Today we’d like to introduce you to Marissa Bobkowski.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
As soon as I graduated from college, I started traveling through Central America. You could say I never looked back. I held odd job after odd job saving up money just to travel again. In true movie fashion, I met a man at a bar who told me about a job where you could take people on active travel vacations. Three months later, I got hired and began taking people on cycling trips in California, Hawaii, Wyoming, and Italy. This fueled my passion for travel even more. I spent my winters in Nicaragua running hotels and my summers cycling, drinking wine, and meeting fantastic people. After almost five years living in a suitcase, I was looking for a place to call home. I moved to LA and started working in Event Operations at Red Bull. My accumulative experience of odd jobs made this role an easy transition from my transient life. I still crave the travel life, but for now it is nice to have a place to call home.
As a music major in college, I always had an affinity for the arts and making things with my hands. When traveling, I had an obsession with candles. Candles represented being settled to me, having a place to rest your head, owning things that can stay in one place. They were something you could start and finish in the same place. I also loved poetry, I had trouble with a stream of conscious type of writing and found it easier to express myself through short poems. Making candles is an expression of my writing and my travels. I hope that each candle can create a moment in time through their short poems.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
While many people find it difficult to transition to a travel lifestyle, I found it was difficult to transition to a more settled life. While traveling is amazing and I hope to go back to that life, I found I used the novelty of traveling to mask other issues I was dealing with in my personal life. It was easy to keep going and not face your problems.
I started traveling before social media glamourized remote work, taking a year off, and nontraditional jobs. During that time, it was difficult for me to get job interviews/be taken seriously by peers and parents. Once I was able to secure a full-time job, it took me over a year to adjust to my new life.
I am constantly looking to express myself in new ways as I can no longer travel as regularly. I only just started sharing my poetry. It was difficult with me to share that part of myself.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Written Candle Co – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
I started making candles over a year ago as I realized I could make something I spend so much money on. I started giving them as gifts at dinner parties, I would write little quotes and poems that reminded me of my friends. People began to ask for them constantly, so I began selling them. Settling on Haikus as the quote. My haikus are simple yet effective narratives about the scents or moments in time I am trying to evoke.
What started as an experiment has blossomed into something more. I am constantly learning and growing every day. The process sometimes moves faster than I can keep up with. Until events come back, I am happy to focus my energy elsewhere.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
When events return, I may not be able to continue to focus on candles as my travel schedule will be full-on. I am currently taking courses in better my writing. I am hoping poetry can continue to be a passion for years to come.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @written.candle.co
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