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

Samantha, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

The biggest, most life changing risk I’ve ever taken hands-down goes to deciding to relocate and following through. There was a 3 month span of time from when we decided to move and actually doing so, and I think that part is key to my journey. I believe when it comes to risk, you can’t think too hard on it. It’s like a bandaid, you just have to rip it off. The longer you wait, the more you get in your own head and make the process more painful.

We grew up in Chicago, close to family our entire lives. It was a rare instance when any family or friends moved out of state, so while it was a scary decision – thinking about everyone you’re leaving behind and if you’re making the right decision- it’s extremely invigorating to hear your loved ones say, “Go”, “Good for you”, “I wish I could do it”. And it’s those moments that reassured me that I needed to be the one who goes for it.

You might be wondering if our entire circle of family and friends stayed in Chicago, why would we want to move? I’ll let you in on our life there. It was cloudy, often months would pass without any sunlight. There was some type of precipitation every day, and it seemed like the thunderstorms my dog dreaded so much were getting worse by the day. If you were lucky enough to see the sun it’d be smack in the middle of a work day. On the weekends, my husband literally spent every hour outside doing yard work, while I was inside doing house work. Generally, we’d see family on Sunday afternoons and then start the work week all over again.

During the time we lived in Chicago, we worked really hard and splurged on fun vacations to get away from the monotony. And in 2016 we had two life-changing medical emergencies that made us recognize we were living to work rather than working to live. So we spent the beginning of 2017 exploring more than we normally had. We traveled along California in January, Italy and Greece in April, and Arizona in May. And it was this trip to Phoenix when we decided to stop running from life, but to fully commit to enjoying it.

On the day we decided to take this risk, we fully committed. We immediately started the job hunt, and searching for two full-time jobs is so much more challenging than just one. I made a handful of trips to AZ for interviews, sometimes calling in sick to work to fly out for less than 24 hours. During these trips, we both started networking, and I accepted a full-time job as a personal trainer. This gym was under construction and starting their business from the ground up, but I saw the potential for me to get in on the ground level and work my way up with seniority. My husband also networked and while he wasn’t formally offered a job, the company wanted him, and I had all the faith in the world.

With careers well on the way, we had to pass the next hurdle of selling our home. We knew we wanted to move fast so we prepped the house and got it on the market mid-summer. With the help of our realtor, we accepted an offer within 3 weeks, and sold our first home to one of my close friends that I grew up with. And no, we did not know who we were selling to, but that’s a story for a different time!

Because this entire experience wasn’t risky enough, we had a house closing date at the end of September, but we were eager to plant our roots and start the next chapter of our lives so we agreed to road trip at the end of August. There was no guarantee our house would even close and my husband didn’t formally have his work lined up yet, but we went for it anyways.

And because we manifested the life we wanted to live, the risk paid off. We got a call exactly one-week prior to putting our wheels on the ground. My husband was offered the job! The weight on our shoulders of all the unknown was starting to lift. And from this point forward, we set out to live life on our terms, rather than falling in line with the environment we grew up in.

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

My husband and I have always enjoyed burning candles and back in our early dating days, we used to have so much fun going to Yankee Candle, smelling all the scents, and picking a couple to buy. Naturally, when I chose to leave the fitness industry and pursue a new hobby, candle making came to mind. Because my husband spends a lot of time in the garage working on his car, I was looking for something more time consuming, creative, and an outlet from my full-time job. Little did I know just how much time it would take to perfect the craft!

I have my Bachelor of Science degree in Exercise Science so health is always at the forefront of my mind. My entire business plan was geared towards developing the cleanest and most eco-friendly candles without jeopardizing the invigorating scents during the burning experience. It has and continues to take months of testing oil-to-wick-to-wax ratios, as well as custom blended scents to get a unique and developed aroma, for my candles to pass my test!

The sense of smell is 10,000 times more responsive than other senses and therefore can stir up emotions within seconds. When launching my signature collection and all collections going forward, I craft each candle based upon the liberties of my desert life that I’ve been privileged to enjoy, as well as experiences that have encompassed living a life we love. I want my community to not only find their escape from their day-to-day when burning our candles, but to feel inspired by our journey to follow their heart and live life on their own terms.

I’m so proud of this concept I’ve developed and seeing the progress I’ve made, and the direction I’m heading. Desert Liberties is 100% women owned and I’m proud to be the artist behind everything we put out into the community.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

Before figuring out the science and math behind candle making, I truly didn’t understand everything it takes to be a Chandler (candle-maker). It’s extremely easy to think you can buy oil, wax, wicks, and vessels and be on your way to a heavenly aroma paradise, but that couldn’t be more inaccurate. In fact, that’s actually how easy I thought it was going to be.

From the concept to fruition, it takes months to release a new scent. It starts with choosing season relevant scents and tying them to an experience I want to recreate. Once that idea is formulated, multiple fragrance oils get test-blended into many different fragrance loads and combinations. They’ll go through my “sniff” test and the most appealing ones will then be made into test candles. It takes a couple of test candles in each size we offer to decide what will go into production. We create testers with different size wicks, and at lest two different fragrance loads. Those have to cure for an entire two-weeks before we can burn and evaluate them. Whichever performs the best in reference to safety and hot throw will then go into production.

And that’s just the making of the candles alone. Being a creative is not just the production portion. It’s also all of the social media, candle labels, colors, event set-ups, networking, website development, shipping, receiving, sourcing, etc. The time, commitment, and creative mind it takes to be the sole individual running a business is not for the faint of heart.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

There are so many things I used to source on Amazon because of it’s convenience and the ability to save a couple of dollars. Certain items I’d never be able to get from a local artist. But often times I buy things just because, and that sense of enjoyment quickly goes away after opening the box.

After starting a small business of my own, I can 100% say that every single order I receive brings me so much happiness. And because I know the feeling so well, I’ve made it my mission to begin shopping small at least one time each week. So even if I can’t afford to buy everything at boutique prices, I definitely can afford one purchase weekly, and I’d love to influence others into adapting a similar mindset.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.desertliberties.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/desertliberties/
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/desertliberties