We had the good fortune of connecting with Desiree’ Johnson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Desiree’, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I’ve always had a love for candles and the thought of creating a candle business was never on my mind. During the pandemic, I was teleworking and had a stash of candles that I would burn while working. I began to run out of candles and our local mall opened up. I was so happy to go in Bath and Body Work to rack up on candles. When I got there, the crowd was a bit too much for me though. People were everywhere, customers were frustrated, there was a limited candle selection, workers not knowing if things would restock, and etc.

As I was riding home, I wondered what all it would take to make a candle. I was getting close to graduating and knew my free time would open back up so I began researching and created Desired Esscentials!

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I’m a woman in tech. I’ve always loved technology and love the many different paths you can take with a degree in Information Technology. When you mention IT to people, the first thing they say is “I can’t code all day” but I love doing it. I started working with my job through a shadow program. I got to tour all four of the IT sections and immediately fell in love with one of the sections.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
It’s so many places to eat here in Tallahassee. That’s kind of hard to choose as far as a favorite spot. There’s Coosh’s, Madison Social, Walk On’s, Harry’s, Table 23, The Edison, and so much more.

I do know that on Thursday night we would go to Skate World for adult night just to remember the times when we would go while we were in middle school.

If it’s football season, we would go to a game if FAMU or FSU was playing in town.

As for night life, Zingales is a spot that people go to for drinks and to shoot some pool.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My husband and mother would be the ones getting a shoutout. I would ask them to test every single candle that I made and they never got tired of trying new candles. At times, I would and still get frustrated while trying to trust the process as a small business owner. Whenever I begin to doubt myself, they always find a way to encourage me and bring me out of that doubtful phase. They also come up with some good suggestions for Desired Esscentials as well.

Website: www.desiredesscentials.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/desiredesscentials

Twitter: www.twitter.com/desiredesscents

Facebook: www.facebook.com/desiredesscentials

Image Credits
Desiree’ Johnson

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