1. What did you study at RMIT and what attracted you to that program?
I completed a Bachelor of Business (Accountancy), a Graduate Diploma of Early Childhood Education, and two short courses in Digital Marketing at RMIT.
I chose RMIT because of its strong reputation for practical, industry-focused education, which really appealed to me when I was deciding where to study. I also valued RMIT’s diverse and international environment. Having studied across business, education, and digital marketing, I’ve appreciated how RMIT has supported me in developing practical skills and adapting to different stages of my career.
2. What is your business all about?
J & K Lab is a candle and home fragrance business that my partner, Jayme, and I started together during a challenging period in our lives. What began as something small and personal grew into a business that allows us to create products that make people feel good in their own space.
We hand-pour our candles in small batches and also create reed diffusers and decorative pieces. For us, it’s not just about making something that smells beautiful. We love the idea that a simple scent, a warm candle, or a thoughtfully styled space can help someone slow down, switch off, and enjoy a little moment for themselves.
Our business is very much a reflection of our own journey. We’ve experienced difficult times, and creating J & K Lab became a way for us to turn some of those experiences into something positive and meaningful. We hope our products can do the same for others.
3. Where do you see your business in 10 years’ time?
My career path has been anything but straight. I tend to follow opportunities, try new things and see where they take me rather than having a strict 10-year plan. That’s how I’ve ended up working across different industries and eventually starting J & K Lab.
So, honestly, I don’t have any big 10 year plans for the business. At its heart, J & K Lab is about sharing the happiness we get from creating beautiful things with other people. I don’t want to lose that by becoming too focused on growth or numbers.
If I had to imagine where we’ll be in 10 years, I’d love for J & K Lab to be bigger, for more people to know and enjoy our products, and for us to still be doing what we love and having fun along the way.
Maybe one day we’ll even have our own beautiful space where people can come in, experience our products and simply slow down for a while. That would be pretty cool.
But I think the exciting part is not knowing exactly what the next 10 years will look like. I’m happy to keep following the opportunities, learning as we go, and seeing where the journey takes us.
4. How has studying at RMIT prepared you to run your business?
Studying business at RMIT didn’t teach me how to make candles (of course!), but it gave me a strong foundation in understanding how a business works, particularly when it comes to costs, budgeting, pricing and making decisions based on numbers. But I think it was the practical side of the course that has stayed with me the most. It wasn’t just about learning accounting concepts. We were often given real world situations where we had to apply what we learned and think through how a business would actually operate.
One assignment I still remember was a business simulator where we pretended to be the owner of a computer company. I even remember that my imaginary brand was called “Komputer”. We had to choose different components to create different computer models, calculate how much each one would cost, and then decide how much we should sell them for.
At the time, it was just an assignment, but looking back, it was surprisingly similar to what I now do with J & K Lab. Instead of computer components, I’m now thinking about wax, fragrance, vessels and packaging, but the process of working out costs, pricing products and deciding what makes sense for the business is very similar.
So I think RMIT prepared me in two ways. It gave me the technical foundation to understand the numbers, but it also taught me how to approach a business problem, make a decision and work out a solution. Those skills have definitely followed me into running J & K Lab.
5. What advice would you have offered yourself when you first started your business?
I would tell myself to trust the process and be patient. I used to compare myself to other businesses and wonder if I had done something wrong. But when you’re running a business, there are good days and bad days, and a bad day doesn’t necessarily mean you’re doing something wrong. Good things take time. Looking back, I think I just needed to trust that our journey would unfold in its own time.
6. What is your favourite scented candle and why?
Citrus Rosemance! It’s one of the very first scents we chose when we started J & K Lab, and somehow it’s still my favourite. I love that it’s sweet and soft, with a fresh citrus touch, but not too strong. It’s the kind of scent that makes me feel relaxed and happy.
