We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Mya Johnson a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Mya, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?
Although I made candles as a child out of crayons…learning to make a great candle took time, research, effort, and a lot of it. There is nothing I could have done to speed up the process, people underestimate how much time goes into the craft but I love every minute of it. When I’m making candles I feel in such good spirits and energy. The skills I think are needed would definitely be determination, dedication, patience, a good space for starters. I would say my obstacles would be my full-time job as well as juggling 4 kids on my own and figuring out the time to create. Of course I’m still learning every single day not so much the craft but what else I could bring to it!
Mya, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
1st and foremost I’m a single mother and my children are my world! By day I work full-time as a school counselor…by night I’m a creator…like many, I turned to different crafts during the time of covid when everything was remote. I tried different things before I started doing candles. When starting candles it just felt natural and was the best decision of my life. I found something that made me feel good, gave me energy as well as being me peace and happiness.
The things that I’m most proud of would be my kids, managing and juggling day in and day out. I would say is my knowledge and dedication to my craft, I love interacting with the people at the markets and being able to explain my craft to them and see their faces light up when they smell my scents. This brings so much joy to me. My hope is that others feel my love and positive energy put into my products after they get them home!
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
I feel like resilience is my middle name! Recently, I have had very significant family issues. This right now is somewhat resolved so I haven’t been giving my business or my creations too much attention but I have recently bounced back and got back in the game and trying to climb this small business chain again. Despite everything I go through on a daily basis I still continue to focus on everything that brings me joy and peace. I’m always striving to continue to grow within myself and my business. I continuously surprise myself and continue to grow through my candle making!
Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
Cost! I think the costs were way more than I had ever imagined. I also pride myself on making sure my products, not only look and smell great but sometimes people don’t understand how much work and price goes into the mix so it can throw people off when they hear the price for my candles and other products!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.cyancandle.com
- Instagram: @cyancandleco
- Facebook: Cyan Candle Co.
Image Credits
The nimbus Media