Meet Amira Scott | Professional Candlemaker

We had the good fortune of connecting with Amira Scott and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Amira, have there been any changes in how you think about work-life balance?
This is definitely one of the hardest things about running my own business. I thought, like many people, that in working for myself I would find more time for me and my personal life. I mean, when you’re the boss you’ll always approve of time off for vacations, mental health, and medical appointments right? I was absolutely wrong. When I first began perfecting my craft in 2020, I don’t think I ever took a break. If I wasn’t in the kitchen pouring candles I was on YouTube researching new techniques and trying to learn from the information others would provide. I thought when I was finally “good enough” I would be able to take a break, but it’s almost like I was addicted to the feeling of improving. Now I’ve perfected many different forms of my craft and I’m still not where I would like to be. It’s so hard not to pour every waking second into my craft. I feel like people expect more from me now and I don’t want to disappoint. But this year I’ve completely burned myself out more than once by not affording myself time to rest and have a life outside of candle making . This led to complete fatigue, sickness, and depression. When you don’t take time off to rest, your body will force you to rest, and resting while sick is barely even rest. Throughout this summer I found myself in a cycle of manic production and complete aversion to any type of chore. Needless to say, this was not sustainable. Now I’ve had to take a completely different approach so that I don’t run myself to the ground or take too much time off. I usually have two days off in a row along with another day off randomly in the week. This way, I can have a “normal” weekend to rest and have some fun and a day to decompress during a tough work week. I’ve also had to force myself into trying more hobbies that I’m not trying to monetize either. I’ve gotten back into reading, started drawing, and I’m even training for my first 5K now! It’s not easy finding balance when you’re a very intense person who’s always looking to improve. But you can’t truly get better if you don’t find some time to rest, make a game plan, and THEN execute.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I’ve always loved candles, and during the pandemic I got so disappointed with the candles I would buy and excitedly light only to be met with no scent after hours. What sets my craft apart is testing. When I test a candle, if I can’t smell it from around the corner, down the hall, or throughout the whole house then it’s not a passing candle. If you have a Serene Terrene Candle you’ll never have that sinking feeling of disappointment when you realize you bought an expensive paperweight. I am definitely most proud of the evolution of my terrarium candles. They are such a labor of love, but they are absolutely beautiful and eye-catching. I went from one variation to four, and as I’m writing this I’m getting ready to release two more versions for the holiday season. Every time I bring a new scent into the terrarium family I love getting to experiment with colors and composition. Seeing the same excitement I feel about them on a customer’s face really brings me so much joy. Having people love your art makes all of the labors that went into the creation worth it. Some people love the color palette, others love the scents and the memories they bring. I just love making something meaningful and connecting to others through that common ground of appreciation. Getting to this point was not easy. There is a mountain of failure that leads to one success. The most important thing I found was becoming comfortable with failure. If it didn’t work out this time, you can only go up. Each failure actually means you have more knowledge going forward. I’ve kept probably about 5 different notebooks with all of my notes from every trial, the good, bad, and ugly. Whenever I feel frustrated with a current roadblock I like to look back on a year ago and realize just how far I’ve come. Failing is the most important part of success. I am a failure which is why I am successful. I just want the world to know that behind every successful person is just an imperfect human being. None of us know everything, we’re all students of life, and the real test is behind whether or not you walk away or find a new route.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I am a total homebody. I’m not the friend you call when you want to do something new or explore the city. That being said, I do have my favorite places of course. First I would recommend we grab some food at Shake Shack. I love love LOVE burgers and Shake Shack is one of my favorite additions to Colorado (Thanks East Coast!). Next, I would want to take them hiking at Castlewood Canyon. Beautiful views without as much a threat of altitude sickness being that it is a canyon. But my absolute favorite thing to introduce people to is the western slope. I went to college there (Go Mavs!) and it is my favorite place to visit now that I’m back in my beloved city. The hiking there is incredible, the vineyards and meaderies are unmatched, and my favorite place in the world is The Colorado National Monument, but specifically at night. Being so far away from light pollution you can see the Milky Way on a clear night. It takes my breath away every time I go, and I could spend all night there just looking up at the sky.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I have a few people I want to shout out. If you read my first article it’s no secret that this all started because my wonderful husband believed in me and bought me my first candle making set. Since then, he has attended all of my markets with me, created my website, every single label, and continued to be my biggest supporter. Tyler, thank you so much for seeing something in me that I had to fight to see for myself. Thank you for pouring so much of yourself into my business. I’m eternally lucky. Secondly, my little sibling, Aubrey. They have also given up their weekends to help me in markets, helped me clean dozens of jars, has been my quality control expert from the start, and has been there at every turn to remind me that yes I CAN. And finally, the rest of my immediate family. I know how cliche it sounds, but I really do have the most supportive family you could ask for. Each and every one of them has been there to support me when needed as well as celebrate my wins with me. I don’t know where I would be if I didn’t have so many people in my corner rooting for me, fighting for me, and picking me up when I feel like I can’t go on.

Website: https://sereneterrenecandleco.com

Instagram: @sereneterrenecandleco

Facebook: Serene Terrene Candle Co

Image Credits
Monica Renee | Her Branding Bestie