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

Hi Trista , thanks for 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?

A lot of folks assume that the ‘moon’ half of MARVEL + MOON is in reference to that dreamy celestial orb in the night sky but I choose moon with its other definition in mind: to spend time idly or to sentimentalize or remember nostalgically. Candles promote ‘slow living.’ They call for pause and reflection. I relish in the act of lighting the wick, watching the glow, savoring the fragrance. The custom fragrances I mix are always made with a memory or story in mind. Scent is a powerful tool. One I hold sacred. I marvel at the stillness a candle invites. I need it. Yes, I play moon imagery in my story and branding, but for me, it has always been mooning away the evening in the flicker of the flame.

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 have always loved candles. I have always been a crafter. I came into making my own candles in graduate school for creative writing. I wanted a specific scent (the first iteration of my SELENE candle) to help me study and make part of my writing ritual so I began to make my own candles. The scent, the act of lighting it, the glow…all these things would transform my mind and my space when sitting down to be creative. I crave that transformation. For me, lighting a candle can act as a mediation bell. Even if I am occupying the same space (a messy desk, a cluttered living room, a chaotic kitchen), the candle casts a warm shadow over a given room and makes it anew. When it comes to sitting down to write, I often have to light a candle and stare at the flame for a short period to quiet the buzz of daily life and anxieties and free up that space for my creative pursuits. I particularly needed this creative aid during my grad school years with the stress of coursework. After graduate school, I realized I wanted to share my candles with the world and bring my craft to others and so, MARVEL + MOON was born!

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I believe one of the things that I have done best is building my reputation within my market by offering more than just a candle. What I offer is a tool for transformation. I think about that obsessively and I work hard to make that known to my customers. When you light a MARVEL + MOON candle I want you to see your home anew, to feel anew in it. As a poet, I take words and bits of language that are seemingly mundane from everyday transactional use and rearrange them in a way that makes the reader experience them in a completely different way. This philosophy invades my candles and that level of care and consideration to craft beyond the object itself is what keeps my supporters coming back for more.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

To me, the answer to this question is simple, caring about your supporters and demonstrating that care on all levels. I love to send handwritten notes on special stationery to customers with their candle orders. People can go anywhere to buy a candle, literally anywhere, but they came to MARVEL + MOON. I like to connect with my customers on a personal level. I enjoy the community that has grown from my business. I started a Facebook group called THE HEARTH ROOM where I get the opportunity to engage deeper with folks and share more of myself and my personal life, anxieties, triumphs, and home with my community at a less hasty pace. I also get the chance to learn, grow, and commune with like-minded people in the group. Connecting with my clientele (new and old) on social media is becoming more difficult for me as the landscape of various platforms and the kind of content they privilege seem to evolve daily. The madhouse that social media can be, especially for small businesses, makers, and artists, is not, particularly in line with my brand’s (and personal) ethos of slow living. I prefer to grow and show my appreciation in more mindful touches in my business practice. It matters.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.marvelandmoon.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marvelandmoon/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2999475173606353

Image Credits
All photos are my own.