Celebrating Legacy, One Scent at a Time

How a love for Harlem's legacy became a thriving fragrance brand 

When Teri Johnson moved from Houston to Harlem, she didn't move for a job or to be close to family. She moved to be close to the history that had shaped her.

During her year-long internship in Paris, she encountered Harlem through history, jazz, art, and the cultural movement that had rippled across continents. In Europe, she discovered that the Harlem Renaissance held a place of reverence in the global imagination. But it wasn't until she arrived in New York and began living in Harlem that it became real. A legacy she could touch, smell, and inhabit. That connection to history, to artistry, to something larger than herself, would later become the foundation for everything she built.

From Gifts to Purpose

In 2013, Teri started making candles as gifts for friends. They were homemade, but the fragrance was exceptional, sourced from a chemist friend who created fine fragrances with top quality ingredients. Friends didn't just burn the candles; they asked questions. They asked if she could make more.

I didn’t intentionally set out to start a brand when I first started making candles. I was just having fun giving gifts to friends and family.

A year later, in 2014, she launched Harlem Candle Co.(opens in a new tab) officially as the CEO and Founder. But this wasn't going to be a founder-facing brand built on her personal brand. Instead, each candle became a tribute. Duke Ellington. Billie Holiday. Josephine Baker. The candles were carefully constructed to capture not just a name, but a moment, an essence.

Listening to Your Customers

The Harlem Candle Co. took off during the pandemic. People working from home burned candles, and Teri engaged directly with customers through weekly Instagram live streams. The community grew. Comments flooded in. And then came a pattern she couldn't ignore: customers asking if they could wear the scents themselves.

"People would ask if I could turn the candle fragrances into perfumes or if they could wear the room spray," Teri recalls. Instead of resisting or questioning, she listened. So in 2022, she launched Harlem Perfume Co.(opens in a new tab) keeping the storytelling mission intact while expanding how customers could connect with the legacy.

Her most recent launch, Sensual Muse, hit Sephora.com in July 2026, representing genuine national distribution, a milestone that validates not just the product, but the entire vision. "I'm so glad I listened to myself, my customers and followed my instinct," Teri says, reflecting on her decision to grow and evolve her products without institutional pressure.

Growing Without Growing Apart

As the brand grew, hiring became essential. Teri needed a team to manage operations, community, and growth. But scaling the team meant something deeper than just workload; it meant she had made promises to real people to pay them reliably, consistently, fairly.

She switched to Justworks on the recommendation of her accountant, who worked with many small business owners already using the platform.  What sold her was both simplicity and philosophy.

Justworks feels more modern. There was just a lot more alignment to me as a small business owner and the things that I need .

Most importantly, it allows her to offer health insurance and 401(k) benefits with just a handful of employees. "That's very attractive when I'm recruiting talent", she notes.

Building Community, Not Just Products

With a reliable platform supporting payroll and growth, Teri can freely dive deep into her community. She sits on a nonprofit board, engages in female founder networks, and is continually finding ways to deepen her connection with her customer base. She recently hired a dedicated community manager to deepen engagement across TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. With the operational backbone in place, Teri can do what she does best: honor the voices that shaped culture, one scent at a time.