Happy Monday & Happy Memorial Day! Hope you have a lovely day with friends & family!

Welcome to our Live Brave Series!  Real women – Real stories – Real Bravery.

Today I am so blessed to welcome a special guest! I had the privilege to meet her & attend her session at a creative business retreat – Dream Rock hosted by Craft Culture.

I was immediately struck by her sweet spirit & authenticity. Her story & journey within her business Makana really inspired me to Live Brave & was a part of beginning this series!

Aloha everyone! My name is Romely and I am very grateful to Candi for allowing me this opportunity to share what Living Brave means to me! It’s inspiring to read so many incredible stories and I am honored to be able to share my journey with you.

In 2008, I went in for an annual check-up and was referred to an oncologist due to an abnormal level of platelets. I had a cancer scare and was told to start on an oral chemotherapy treatment right away.

I was extremely frightened and after I left the doctor’s office that day, I headed to the drug store to get the prescription filled. But something stopped me from even walking into the drug store.

My mom passed away from cancer a few years before, and because of the negative experiences she had with medical care, I learned that we should all be an advocate for our own health and to educate ourselves before making a decision.

I decided to get a second opinion and saw another oncologist who said to hold off on treatment and to closely monitor the blood panels for now.

I did a lot of research and learned about toxic ingredients that are present in many products that we use daily – from laundry detergents to toothpaste to food that we eat to candles. I burned candles frequently, and after researching, I learned that candles emit toxic chemicals when burned, some of them carcinogenic.

Fast forward a few months later, I was determined to create a healthy alternative and start making my own eco-friendly candles as a fun hobby.

My love for candles and creativity turned into tireless research and experimentation – my home kitchen became a fragrant apothecary and workshop filled with a variety of natural waxes, botanical oils and plant-based wicking.

Because of my love for Hawai’i, and being trained in traditional hula and wearing fresh tropical leis for performances, I wanted to share the captivating scents that are true to the blossoms and fruits of the islands. Soon my tiny candle-making corner of the kitchen spread to the rest of the house.

My biggest advocate and supporter, my husband Josh, also joined me by creating beautiful graphics for our packaging and our overall brand aesthetic. Together we officially launched our candle brand, Makana. As we got busy, we moved into our first commercial space in Laguna Beach, CA near our home.

There was one company that I dreamt of carrying our candles – Whole Foods. It took several attempts for me to drop off samples because I feared to hear the word “No”. In fact, I remember driving to my local Whole Foods, parking my car and turning around to go back home.

This happened a few times until I gathered enough courage to go inside and drop off a sample package. After a follow-up call, the Whole Foods buyer on the other line was ecstatic and she placed an order the next day.

Lesson learned – just try and who knows what might happen!

Today, I am so grateful to have my candles carried at southern California Whole Foods locations as well as select Northern California Whole Foods locations, as well as luxury resorts, spas, specialty stores and natural markets nationwide.

Makana means gift in Hawaiian. This word is fitting for our company name because this journey has been a gift and blessing to me in so many ways.

The cancer scare allowed me to look past the negative and focus on what I can positively do for myself and community in order to be healthy.

This experience has also allowed me to share the gift of aloha – unconditional love, gratitude, respect and kindness – through my candles by hiring disabled citizens in our business and partnering with charities and donating to worthwhile causes. In all things, we focus on giving aloha to our customers, colleagues, employees and friends.

Growing up, the word brave wasn’t one that most people would have used to describe me, and still to this day it’s not the first adjective I’d use for myself.

In fact, I was a very shy girl who often got bullied and pushed around, maybe because I was small or quiet or really didn’t bother anyone.

But I knew I had it in myself to one day be able to speak up. I just didn’t know how and when things would manifest.

It goes to show that we all have courage within ourselves. If I can do it; you can too.

We have only one life to live and why not be brave every day in order to live life to the fullest, in order to be healthy and in order to be happy and make someone happy?

Those who love you and support you will always be by your side.

Those who don’t care for you — well it doesn’t really matter does it?