shannon and Bryce couldn’t agree on a damned scent for their Creator Candle! And now, it has come to war. Only one candle will survive. Whichever candle has sol...

The ExMo Candle Co.

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