84 Candles Later, She’s Still Going

Melinda Olah is the founder, creator and designer behind her hand-poured candle brand, The Candleist. Her love for candle-making has taught her some valuable life lessons about self-improvement, motivation, and, most importantly, never giving up on her dreams.

As a creative myself, I could relate to that. I love what I do, but I've also had plenty of moments where things didn't go the way I wanted them to. I think having the right mindset to keep moving forward, regardless of whether things are going well or not, is something we can all learn from.

When I work with people like Melinda, I love capturing more than just the finished product. I want to see the person behind it.

There's something interesting about watching someone work with their hands, seeing how they approach what they do, the little details they pay attention to, and the expressions they make along the way. These are the things that, to me, make a brand feel more human.

So, instead of simply photographing or filming the candles, we decided to show Melinda actually making them.

Melinda picked some of her favourite and most popular candle pieces, and we got straight to work.

I focused on the little things—the pouring, the preparation, the details, and the way she worked. I also wanted to capture her expressions and personality along the way, because I didn't want the video to be just about candles.

I wanted it to feel like Melinda.

The video eventually led to one of my favourite parts of the whole project: Melinda sharing her story about the “84 candle” rule.

The idea is simple: make 84 candles before starting a business.

It's really about commitment, patience, and giving yourself enough time to learn before expecting things to work out.

I liked that because, in a way, it applies to almost anything we do. Sometimes, we give up too early simply because we're not seeing the results we want.

Maybe we just need to make a few more candles.

Thanks for reading!