Have you ever met a person who didn’t love receiving a beautiful scented candle!? Especially when said candle has the most luxe packaging, is made of clean-burning coconut + apricot wax and lasts for 60 (or more) hours.

Insert Joe + Monroe! These glam scented candles have made their way straight to my heart and I am pretty sure I cannot live without them! They check all the boxes for me. Personally, I burn candles every single day — there’s no easier way to add a sense of luxury to day-to-day life, whether it’s an invigorating scent on my desk while I work or relaxing scent while I soak all my stress away in a hot bubble bath. I never think of beautifully-scented candles as extravagances… but more as essentials! But why not just embrace the fact that they can be both, then go ahead and scoop up a holiday gift or two for yourself! If you place your orders by December 15th (soon approaching) you will have it delivered by Christmas!

So why Joe + Monroe??

That’s a GREAT question!

Joe + Monroe provides eco-friendly, individually hand poured luxury scented candles. A luxurious vegan blend of natural apricot and coconut wax, their candles are infused with essential oils that sourced from all over the world. Providing an environmentally clean burn, their candles are gluten free, toxin free, paraben free, phthalate free and are made fresh to order!

And these aromas y’all!! I cannot get enough. Candle fragrance is one of the most defining characteristic of a candle. The fragrance oils used within their candles contain many natural aromatic ingredients. Their fragrance oils are highly concentrated with notes varying from florals, woods, citrus, and gourmands. They also use an array of essential oils that are 100% natural and are directly extracted from plants.

They are intoxicating!!!! And don’t even get me started on the wood wicks that provide a soft crackling sound as they burn reminding me of a fireplace! Their wooden wicks are manufactured in the USA, naturally processed and sourced from sustainable forests. Unlike cotton wicks, wooden wicks emit no harmful toxins, have little to no carbon build-up, debris or sooting.

Let’s just hear it from the lovely Joyaa herself.

I feel incredibly lucky for her to do this Q + A for me and be featured on my blog in my newest Black Owned column that I launched in June. I got to speak to her on the phone a few months ago and she is just a ray of sunshine and I know you will be so inspired by her!!!!!!!!!

Interview With Joyaa- Founder of Joe + Monroe

-Could you tell us a bit about yourself and your background?

My Name is Joyaa Cole, a millennial originally from Chicago, IL but I now reside in Houston Tx. I am a Mommy to a beautiful little girl named Jurnee Monroe. I am also a full time Project Manager in the IT/Healthcare Industry.

-How long have you been making your beautiful candles and how did you get started?

I made my first candle in 2014. It would take another 5 years before I decided to turn it into a business.

-Tell us about the candles.

Our luxurious Coco Apricot Crème wax is a vegan blend of natural apricot and coconut. Our wax is gluten free and comes from renewable sources. Infused with natural essential oils, our fragrances are free off phthalates and parabens!

-What is the process behind the production of your candles?

Each candle is , individually hand poured into a beautiful re-usable beautiful gold or black glass container. We use a very unique and precise formula to create our candles and we take pride in using environmentally clean materials. Once an order is placed, the candle is made fresh to order. For safety reasons, we follow a rigorous quality check process before our candles are shipped to our customers!

-Where does the inspiration for your scents come from?

Great question! Picking scents are so hard because there are soooo many great ones to choose from. We wanted our signature line to be well rounded and cater to majority of our audience, which is why we have a sultry vanilla, an earthy scent such as Palo Santo, a modern floral scent such as dark roses, a deep and full bodied scent such as Brandy Leather, and a fresh/citrus scent such as pineapple sage.

-What are some of your favorite scents?

It was truly hard to select only 5 to go within our signature line. Out of the entire signature line, I would have to say that Dark Roses is my favorite. It is a definitely a sexy and intriguing scent.

-What makes your candles unique?

First it would be our process in production. Making a Joe + Monroe candle is a very intricate and unique process. We also use a vegan Coconut apricot wax that is smooth and has a creamy white colour. Not to mention, our vessels are reusable and look amazing on any coffee table!

