Check Out Connie Burgess’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Connie Burgess

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Eleaments is a tribute my Grandmother, Eleanor. She was a lover of beautiful things and a maker herself. Eleaments didn’t happen over night, I come from a large Italian family and this is something that we talked about for years, at family gatherings and around our dinner tables. Throwing ideas off each other, asking my Grandma for her input and hitting all sorts of events and markets with my grandma, mom, Aunts and cousins. Then in 2017, a few years after Eleanor passed, we decided to just go for it. My Aunt and I signed up to be vendors at Eastern Market – this was meant to be, it was on those very same streets that my grandma had gotten her start at her family’s produce company. Even though we were selling candles and gifts as opposed to tomatoes and cucumbers, we could feel her energy around us every weekend when we set up. We grew and we learned what worked and what didn’t, we made friends and we were starting to make a name for ourselves and then 2020 happened. But that’s not the end of our story, because Eleanor would have never let something like that defeat her. Instead we would spend hours on FaceTime and Marco Polo bouncing ideas and shifting the plan to something we could do at home without taking up too much space but without compromising on our standards. Bingo bango, Eleaments was born with one mission – to create clean luxury candles that Eleanor herself would have proudly put her name on. Eleanor is a piece of us all and collectively we are Eleaments.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I believe that when you’re building something of course there will be struggles, otherwise you aren’t giving it your all. But we were taught that hiccups come and go, you need to work diligently, be honest, do it all with integrity but most importantly believe in yourself and love what you are doing. So when candle sales slow down in the warmer months, instead of getting discouraged, we take that time to recharge because come September or October, we won’t know if we’re coming or going.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am the chief candle maker at Eleaments. Our luxury candles are hand poured in small batches using coconut apricot wax, clean fragrances and wood wicks. What makes Eleaments different is that this company is truly an extension of our family, and I take pride in every single candle that goes out the door. I remember when my son was in Kindergarten, they were virtual, and his teacher had asked everyone to find something that was round in their house. One of his classmates held up a candle and unbeknownst to anyone, it was one of ours. The beaming smile that came across my sons face followed by “my mom made that” was for years one of my proudest moments, only to be beat when he begged me to talk to his class 2 years later for an economics lesson. It makes it all worthwhile to be able to show my children and niece and nephews that anything is possible with a little hard work.

Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
Don’t give up. If you truly believe in your idea or product or store, don’t give up. Surround yourself with people that are there for you and other entrepreneurs. Don’t be afraid to learn a new perspective, when you are so close to something, it can get hard to see outside of what you know. If somebody offers you advice, think about it. You don’t have to take it, but it might be a good idea or at least get your thought process going again.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.eleaments.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eleaments
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EleamentsDetroit/