We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Valerie Baeza. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with VALERIE below.
Hi VALERIE, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.
Each scented candle is a meaningful project.
It starts with inspiration and curiosity. Am I celebrating specific notes or a universal moment or a beloved book?
From there I tie in a story, the title. A lot of my titles are sweet, thought provoking or provocative, but they’re always universal.
I test rigorously. Various fragrance oil combination with q-tips for a unique scent, and that process takes several days or up to year as was the case for Narnian Forest.
Once the scent is nailed down, I’ll test various fragrance oil ratios, make those candles, and then two weeks later (soy wax is soft and takes two weeks to fully cure) I’ll perform burn tests. The meltpool has to be even and the achieved fragrance has to fill an entire room for me to put it into production.
So, when I take on a collection of new scents, just one is a dedication story.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I am an indie author who curated scented candles to celebrate my debut publication (Story of My Life: a novel). After making a title scent and one for each of the main characters, I realized I could tell stories and share special moments through scented candles.
Everyone has a story to tell, and that makes each of us a storyteller!
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
I cherish the interactions with customers as they experience my lineup of scented candles. These exchanges are fun, and most definitely genuine.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
For me, this experience has been about learning rather than unlearning.
I was a quiet person before I wrote my novel, and I realized that I had to step outside myself if I was to be a published author. Writing is an intimate craft, so that was my first big creative lesson.
To add to my skillset, I’ve never worked retail before, so starting a business was an epic journey.
With all of that being shared, I’m pretty proud of where my inspirations have led me and the connections I’ve made along the way.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.StorytellerCandles.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Storyteller_Candles
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StorytellerCandles
Image Credits
Two Different Photographers:
Cheyenne Sitdikova
Endless Autumn Photography