-How has your business grown over the years and did you expect its impact?

Oh my, when I first launched my goal was to only sale 5 candles! I totally set the bar low. I am happy to say that Joe + Monroe grossed about 10k the first month of launching and we are still growing! Above all, I am so grateful at the amount of support and positive feedback received. It really helps to motivate me to continue to do what’s required to expand the business.

-What is your favorite part of the creative process? Least favorite?

My favorite part is having the vision and developing the plan of getting there, I love crossing things off of my to-do list and seeing that I am one step closer to the goal. The least favorite would be the trial and error. In candle making there’s LOT of testing by trial and error before arriving at your final product.

-What does a basic day look like for you? Its long!

From about 5-5:45a I like to ride my peloton bike. If im not working out, I am working in my candle studio making candles and or packaging orders. I check and respond to emails for Joe + Monroe until about 6:00a. At 7:00a, I get my daughter ready for school and fix her breakfast and lunch then take her to school. I then start my full time job at 9am until it’s time to go pick up my daughter from school. Tired yet? lol

-How do you balance work and life as an entrepreneur?

Time Management! I struggled with that a lot in the beginning. But once I got myself on a schedule things weren’t so overwhelming.

-What are some of the unseen/unthought of details of candle making?

Understanding that it is truly a science, math and creating formulas is a must!

-Do you have any specific new scents this holiday season?!

Yes, we just launched a limited edition holiday candle as well as a new modern and minimalistic line with some new scents as well!

-Houston is such a packed diverse city; can you clue us in on some of your favorite spots?

My favorite restaurant is Brenner’s by the Bayou and pre-covid I enjoyed going to bar 5015 for drinks, or specialty cocktails wooster

-If you could give a piece of advice to someone who aspires to start their own business what would it be?

Plan! And if that plan doesn’t work, create a new one, and if that plan doesn’t work, create a new one! Never give up and don’t ever sell yourself short! Believe in your vision because others will ultimately believe in it as well!

-What are some things you hope for the future?

I hope that Joe + Monroe leaves a legacy behind for my family and generations to come. I dream of Joe + Monroe one day becoming a household name that everyone knows and is familiar with.

-Besides supporting Black-owned businesses, what do you think others can do to take action and show their support for the Black Lives Matter movement?

Speak up! Get involved with your local communities, become aware of the laws that impact the minority communities the most and use that to better understand the disparities that so often exists. Enlighten yourself, it is up to YOU to learn about systematic racism!

Sooooo soooo good! Gah..I love her!!!!!!!!

So as you guys cruise her site and start shopping…here are some of my personal favorites! I love the Minimalist Collection..that black vessel is just so sleek!!!!!

Pineapple Sage Candle- A versatile Tropical blend of fresh cut pineapples, green leaves, anise, and palm adds depth while earthy sage and sweet sugar round out the base. I keep this one on my desk because it is energizing and transports me to a relaxing place!

Dark Roses Candle-I can see why this would be one of Joyaa’s faves….it’s one of my favorites too. Sweet and sexy aromas of plum dance with notes of black roses and vanilla to round out this candle for a sultry floral experience. It is a perfect bedroom candle!!!! ( if you get my drift)

Palo Santo Candle- Warm woods and hints of cassis nectar mingle to provide the reminiscence of palo santo. I absolutely love this one in my bathroom! I brun it while I relax in the tub with Vogue and a glass of wine

Brandy Leather Candle- This one is Lin’s fave. Pleasing to both masculine and feminine sensibilities, this elegant scent begins with hints of orange and bergamot while rosemary enhances the natural essence. Patchouli and tobacco round out the base for a beautiful, deep character.

Cashmere Vanilla Candle- A true sexy and warm vanilla, elevated by woody cashmere and sweet amber, and rounded out with slightly detectable notes of fruity citrus.

Joyaa always offers free shipping on all orders over $100, no code necessary. So happy shopping everyone!!!!

https://joeandmonroe.com/