About Us

Hi I'm Diana and I'm so happy that you stopped by.

Fragrance is part of who I am. It sets the mood for my day, calms my mind, and brings beauty to people and spaces. Scents can unlock memories and carry you to special moments—I love the way they make you feel.

I wanted to create something I was truly passionate about. After taking a candle-making class, I knew I wanted to make uniquely fragranced candles and other scent-filled essentials. I chose soy wax for its eco-friendly, renewable nature and carefully sourced premium materials: the best soy wax, phthalate-free clean fragrances, beautiful vessels, and 100% cotton wicks to create a clean-burning candle.

I’m proud of our distinctive scent blends and thrilled to share them with you—to fill your home and favorite spaces. Every candle is poured in small batches for superior quality and consistency.

We’re a small, family-run business based in sunny Southern California. We proudly offer:

Unique handmade soy candles
Perfumes and body oils
Wax melts
Organic lavender sachets
Candle accessories
Shower steamers
Reed and car diffusers
Linen and room sprays
Handmade soap and lotion bars
Seasonal insect repellent
Linen and Room sprays

From our family to yours—thank you for choosing thoughtfully crafted fragrance from our handmade shop.

Diana Gonzales, Founder & Maker

Wife, mom and grammy! I have a passion for handmade goods and supporting makers. In Nov 2015, I took a leap of faith and founded Lavender Apothecary. I am doing something I love and I am loving it, I feel so blessed to have the opportunity to have a second career. I'm all about the best fragrances!

Johnny Gonzales, Owner & Logistics

Husband, dad and grampy! Works as a Construction Project Superintendent by day and all around helper on the weekends. Johnny packs and unpacks, sets up for all markets and then tears down, and unpacks again! Johnny is the muscle man of Lavender Apothecary. He is also our self-proclaimed shipping manager and packages all of our shipments with lots of care. He makes sure that your order arrives in perfect condition!

Louie Gonzales, Online Sales & Website

Louie works for Disney. Louie completely built our website so that we could sell our products online. Louie assists me and my many questions about the online side of Lavender Apothecary! You'll also see Louie at many of my markets behind the counter with me. You'll often get to see Louie's husband Rick at many markets. Rick is a Regional Manager for a top line exclusive perfume brand.

Katie Prieto, Label & Product Designer

Katie is a full-time mommy of our two beautiful grandchildren and works as an Administrative Assistant at Sierra Madre Dance Studio. Katie helps in the design of all of products and accompanying labels and aesthetic design. Katie assists on our inventory side of our shop as well. She also assists me in ordering many of the supplies that are used in our shop. She is always eager with suggestions about everything with Lavender Apothecary. Of course, you'll see her husband Anthony who is a Family Law Attorney helping load and unload too!

Candice Strauss, Booth & Table display Designer

Works full-time as an Event and Fundraising Manager for the Special Olympics. Candice completely designs our booth each year and brings her keen design style to Lavender Apothecary. Candice makes great suggestions on new product introductions and designs. You'll often find Candice with us at our markets she loves supporting other makers and shops! More than often she is behind the counter with us as well!

Delilah Strauss, Product advisor, helps names many of our candles!

Delilah is our adult granddaughter and is always pitching in to help in a variety of ways. From cutting our fragrance tags to naming candle fragrances and helping at markets, our girl is an all around assistant. You might see her shopping and supporting vendors at our many markets!

Penny & Jameson - All around helpers and entrepreneur's in the making!

Our grands are always helping us around the workshop and at markets. They love learning about our business! They are the best little workers around. Penny is a very willing tester of any of our new products and loves our newest body oils! Jameson helps by unloading the truck after markets (lighter bins, of course)! His favorite candle is Mango Milk.