Meet Miss "Candle Ninja" Maria

 

First off, who the heck are you? What are some things people should know about you?

I’m Maria Schingeck, a mother to a beautiful girl and now pregnant with our boy, Ryder. A wifey to a handsome man. I’m very ambitious, love to help, adventure lover, and risk taker.

Originally, I moved here from Iran in 2006 with my family, during high school, when the country demanded all citizens give up Christianity and conform to Islamic traditions or be prosecuted. 

Arriving in America, I spent most of my life in Texas and moved to Georgia in 2018 to escape an abusive relationship while pregnant with my first daughter.

I managed to meet my (now) husband, Ryan, a month after moving here. We lived next to each other in the city just outside Atlanta.

Ryan was in the process of moving to the North GA Mountains and as our relationship progressed I would spend every weekend in the mountains. I loved the area and eventually I moved in with Ryan.

Months later we raised my daughter together, I went back to school for nursing and worked hard in various companies. 

 

What do you enjoy most about candle making?

Previously, I wanted to be a nurse because I love to help others, I was even attending school for it. Candles were originally something I could never have predicted I'd be doing.

After showing my husband some candles I made in the past with friends, he commented on how unique and interesting they were. I wanted to make new ones to decorate our house during the holidays. I loved doing it and little did I know at the time this was the start of my candle-making career.

Once I discovered my passion, it is now my everything.

When I’m making candles, it is like I’m in another world... sometimes I forget that I’m hungry or even standing for two hours straight. I love what I do.

The smells are amazing and the satisfaction of completing each beautiful candle drive me daily. Even better, through my business I found I was doing exactly what I wanted to do in my life: help others. 

I spent a year studying palm wax and perfecting my blend of wax & scents while testing many different wicks to produce some of the best candles I can. I decided to put my classes on hold and pursue this new path. By doing so I was able to really ignite my business and I couldn't be happier.

 

What is your roadmap like for Crafty Mountain Candle Co. Where do you want the business to go in the future?

I want us to have a storefront in our busy little tourist town within a few years. With your continued support hopefully I could make that happen in less than 5 years. I love making candles and definitely see myself building a one-of-a-kind candle empire that can also help others. Crafty Mountain is a unique brand and I want it to be known worldwide. 

 

A majority of big candle companies use paraffin wax or soy wax as an all-natural replacement, why did you chose palm wax?

Paraffin is toxic for your health and skin. It actually can cause cancer! I’m coming from a cancer family so I knew paraffin would never be good around my family. Soy wax is okay but I can’t decorate it or make a nice pillar out of it, it's just not strong enough, plus soy wax burns faster!

Palm wax was the best choice for me because I could design it the way I want to. It is natural, throws the smell much better, it burns longer, it burns clean... above all it has this beautiful glow when it’s burning through.

 

What is your process like when you start a new candle?

Palm wax temperature melt is at 200 degrees, which is significantly more than most wax types. Overall, each candle takes more color and more scent and is much more vicious in that regard. This is why many comment on how our candles tend to have the best scent. It's a harder and much more durable wax which stands great on its own. It takes almost 24 hours for the candle to cure before it can be removed from its mold. Once removed, we typically do a hand quality check and finishing touches with a heat gun to fix any imperfections.

 

How do you feel you're helping others through Crafty Mountain Candle Co.?

For instance, a number of my customers have asthma or even lower immunity after dealing with chemotherapy or other disease. Palm wax burns very clean so there are no issues with smoke, soot, or ashes.

A lot of people find us and personalize specific candles either because they were feeling homesick after a move and wanted a good-smelling candle designed after their favorite home football team. Many others could not tolerate most candles and were happy to once again be able to burn candles in their favorite scents.

Mentally and physically, there is a lot you can do to help others just by infusing some of their favorite & most memorable scents from their happiest moments in life. And couple those scents with specific colors or themes they enjoy the most.

 

You post a lot of photos of your daughter both inspecting your candles and helping deliver, anything you’d like to say about her in regards to your business?

She is so cute, curious, and loves candles. She will honestly sniff them all day! Haha

She loves being involved in what I do so usually I let her help me with whatever small tasks I can find.

My husband says she is our official quality assurance tester. If it passes her sniff test, we know it is ready to go!

 

What is your favorite candle and scent in your collection?

Oh.. lot of them

Mother’s love

Bubble gum

Lemon grass

Blueberry cobbler

Black Raspberry Vanilla

Sandalwood 

 

A lot of people may have been disappointed by many start-up stores online, what can you say to them to re-assure them that you’re great to work with? 

Read our client reviews on our website & even on Facebook or Instagram. We post every comment we receive. 

We genuinely care about our customers and what they receive. Anyone can sell a candle, but we sell something to genuinely touch those who order from us. We also have a very high standard on what we ship. Our candles are always handcrafted and hand checked thoroughly.

Even better, we offer a 100% guarantee in our store, if not happy, you will get your money back.