Today we’d like to introduce you to Daniel & Janyne Barcia. They share their story with us below:
olent is a home fragrance company owned and operated by Danny & Janyne Barcia. As individuals and as a couple, scents have held such a special place in our hearts…we love candles…we love them in our home, we pack them in our suitcases and always give them as gifts. One of the reasons is that there are fragrances that remind us of our loved ones near and far, fragrances that remind us of trips that we’ve taken (or dream of taking), and fragrances that remind us of our favorite places (the beach) and being home.
Like so many others, during the pandemic, we spent a considerable amount of time at home and as we were purchasing new candles for our home (from many of the companies we had purchased from for years), we were amazed to find out that they contain toxic ingredients. It is so easy for all of us to do this in the world that we live in because we, as consumers, trust that manufacturers would not sell us something that was harmful…I digress. As we began researching how to make better candles for our home, we became impassioned to not only make them for ourselves but to produce clean, non-toxic home fragrance products for others to enjoy with their friends and families. Our goal is to produce esthetically pleasing products that deliver on fragrance and are not harmful.
Business planning, extensive research and product testing began in September 2021. In November 2021, Danny quit his long-time career in private wealth management to dedicate more time and attention to handcrafting olent products. Janyne continues to work part-time as a registered nurse and assists Danny at every opportunity that she has.
olentshop.com launched June 1, 2022, with 100% soy candles in 4 classic fragrances. Now, olent has 100% soy candles along with a linen & room spray line in 11 fragrances. Two additional fragrances will be added in the month of October. Final testing is in progress for reed diffusers and wax melts. Primarily, we sell from our website, maker’s markets, and soon popups in West Elm. We look forward to one day seeing our olent fragrance products in boutiques, hotels, salons, and spas.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Every road is challenging…our biggest challenge has been quality control. So much research has gone into selecting each component… from our packaging, to our labels, and the products themselves are of the highest quality and are non-toxic and recyclable. It would be very easy to pick inferior products (and honestly, more cost-effective) but we strive to keep with our goal.
Another challenge has been soy wax!!! Anyone that works with soy wax knows that it is difficult to delivery on fragrance, but it can be done. We don’t skimp on time, testing and quality oils. We want to deliver a product that is good for you but carries a fragrance.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
We love the emotions, memories and thoughts that our fragrances evoke for us. We wish that we had more time or could better explain how personal each of the fragrances and their names are.
Secondly, because it is so personal for us, we LOVE to hear/see others responses to our fragrances. Nothing makes us happier to hear their expression of who, where or what the fragrance did for them.
What does success mean to you?
Success in business is producing and selling a product that we are proud of. Sharing a piece of ourselves with others and for them to appreciate the value. Of course, success would also be for olent to be our sole focus financially. The goal is for one day, Janyne to be able to join Danny full-time in the daily operations of olent.
But of greater importance is success in life: to be at peace in a loving relationship with our Creator, to take care of our beautiful earth and to be surrounded by a community of family and friends globally.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.olentshop.com
- Instagram: @olentshop
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/olentshop
Image Credits
J Whitt Photography
