We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Ileana Martinez. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Ileana below.

Ileana, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

I started candle making near the end of 2020 as a mindfulness practice. 2020 was an extremely difficult year for everyone, as we were in the middle of a global pandemic and health crisis. At the time, I was also battling the terrifying thought of taking my own life. I won’t go into too much detail about that…

One day I woke up and decided I needed a hobby to focus my mind on something other than the thoughts I was having. After thinking about it for maybe 10 minutes and lighting a candle, I thought, “I bet I can make these.” I grabbed a credit card and ordered everything to make about a dozen candles. Once everything came in, I sat in my kitchen looking at everything and just dove right in — melting, mixing, pouring — and I. FELL. IN. LOVE. It was such a calming experience and after I had poured those first candles, I noticed my mind had been not quite silent, but also not in the dark place.

I had a group of amazing friends and family that bought candles from that first batch, I was able to order more supplies, and over time, a small business was born. I filed for my LLC in July 2021. I knew, though, that I wanted to be able to give back somehow. I started making candles to help with my mental health, and that’s the mission behind Mindful C&G: bringing focus to mental health, self care, and #breakthestigma around mental illness.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Ileana (she/her), the maker behind Mindful Candles + Goods, a small batch candle company based in Washington.

I’m a dog mom to the wildest little Pembroke Welsh Corgi named Mika (@mikathecorgipup on Instagram). I’m a lover of all things matcha and glazed donuts. I’m extremely attracted to the color yellow; squeeze a huge lemon in my ice water, please and thanks. I’m also the candle maker and fragrance witch behind Mindful C&G.

As stated in the previous question, Mindful C&G has a focus on promoting wellness, relaxation, and mental health. As part of my mission, each month, a portion of all sales is donated to mental health organizations such as The Loveland Foundation, National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), and The Brain and Behavior Research Foundation.

I’m most proud of the ability to give back to a cause that’s important to me. I’m also proud to be able to offer nontoxic products. With our focus on wellness, each candle is handcrafted using only the best, natural ingredients to ensure you can breathe easy and unwind.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I don’t have the largest social media following, but my candle family there came from meeting at in-person markets and craft fairs in my area. Every message that comes in I try to answer within 24 hours. I think the best advice to build a following and make your presence known on socials is to be authentic. Be yourself and try not to get overwhelmed. What might work for me, or someone else, may not work for you.

Do you sell on your site, or do you use a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc?

I currently use my own website on Shopify to promote and sell my products. I chose to use my own site, opposed to amazon or etsy, so I could create my own image and avoid paying extra fees to list products on other sites.

A pro is definitely that I have full control of what’s listed on my website and my products aren’t competing with others for attention or blending in a sea of candles.

A con though is that if I don’t put in the effort to promote my website and products, I won’t see any sales. Marketing is 100% important for a website to be successful!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.hellomindfulgoods.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hellomindfulgoods/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hellomindfulgoods/

Image Credits
First photo: Michelle Baldwin, girrlscoutphoto All others: myself