We were lucky to catch up with Isa Vergel recently and have shared our conversation below.

Isa, appreciate you joining us today. Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?

In Latin America we normally have 2 last names, your dad’s and your mom’s (yes, even if they’re married). I wanted to embrace my mom’s name in honor to all the sacrifices she did to become a business woman and for all the support she always shows.
Also, Vergel is a Spanish word for a place with great abundance and variety of plants, flowers and trees, basically an orchard.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I moved from Venezuela to Minnesota on 2018 due to a social crisis my home country is going through.
I’ve been always passionated about candles, the harmony an essence can create in a space is one of the many reasons I love about burning candles.
I turned my hobby into a business after receiving great comments about the candles I make for my house.

The candles were kinda my savers, I was stuck in a job that was consuming me and I was struggling with stress all the time.

I am very proud of being Venezuelan so I wanted to project my roots in the brand in order to create affinity with the consumer.
For the names I chose Spanish words that are rarely used but have beautiful meanings. I also decided to write the meaning in Spanish as well, so you get to learn a bit of our beautiful language..

I am very happy with the response I’ve been getting from the consumers, seeing people coming back again and again for a candle is extremely satisfactory, makes me feel proud of what I’m doing and somehow creates positive reinforcement.
I just hope people can enjoy our candles and share a Spanish word with a loved one.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I went to school for management and marketing. Back home a had a business that was already solid, I also was a painter. When I moved here I had to start from the bottom again, I had couple different jobs in the service industry with zero experience in the restaurant business. Anyways I worked hard and gave my best to the point that in 3 months they offered me the management.
After a while I decided to start over again opening this business. It haven’t been easy but I’m enjoying the journey.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

Your competition is your enemy. I heard that many times, many. But I’m fact I have found a beautiful community of small makers that have been very supportive and helpful.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.thevergelstore.com
• Instagram: Thevergelstore
• Other: TikTok: thevergelstore