CINCINNATI — A lot of people have taken up new hobbies since the beginning of the pandemic, whether it’s baking or reading or a new way to work out, but for one University of Cincinnati student, a new hobby turned into a full-fledged business.
What You Need To Know
- Mia Santos is a freshman at the University of Cincinnati studying biology
- At the beginning of quarantine, Santos and her mom took an online course on how to make candles, something they were always interested in learning
- Santos makes clear gel candles that show underwater fish bowl scenes as well as realistic food candles
- Her business and Etsy page soon took off and she's not shipped to almost all 50 states
Mia Santos seems like the typical freshman in college.
“My hardest class, so far, would be general chemistry two," Santos said. "I’m kind of struggling at the beginning but I think I just need to focus more on that class.”
But Santos isn’t the typical college student. She’s also a business owner. Santos and her mom, Susan, started Illuminated, a candle business, at the start of quarantine.
“I always say, we’re fortunate for the quarantine, but we’re fortunate to find it in the quarantine, something to do with our time," Susan Santos said.
That’s how she started making popular fishbowl candles using a gel wax to create the see-through effect.
“It’s just cooler to have scenes in our candles and be able to see right through them," Santos said.
But making these intricate candles are no joke. Just melting the wax takes 20 minutes.
“The gel wax takes a lot longer than the sort wax just because it’s a higher density," Santos said.
Not to mention all the time it takes to find the items that go into the candles. Despite the work, pouring the wax over the tropical scene is always worth it. But it took a lot of mistakes to get to this point.
“It doesn’t really have the sunset effect that a real one has where it just fades into the sky," Susan explained. "So, it was a fail.”
Those failures have led to growth- with the popularity of the fish bowls and food candles, Santos’ business grew fast.
“We sold all over Cincinnati and to just took off," Santos said.
Now Illuminated has its own Etsy page. And while growing her business, Santos has had to learn new skills like photography and building a following on social media. All while balancing her first year as a college student.
“It’s just time management, I try to get my schoolwork done first and then fulfill my orders everyday so I don’t get behind," she said.
Which is something her mom says makes her proud as she continues to grow her business.
“I couldn’t be prouder that she’s making it happen," Susan said. "And she’s ambitious.”