I’m Lakeisha, the owner of Lux+Soul. I am a public school dance educator by day and a mompreneur by night (and the weekend). I have taught dance for 27 years and even at one point briefly owned a dance studio, so this isn’t my first “rodeo” at business ownership.

I didn’t stick with the studio very long because I opened it up in 2008. At that time, there was a big economic recession in America. Gas prices were high and inflation was rearing its ugly head.

My studio was about 20 miles from my original customer base so I saw my already low student numbers, began to dwindle down before my eyes. I was devastated. Although the studio didn’t work out, I left with many gems. I now knew what to do to start a business and what not to do in order to avoid premature closure and sustain my operations.

Once COVID happened, we were all forced to stay home. It was a trying time for everyone. Fear, lack of knowledge of the disease, and mental fatigue was the universal effect for everyone. I had a lot of time to reflect, get educated, and be motivated, even though the sadness of family/friends perishing. I have always been a lover of candles. They have always helped me set my space up for comfort and peace.

Many were burned during the “COVID break”. I burned them so much, I didn’t have any more! I looked around my home and saw so many beautiful empty candle vessels and I thought to myself, ‘I wonder if I could make my own candles?’ After researching, reading, and watching Youtube videos, I decided to give it a try. It was not as easy as I thought it was. Calculations of fragrance oils to wax and weighing of the wax and vessels had my eyes crossed.

I wanted to give it up. But, God blessed me to have married a husband who is an award-winning Math teacher. He and my amazing smart daughter formed a team and helped me do calculations. They even created a formula and chart specifically for my candle production.

Once I tried and tested my creations I knew I would be able to turn them into a business. I never thought that being a lifelong dance artist/educator would turn into me being a chandler/business owner. I always knew I would be a business owner again, but never in my thoughts came the idea of making candles.

I’m so glad I did because I absolutely love it!