We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Demita Delano a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Demita , appreciate you joining us today. Can you tell us a bit about who your hero is and the influence they’ve had on you?

Toni Morrison is my shero. She was a novelist and activist. One of the first chapter books I read as a child was her her noval The Bluest Eye. It became the foundation of my self love journey.

The Bluest Eye was her very first book and was published when she was a 39 year old mother of two. It was critically acclaimed. Morrison went on to win the Nobel Peace Prize in literature.

She taught me it’s never too late to be who you want to become.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am vinyasa style yoga instructor, community creator, plant mom, and soap dealer. My yoga practice concentration is on breath control and body awareness while moving through yoga poses to create a holistic practice. As a sound healing practitioner I use sound as a means of meditation. Sound can assist in physical and mental well-being. Yoga and breath is used to get into your body and connect to yourself. I am simply a guide.

As a society we are more in touch than ever through different means of communication. I feel those same means have made us more physically isolated and lonely. As humans we survive and thrive through community. My goal is to create a sense of togetherness through affordable community events. I love connecting to people while having a great time. It doesn’t always have to be heavy. I do wellness events but also events where we get together with good music and drinks. Having a good network and reciprocity is essential for a balanced life.

Soap making is an art. I enjoy doing it and it stimulates my creativity. I use natural ingredients so my customers know what’s going on their skin. And they smell really good which is a plus.

I became a plant mom during the pandemic. I picked up a hobby like most of the rest of the country. I have gardened since I was 19 but would kill a house plant in no time. I was able to really research and learn to care for each of my plants. I became obsessed and now my house looks like a jungle. My babies really add good vibrations to my home. Now I share that love with others. I started Sip & Plant events. We create community around plants, music, and a good bottle of wine.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

I meet people. I go to classes, community events, private events and connect to people. That has been the most effective was of growing my clientele. I am very flamboyant in my appearance. People are down to that. I’ll invite people to events and classes. They invite their friends and our little tribe continues to grow.

Can you talk to us about manufacturing? How’d you figure it all out? We’d love to hear the story.

I started making soap just for family and close friends. I went through a stage where I wanted to use as many natural products as possible. I even made my own laundry detergent although that did not last.I researched online and had a good friend who gave me advice. I experimented with different types of soaps, ingredients, and scents until I found what I liked. I would post my soaps social media and people started asking for them. Then I started an online store. I buy my ingredients online in bulk. Like everyone else I used Amazon but I also a soap supply company.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.wavebydemi.com
• Instagram: dao.of.demi
• Facebook: Demi Delano