Meet Lea Davis | Candle Consultant & Intentional Candle Brand Owner

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

Hi Lea, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I started my business as a junior in college, and it began as a deep yearning to be financially free and build generational wealth after graduating. I didn’t want to “struggle” or keep chasing the next job that paid more money all while not being able to live in my purpose, give value to those around me or be in a place to afford my children to do exactly what they want in life without money or mindset being a barrier. I wanted to create a natural body care line because growing up my family and I were always buying natural products and using them in our natural remedies to combat and overcome various health and wellness issues. I knew I wanted to continue doing this and share some of these recipes with others who were unaware of how to live a more holistic lifestyle outside of diet. That’s exactly what I did. A few months into creating and testing some of these products like body butters, body oils and soaps, I learned about wax. This took me down the rabbit hole on Google, where I learned about about paraffin wax, soy wax, beeswax and more. I was saddened by articles that were continuously pulling up and outlining all the disadvantages of paraffin wax, a wax that majority of candles are made with and sold in stores. I had to make a difference because I was always burning candles, and I know other family and friends were too without this knowledge. My vision began to change. I felt that I could incorporate candles in a new light into my brand. Not only did I want to create candles that were eco-friendly, but also were seen as a change agent. Soy wax candles that were encouraging, empowering and positive. Candles that people could intentionally use a part of their day to day routine that promote conversations around awareness, intentionality and love. And then Sankofa Essentials was birthed and has been providing value ever since.

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.
From wanting to be a teacher as a kid and playing every sport school was able to offer to graduating as a Computer Science major and building an intentional candle brand is what sets me a part from the others. It’s not about what I wanted to do or how much I wanted to make, it’s always been about my experiences and the impact that I would be able to have by just sharing what I’ve been through. That’s what Sankofa Essentials is all about. Sankofa means to take what you’ve learned in your past and apply it to your future. This transformation can happen in many ways – through self-reflection, trials and tribulations, traumatic experiences, pain endured, hurdles overcame and so much more. I wanted Sankofa Essentials to ignite a flame of awareness, intentionality and love and really be a brand, a space and a vessel that these conversations could take place. I love making candles, and although many don’t see the correlation in all the things I’ve done previously to now; I do, and I believe everything in life is connected. It’s all relative. My inner child’s love for teaching can now be fulfilled through having a candle brand and now showing others how to create quality candles for their business. I loved playing sports because you get together with your counterparts and you collaborate to get to the same end goal. In this business, collaboration is everything to me, and I’m always looking for new opportunities to work with other businesses. Computer science was a challenge when I took it on, but that elevated my already intuitive thought-process. I get to apply all of the concepts learned in school and in corporate to create systems and incorporate process-improvement into my business. Everything is relative! If I could leave anything here today, I would tell people to use their past experiences to fuel their future not dim it or slow it down. Document every step of the way and share those lessons learned because you never know who needs to hear what you have to say. Sankofa Essentials is all about empowering the people, spreading love and positivity, and it starts with where you are right now. You don’t have to change first, you have to become the change.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I absolutely love Atlanta! It’s like a melting pot of all different types of people and things to do. First, we’d have to eat of course. Being that I’m from Ghana and I love spicy food, I would pick an African Restaurant like Ike’s or Fufu Catering Kitchen & Grill. Now that we’re all full, we can go grab drinks at APT 4B or Virgils Gullah. Although I do love night-life, I wouldn’t suggest going to a club, I would take my best friend to a comedy show for a good laugh. Uptown Comedy Corner or Kat’s Cafe have a great vibe. The next day would be all about self-love and getting grounded. Brunch at Toast on Lenox is a must before we head over to Piedmont Park for a picnic and mimosas. That’ll give us someone one on one time to really connect and catch up. After that, we’d definitely go to a mall or a few small boutiques, stop by the Koncept House to do a self-care experience and give them a tour of Sankofa Studio. Lastly, we’d go checkout my favorite hidden gems in Atlanta which are the hiking trails that lead to a river or a waterfall where we can listen to Mother Nature after a long and fun weekend. A nice cultural, soulful and versatile weekend, and that’s why I love Atlanta.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I don’t know where I’d be if it weren’t for my mother’s superwoman capabilities and my dad’s mindset. These two have been monumental in shaping who I am today. My mother’s ability to care for others, give unlimited support to whatever endeavors pursued and have this “keep going” persistancy and aura about her is truly why I am the person I am today. She gave me life, continues to support me in unimaginable ways and resembles a phenomenal woman. Growing up, my dad had this super discipline and powerful mindset that kept him separated from the rest – family and peers. He instilled different philosophies around wellness and financial freedom that if I hadn’t really grasped at a young age would’ve been extremely hard to restructure the way my mind processed and analyzed things in today’s economy and society. Seeing these two influence me heavily is what urged me to take bigger risks, adopt a money mindset all whilst making sure to build something that had deeper purpose and meaning to carry and care for those before us and after us (just like my mom!).

Website: https://sankofaessentials.com

Instagram: https://instagram.com/sankofaessentials?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sankofa-essentials

Twitter: https://x.com/sankofae_?s=21&t=WBYs12VoIb8zLuAbmIz3Jg

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063981135430&mibextid=2JQ9oc

Yelp: https://yelp.to/NBvIau9Ivi

Other: http://www.tiktok.com/@sankofaessentials