The 15th Friday four of 2024

Every week on Friday I spent a few moments reflecting on the four highlights from the studio. Let’s get into it!

1. Last weekend I hosted two bachelorette parties to do Candle Pour Bar! The studio space in West Branch is perfect for an intimate gathering of friends, where you can bring in decorations and treats, and shower people with love. Plus West Branch is the best town to grab lunch, walk around to boutiques and explore! I love helping people bring their events together here. If you know someone planning for a special occasion, consider recommending Tura Lura Co. as a spot! Your honest recommendations, reviews, and word of mouth has been so appreciated.

2. I spent this morning getting my planters ready outside the studio. Come take a look, I’m at the studio today 4/12 noon to 4pm and tomorrow 4/13 noon to 3pm! My youngest, Emmitt, helped me pick out the flowers at the nursery, and we’ve been caring for them this week and pulling them inside to avoid harsh rain and wind. We usually wait until Mother’s Day to plant at our house, but I am going all in and adding some color outside the studio with flowers in the planters! I’ll put some pictures up on Instagram this week, please send me positive (and warm) vibes that we are past the frost in Iowa :)

3. Speaking of Mother’s Day, it’s hard to believe Mother’s Day is right around the corner! The weekend before we are hosting a special edition of Candle Pour Bar with Dried Floral Bar on Saturday May 4, where we will make candles then will complete bud vases while our candles dry. It’ll be a special class, I know some folks have signed up as a pre-Mother’s Day gathering. Sign up for classes in April and May is live on the website, and I’m happy to make you a physical gift certificate if you wanted to gift someone an experience.

4. Posting the Grand Opening Giveaway winner on Instagram yesterday was a highlight of the week! The response “ekkkkk I’m screaming” made my day. I started this company from a place of gifting candles to neighbors and friends, and I love to surprise and host give aways with people.

It’s looking like a beautiful day, I hope you get to enjoy some sunshine and Happy Friday!

Sending you love and light,

Erika

The 14th Friday four of 2024

Happy Friday! Let’s get into the 4 highlights for this week’s Friday Four:

1. Did you know that today is Sweets for Success? It’s an annual dessert auction to support Main Street West Branch! Bid on all your favorites TODAY from 4pm until 8:30pm. You can pick up your goodies tomorrow morning or they will deliver to you! View and bid at 32auctions.com/sweets24, and there will be some special Tura Lura Co. yummies to bid on!

2. Speaking of West Branch, I love my new studio spot! So many faces are popping in to say hello during open hours. For folks who have been on the journey with me the last two years, you know that I always wanted a studio space so I could host more types of gatherings. I just added something special to the calendar, a summer series focused on cultivating! This will be a mixture of education and Strengths Based Leadership reflection, with an artistic project each session to accompany the work. Tentative details are listed on the website, and you can sign up to learn more.

3. Tura Lura Co. roots are in making candles, and the Candle Pour Bars are still going strong! With the new spring season upon us, the fragrances have expanded to include 46 scents available at the studio in West Branch. You can see what’s in stock here. It also includes an expanded amount of reed diffuser smells, just look for the * next to the oil for eligible aromas.

4. On a different note, I am feeling really grateful this week. There is so much to learn in the world of having a small business (and just the world in general), I’ve had to seek out opportunities for growth and mentorship. And I’m so fortunate for Builder & Backers in my entrepreneurial journey. These are the coaches who helped me test ideas when I was getting started with Tura Lura Co. and who are with me again in this new phase of my business journey. It’s been invigorating to invest time and energy with the program, and to get feedback from someone who cares. Things in business (and life) can feel lonely sometimes, and I hope you have someone you are learning from and growing with.

GO HAWKS!

Erika

The Thirteenth Friday four of 2024

Happy Friday!

There is a stretch every spring where as the days begin to have more sunlight, my hours also increase at the university. Which is this strange place where the days feel longer, and the weeks go by really fast. So, I am looking forward to slower moments this weekend in the studio with creativity, then at home with my family making something delicious and hopefully getting outside. I have lots to be grateful for this week, including the 4 highlights from this edition of the Friday Four:

1. You have a few more chances to enter the Tura Lura Co. Grand Opening Giveaway. The giveaway is for a private two person candle making event - think a special friend date, a parent & kiddo outing, or date night experience. To enter, visit the studio in person and fill out a piece of paper, old school. Open hours this weekend are today (Friday, 3/29) noon to 4pm and Saturday 3/30, noon to 4pm. There is also an opportunity to visit during West Branch Wednesday on April 3 for Candle Pour Bar starting at 5:30pm. Otherwise the very last chance to enter is Friday, April 5 from noon to 4pm during open hours. The studio is shut for private parties on Saturday, April 6. The winner will be drawn, by hand from an old school raffle basket, the week of April 8!

2. Speaking of giveaways, there is another one available on Instagram that I want to highlight because it has Tura Lura Co. swag in it! I met a fellow mom & entrepreneur from my kiddo’s school, and she volunteered to take some of the sweet moments from the Tura Lura Co. grand opening. You’ve seen the ribbon cutting pictures on social media, because she knew that’d be a moment I’d want to have captured. Jessica is a gem of a human and if you want to enter her Mama Pampering Giveaway, go to the first post on my Instagram and follow the instructions on the post until Saturday 3/30 at 8pm.

3. We can create together during a spring candle, reed diffuser, or dried floral class at the studio in West Branch, and there is one last opportunity coming up in Iowa City for a Candle Pour Bar Pop Up Class at the Green House! Join us Sunday, April 7 from 2-4pm for our last spring class at the Green House. I love the Green House, and I spend way too much time there between candle making classes and hanging out with friends - it’s such a special place. And I still meet folks who have never been, so I wrote up a little more about what to expect at a class there on the blog. Check it out!

4. If you recall, last week I began to sow some seeds - and I wanted to share that the seeds are growing! I have a whole set up now in our basement and get to check on my plant babies every day. In this stretch of feeling very busy at my day job, it’s nice to have something simple to check on. The goal is to get the plant babies into the garden after the last frost and continue growing our garden outside with more fruits, veggies, and cut flowers. A few weeks ago it felt like this was huge new endeavor filled with unknowns, and it’s been a good reminder that sometimes just taking the first step into something new is usually the hardest step.

I hope you have something to look forward to this weekend, and get to slow down and enjoy some moments with the people you love the most.

Sending you love and light,

Erika