Jason’s First Cut

If you’ve read some of our other candle stories, you may have already heard about my brother, Jason.

There’s actually a little family history behind the name.

Later in life, my mother remarried, and her husband also had a son named Jason. Of course, the new Jason was older, taller, and bigger—and no, not that kind of bigger.

So, naturally, our family ended up with Big Jason and Little Jason.

For everyone who knows the story, you know exactly what I’m talking about. But from here on out, we’re just going to call my brother Jason.

Jason took after my father in one very noticeable way: he has always loved being outdoors and having some kind of project going.

And when I say project, I mean Jason-project.

Over the years he has owned goats, cows, chickens, and who knows how many other farm animals. There always seems to be something being built, repaired, moved, raised, cut, or figured out.

Through one of his jobs, Jason met a great guy named Dan.

I’m not completely sure whether Dan already had the tree business when they first met or whether that came later, but somewhere along the way Jason started working with him in the tree business.

If you know Jason personally, you also know he is the kind of person who will take the shirt off his back to help somebody.

Well...

Until you tick him off.

Then you may find yourself on the block list for an undetermined amount of time.

That’s my brother.

Over time, working with trees became something Jason genuinely looked forward to. He still had the farm. He still had his regular truck-driving job. But there was something different about wondering what challenge the next tree job was going to bring.

I remember seeing videos of him cutting down these enormous trees and thinking, Yep... that’s definitely Jason.

Eventually, Jason and Dan even got a sawmill and started milling some of the wood themselves.

There is something fitting about that progression.

From hiking through the trees during our Boy Scout years...

to working among them...

to cutting them...

and eventually milling the wood.

The outdoors has always seemed to find its way back into Jason’s life.

And that is where Jason’s First Cut comes from.

When I started creating this fragrance, I didn’t want it to smell like somebody opened a bottle labeled “pine” and called it a day.

I wanted it to remind me of what it might actually feel like standing there when that first cut goes into a tree in Napa, California.

Fresh-cut wood.

Forest air.

The rugged smell of timber.

But this is still California, so I wanted a little bit of that coastal freshness woven through the woods as well.

Something outdoorsy, clean, woody, and familiar.

It may remind you of a Christmas tree or a cool winter day, which makes Jason’s First Cut a great candle for the holidays.

But like the memories behind all of our Sandcastles candles, this one was never meant to disappear when the decorations come down.

We try to keep our memories—and the candles inspired by them—alive year-round.

So this one is for my brother Jason: from Boy Scout trails to farm animals, truck driving, trees, sawmills, and whatever project comes next.

And a big thank-you to Dan for putting up with my brother all these years.

You deserve a candle too.

Jason’s First Cut
A California-inspired blend of fresh-cut woods, forest air, and coastal character—made for the holidays, the outdoors, and every season in between.