Young Mary’s Candles – Sharing the ‘Sheer Beauty’ of Africa with the World

Young Mary’s was founded by Lola Jemibewon, a Nigerian-American now living in the UK. Growing up she visited Nigeria often, and eventually moved there as an adult for work – and the more she saw of Africa, the more she knew she had to share her love of the beautiful continent with people around the world.

We spoke with Lola to find out how her experiences and her heritage have shaped her candle-making business, what the future holds for Young Mary’s Candles and more! Keep reading to find out.

Where in the US are you originally from, and how did you end up moving to Nigeria? How has living in multiple places around the world influenced Young Mary’s?

Young Mary's is an extension of myself and the different experiences I've been lucky enough to have so far in life. I grew up in Maryland, which is on the East Coast of the US - not too far from Washington, D.C. but I'm a child of the diaspora. Both my Mom and Dad are originally from Nigeria which meant I grew up with one foot in Africa; visiting grandparents, aunts and uncles and cousins. The vibrancy of our foods, culture and music were all parts of my identity growing up, yet my American friends seemed to only equate Africa with poverty. 

This disconnect grew stronger as I got older and ended up moving to Nigeria for work. I had the opportunity to travel throughout the continent and became even more aware of the sheer beauty of the countries and needed a way to share it. Young Mary's is my way of doing that. Young Mary's exists to share and inspire stories about a part of the world we sometimes overlook. We're here to help people engage and learn about the Motherland. Our very name encompasses this. Mary was my grandmother, who was born in Nigeria and raised me when I was young.

Your website mentions how you’ve been to a quarter of the African continent - that’s amazing! What is your favourite place you’ve ever visited, and why?

This is an easy one! To me the most beautiful place in the world is Zanzibar. The blue of the water, the white of the sand - it's impossible to describe. It's paradise. Zanzibar also has a really eclectic history which you really feel walking down the streets of Stone Town. It's a confluence of so many cultures which is reflected in its people, food and the languages spoken. It's simply brilliant. And actually, the more I think about it you might have just given me an idea for our newest candle!

Can you walk our readers through how a typical Young Mary’s candle is made?

Young Mary's candles are completely made by hand, in small batches. We start with our wax, which is a specially blended formula that insures we can produce strong smelling candles that pack a punch (our candles aren't delicate, you notice them). Next we add our fragrance oils, which is the heart of what we do. All of our oils are infused with natural essential oils and we spend a lot of time and care choosing manufacturers that adhere to our business ethos. It's important for us to use oils that are sustainably produced and cruelty free. They also need to be unique. Our candles represent some pretty interesting places, many off the beaten track so it's important for us to use scent combinations you won't find anywhere else. They need to have an edge to them, a wow factor to help us tell our stories.

Of all the scents you’ve created, which is your favourite and why?

I like to say I love all Young Mary's fragrances equally, but the truth is Fez has a special place in my heart. It's a really unique fragrance that I'm very proud of. There's some tonka in it, which is really similar to vanilla so It's warm and comforting but it also has that edge I mentioned earlier. There's something special you can't quite put your finger on, like wandering through an ancient street where you don't know what's around the corner. I burn a Fez candle almost every week.

What values are most important to you when manufacturing your candles, and how do these values guide your choices as a business?

Young Mary's is here to tell stories and share the beauty of Africa AND the company is named after my grandmother. This reality is behind every single decision we make as a business. What would my grandma think? This isn't a gimmick, it's the driving force behind what we do. 

This means quality is paramount. We don't cut corners. We make sure our business partners and manufacturers adhere to the highest quality standards possible, the same standards we hold ourselves to. We support small and local businesses whenever we can. We source as many products from indigenous African producers as we can. Sustainability is a no brainer for us and a fundamental part of all our business practices. You don't have to ruin the Earth to be successful. We want to leave as small a footprint as possible and limit our environmental impact. From our candle jars and tins to our diffuser bottles and wax melt clamshells, all of our products come in containers that are 100% recyclable. Having vegan products was also important to us, my grandmother loved animals and even kept her own chickens. If I'm going to use her name, then I have a responsibility to make sure everything Young Mary's does is done honestly and with integrity. I have to create products she'd be proud of. 

Has the pandemic affected Young Mary’s at all? What are your plans going forward, as a business, to adapt to this “new normal” as lockdown is lifted?

The biggest impact of the pandemic on Young Mary's has been the closure of markets and popups. We're still a very small business so getting to interact with other businesses and meet potential customers face to face was always really valuable to us and something I also really enjoyed doing. Unfortunately, that's just not possible right now. We're fortunate that we've been able to rely on online sales and have seen such great support as more and more people look to find small and local businesses online. I think this is a change that's here to stay though, so in the coming months this is where we'll be focusing a lot of effort. 

We're going to be making some improvements on our website, making sure it's as user friendly as possible and things are easy to find. We're also becoming a lot more active on social media, trying to create stronger dialogue with customers and share more about the work we do. Joining TheVeganKind has been a huge part of this. We're really proud to come on board and join a community of brands with such strong and positive business philosophies. Hopefully as we all settle into this “new normal” Young Mary's will be able to continue to grow. 

I am really looking forward to markets making a slow comeback though, especially as we move into autumn and the official start of candle season!

Young Mary’s vegan candles and wax melts are now stocked at TheVeganKind Supermarket, in a range of spectacular scents – named after Lola’s favourite places in Africa! Find out more about Young Mary’s at @itsyoungmarys on Instagram.