Everyone knows who Taylor Swift is. She is quite literally one of the most influential people in the world. Out of all the millions of people who look up to her, it’s hard to find someone who has actually met her. Holly Armstrong is one of the few who has had that opportunity, not just once but twice.
Holly first met Taylor in 2003, before she had even released her debut album, “Taylor Swift”. At the time, Taylor was 13 years old, and Holly was 12. A native Texan, Holly was on a family vacation in New Jersey when she heard Taylor singing country music at the boardwalk.
“She was singing about things that I related to,” Holly said. “I absolutely fell in love with the music.”
As if meeting her one time before her rapid rise to fame wasn’t enough, Holly was invited to attend the Lover Secret Sessions in 2019. Holly said that it is critical for Taylor to maintain a relationship with her community of fans. Despite the excitement that she was feeling from being there, Holly was terrified that Taylor was not the same person she had envisioned for all those years.
“She was better, somehow. She had the same generosity, the same kindness, the same joy. She holds space for you in a way that makes you feel like you’re the only person in the room,” Holly said. “I got to thank her. What was so mind-blowing is that she thanked me for staying and for being around for so long. I didn’t know how much that would mean to me … I’ll never forget it.”
During many of the hard times throughout her life, Holly was able to rely on Taylor and her music for support. Shortly after meeting Taylor, Holly endured a traumatic childhood event, and coped by listening to the two demo songs Taylor had given and signed for her. In 2021 and 2022, Holly began to grow as a person and leaned on the albums “folklore” and “evermore”, as well as the song “it’s time to go”, an “evermore” bonus track and album closer.
“Taylor has this way of taking emotions and using them as creative fuel and inspiration,” said Holly. “It really took hitting rock bottom mentally and having to take some time off work to rediscover the things that I enjoyed. The one thing that has always been a constant … is Taylor’s music.”
During that difficult period, Holly began painting as an outlet and posted her work on social media. It wasn’t until someone reached out to ask about buying her pieces that she began considering selling her work. That prompted her to create more than just art, including jewelry and candles, which she continued to share online. The constant positive feedback she received began her openness towards starting a business.
“At first, it was very much going through the motions, and then I found the joy,” Holly explained about the process of creating art.
Holly’s business, Starlight & Sage Co., officially launched on July 23, the 22nd anniversary of the day that Holly met Taylor for the first time. That first day, Holly had 22 (Taylor Swift reference?!) orders placed, which she said shocked her, as she was not expecting any. Starlight & Sage Co. sells the same products Holly was making as she was recovering mentally, so anything from candles to art to jewelry and more. Her products are Swiftie-based and inspired, but Holly decided to make her products a little more subtle so only true fans of Taylor would notice the Swiftie reference.
She came up with the name of her company in a unique way. One of Holly’s favorite songs is “Starlight” because it talks about dreaming. She said she views Taylor to be a “Sage”, which means a beautiful, wise person.
At first, Holly was unsure whether or not to begin a business. She said that she always wanted to have her own business, but found it difficult to trust herself until recently. Starlight & Sage Co. was launched completely by Holly herself, who said the process took around eight to nine months.
“[Swifties are] this beautiful group of people who are talented and gracious and generous and inspiring in their own right, and that was the catalyst that really convinced me,” Holly said. “[Taylor] did something so unique in building the community of fans from the very beginning. It was so, so important to her to remain connected, and she had a relationship with the people that supported her.”
Holly explained the process of making her candles, saying that every candle begins with her wanting to preserve a state, memory, song, or lyric into a scent. She accomplishes this by blending different fragrances together until she reaches her desired scent. The process is entirely trial-and-error based.
“One lyric in particular that I just absolutely fell head over heels for is ‘Peter losing Wendy’. I wanted to make a candle that smelled like leaving behind childhood and the nostalgia and the bittersweetness of the beauty of growing up,” Holly explained. “I literally lit it, closed my eyes, and I was there.”
Holly’s business is based in Texas, but she ships her products all around the world because she said she wants them to be accessible to Swifties globally. In her shipments, Holly said she tries to make her buyers feel like they are more than an anonymous customer, and accomplishes her objective by personalizing the packaging. This can be seen by her addition of a handwritten letter or an occasional special gift.
“I love seeing [unboxing videos] because it’s my product and the things that I create,” said Holly. “It’s pieces of myself and people loving it, and wanting it in their own home, and connecting with it.”
Holly said she owes the success of her business to the Swiftie community. Swifties support her business by purchasing her products, and she recognizes that other Swifties on social media have shared her business on their platforms.
“The most rewarding [experience of owning a business] has been connecting with people. It has been sending out art prints that I did in isolation, and people seeing themselves in that,” Holly commented. “I will forever be grateful to the community … it’s a generosity that I don’t think could be replicated anywhere else.”
It’s a dream of Holly’s to be able to ship to more countries and see her work featured in stores for the future of her business. She has previously partnered with a ceramics artist.
Holly was featured in an article by People Magazine released in August 2025, and was a special guest in the documentary by CW titled “Taylor”. You can contact Holly and show your support for her business based on girlhood via the contact page on her website. She is also active on Instagram and X (Twitter).