Passion project proves a winner for Melissa

Kiltimagh native Melissa Morley has always had a flair for entrepreneurship. After earning degrees in Communications and Marketing from DCU, she explored various career paths, from personal training to the pharmaceutical industry.

Despite her professional successes, she longed for more creative freedom. This desire led to the creation of her own candle business, Léan Candles, in 2023, born from a love for candles and a need for products suitable for asthma and pets.

With the support of the Mayo Local Enterprise Office and a fire in her belly, Melissa's passion project quickly blossomed.

I sat down to chat to Melissa about her new business.

Angelina: Melissa, thanks for talking to me. Tell me a little bit about yourself.

Melissa: I'm from Kiltimagh originally, and I've been living in Westport for the last few years. I went to school in Kiltimagh, then I went to DCU to do my Undergrad in Communications and then went on to do a Master's in Marketing and Digital Media. 

But I've always had a bit of a flair for being self-employed. Even throughout college, I started doing another degree in personal training and got into that as well. So even when I was working full time, I'd always have a little side hustle going for myself. I went through the years of working for somebody else and then working for myself as well. It's only this year that I took the plunge and went fully self-employed and Léan candles was born.

Angelina: Was there a reason you pursued the communication routes at third level, Melissa?

Melissa: I think I just fell into it. I always really loved media and DCU was renowned for its communications degree. I just went up to do that and loved it really. Then I did the Master's to specialise more in marketing and that area.

What I found when I came back to the West, there wasn't as many job opportunities in that area then as there is now. Everything was up in Dublin and my Mum had just passed away after I graduated, so it wasn't really on the cards for me to go to Dublin at that point. I wanted to be at home at that stage. 

So I did different jobs and got into the pharmaceutical industry and the personal training side of it and liked it, but didn't love it. And it was only maybe last year where I was working the nine to five, Monday to Friday, and I just thought, 'I can't do this anymore'. I decided I was going to do something new but didn't know what! 

One day I was messing around and I thought, 'I really like candles'. But I always found it very difficult to find candles that are suitable for my asthma and also suitable for my dogs because a lot of candles can aggravate their airways as well. So I said 'I'm going to try and learn how to make them myself'. And that's literally what happened.

Angelina: What was your next step - I'm sure it wasn't as simple as just deciding you were going to do it?

Melissa: I contacted Mayo Local Enterprise Office, which is an amazing resource to have, and they got me in touch with Padraig Considine, who runs the Start Your Own Business course. It's a six-week course on how to do business. So I started doing that and at the same time I was doing some market research. I was looking at what other people were doing with candles, what they were pricing them at and how I was going approach it. 

Even just trying to get a name for it was tough. It was a lot of kind of back and forth brainstorming, but I loved it because I was tapping into that creative side of me that I hadn't tapped into before. And Léan Candles was literally just born one day when I was going back over a lot of documents. I love Irish, I love speaking as Gaelige and my mum's name is Helen, so Léan is her name in Irish, but it also means ray of light. So I thought that's absolutely perfect because it's a bit of her and it's a bit of Irish, and it's a lovely sentiment. 

I just literally started experimenting. I would try different wicks, different jars, different wax, different scents until I was happy with it and then it just took off from there.

Angelina: Tell us more about that practical side of it.

Melissa: I just started researching what wax is the cleanest wax to use and what oils are the cleanest. So there's no fragrances. Everything is essential oil. And then what wicks will be best, which labels are best? Because everything is trial and error. 

Then I started doing a few markets with them. The first candle that I made was Bertra Beach because I love that beach and I bring the dogs there all the time. And then a lot of them have Irish words. For example, Imbolc which is the festival for St Bridget, and we have Maidin Gheal, which is bright morning in Irish. We have Máthair, which is Irish for Mother; Athair, Irish for Father; Teach Nua for a new house - I wanted the names for the candles to be really important. 

The fragrances that I use for them would be considered lucky. So lavender is meant to be a lucky herb, so is sandalwood and things like that. It's literally just sitting down and being like, okay, what's this candle? Where is it going to go to? What scent would I like it to be? And is there anything about a particular time of the year when a scent would be more relevant, like St Brigid's Day? 

So there is a lot of thought that goes into behind the scenes. It's not just a case of slapping a label on it - everything is really thought out. But I love that. And I feel that I can do whatever I want with it. The freedom to be so creative is amazing. 

So the markets did really well for me and then I started approaching a few businesses in the area. Hopkins' shop in Ballyhaunis was my first stockist. Then we went up to Harvey's Point for Valentine's Day and I called into Simple Simon's and they agreed to take some. NAMAWE in Westport took some, the Post Box Coffee Shop in Kiltimagh and that's really how it has taken off so far.

Angelina: Have you any particular plans or goals for the business over the next while, Melissa?

Melissa: My range started as candles, and it went to wax melts, bath salts, pillow sprays. Then I started doing roll-ons for sinuses and stuff for relaxation, things like that. I definitely want to extend that, but I want to get into more stockists and more shops. 

I'm so inspired by a lot of the women that I meet and a lot of the women that I follow. I met one lady at Bloom and she had a stall of her skincare brand there so I would love to have a stand at Bloom next year. But the business is only nine months old. So it's all very new. 

I launched on December 4th. Those two weeks before Christmas were crazy. I had bought a certain amount of stock, and I thought it would do me into the New Year but it was gone in the week. I didn't think it would go as well as what it did for me. But if you have enough fire in your belly, anything is possible.

Angelina: What does a typical day look like for you, Melissa?

Melissa: If I have an order in, it would take me around one to two weeks to complete because everything is handmade. I generally try to work more so in the evening and into the nighttime because during the day I like to walk my dogs, go for a run and volunteer at the Mayo SPCA. There are a lot of things to juggle. 

In the evening time, I would sit down and see what I need to get done. I'll see what I have available first and then what I need to start making. So I generally try to make a good big batch of stuff when I'm making it - I might make a hundred candles in one go and that might keep me going for a little while.

Angelina: How long would it take to produce a couple of hundred candles?

Melissa: That would take a couple of days. Once they're made and set, you leave them to cure for about three to five days. So it would take around a week. Then if there are any issues with anything, you have to address that too. Then everything needs to be labelled, packaged and shipped out. I hand deliver to all the stockists because I like to have that relationship with them. That's really important to me. I'd have a certain day maybe every month where I check in with the stockist to see how they are fixed. Then I'll have days I need to do social media content, the next day might be researching different scents or getting ahead for Christmas.

Angelina: What keeps you driven, Melissa?

Melissa: It's the freedom and independence. I really value my time because you can't get that back. Once the day is spent, that's it. Like, it's such a world of difference working for myself. I was worried at the time. I was really worried financially because I'm getting married. But I didn't want to be miserable coming up to my wedding either. I want to be happy, I want to be free, I want to be able to do what I want to do, and I have that now. And I have such a supportive partner who allows me to do that.

Angelina: What advice would you give someone thinking about taking a similar step to you?

Melissa: I would say contact your local enterprise board because they really do have so many resources. There are so many courses that they offer for starting your own business. They do mentorship as well. I would also say, don't rush into it. See what grants and resources are available. There is a lot of support there financially if you research it properly. And have the confidence in yourself and say if it works, it works, and if it doesn't, so what, at least you tried.