Meet Isabel Alvarez of Albisa Candles

Thanks for sharing your story with us Isabel. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I began making candles because I wanted to find a green vanilla-scented candle. I couldn’t find one, so I thought I would try to make it myself. I read a couple books and finally bought a kit. I experimented a lot to find the right combination of scents. I made them for my friends and family as gifts and eventually, people started asking me if they could buy them.

I met my husband Albert and he saw the passion I had for creating these gorgeous candles. He told me I needed to make this a business. I had never been able to think of a name until that moment. Albisa came to me. It is the first part of his name Alb and my nickname Isa. Together we are Albisa. We are both first-generation Cuban Americans. Our parents made a huge sacrifice leaving their home country of Cuba to give us a better life. We knew we wanted to share our beautiful Cuban culture with the world through scent.

I began to mix oils knowing I wanted to create the perfect scent to represent Cuba, but I wasn’t sure what that was. So when my sister Elaine came to me and told me she wanted a vintage Cuba wedding. I knew I had to create the perfect scent. My father and both my husband’s parents are from La Habana, Cuba. So I created Havana nights, which will walk you through a steamy night in the sultry and mysterious city of Havana. Spinning you onto the dance floor and tantalizing you with the sophisticated scent of exotic amber vetiver and notes of wood and musk fused herbs. A touch of smokey tobacco, sweet leather and cedarwood. It was a huge hit. Everyone asked about the party favor candle and when they could buy it.

It would take two years before anyone would be able to buy it. I wanted to create a collection not just one candle. Since I created a scent for my dad and both of my husband’s parents I knew I had to create something for my mom. My mom was born in Tinguaro… (pronounced… Teen-guar-oh)… which is a small town in the Province of Matanzas, Cuba. I grew up always hearing wonderful stories of her and my aunt’s childhood. They were very poor but that didn’t stop them from running around and playing in the sunshine. Tinguaro  is a fresh clean scent will take you to a simpler time in the countryside where the gentle breeze will bring out the smell of sunshine and clean linens.

The third scent I knew had to be something great to tie it all together. It came to me when my husband was having “pan con cafe” with our son, a tradition that started with his father when he was a little boy. I knew it had to be Cuban bread because it’s one of the most comforting scents in the world for us. So my quest began to make a candle that when your eyes are closed, you are able to smell the delicious butter toasty bread.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
This journey has not been easy. It has taken me years of testing and failing  re-testing to finally find the combination that works. My family and I have made many sacrifices like waking up at 4:00 am to be at a market all day in the heat on Saturday and Sunday. Or not going to that family event because I have a deadline and need to stay home and finish making things…and that is just to name a few. There are so many sleepless nights. Days filled with so many emotions. In one day I can wake up feeling like I can do anything and I am going to make a million dollars that day. Then something happens and I think… “Oh….I can’t do this!” Then someone sends me a picture of the candle they love or I get a review telling me how much that candle means to them… and I am right back at “oh yes!! I got this!!”  Until a candle I am testing that I was sure will work, fails in some way and I think “I will never sell another thing again.” Then I go to bed, get some rest and start the madness all over again.So no, this journey has not been easy, but the challenges have made me appreciate the success that much more.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Albisa Candles story. Tell us more about the business.
I hand pour all of our products. I not only make candles, but I created a formula for a body balm that helps with extremely dry skin. It’s amazing and at some markets I actually sell more body balms than candles. You really have to try it.  All of our products are carefully and lovingly made in our home studio which is code for my garage and kitchen. At Albisa we celebrate our Cuban heritage by bringing nostalgia into the modern-day through senses. I infuse my own positive energy into the process to bring you an experience full of wonderful memories and positive light. Our Cuban bread candle is our best seller and I believe it is because it truly brings you a great memory of family and all the joy that comes with sitting at the kitchen table with that warm buttery bread at the center.

Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
Yes, I feel like being seen by the right people on social media was the best kind of luck I have received. Once the Cuban collection came out, my sister Elaine went on an Instagram tagging frenzy. She tagged all the Cuban influencers she could. She got the attention of Marta Darby a Cuban lifestyle blogger and creator of My big fat Cuban family blog. Who I have now dubbed my Cuban Fairy Godmother.  She loved our Cuban bread candle and reposted it on to instagram. That got the attention of Carlos Frias a reporter for the Miami Herald. He reached out  to me and wrote a beautiful story about our Cuban bread candle and that helped so many people know we existed. The candle industry is gigantic. There are a lot of great candles on the market. I have to make sure to make more than just a good product. I have to make a connection with people and the best way I know to do that is to bring them happy and sometimes sad memories with scents that celebrate our Cuban heritage and connect with the people who really appreciate it.