Loren Found Her Escape From Her Full Time Career -- The Craft Of Beeswax Candles & CBD Oils

"I love burning candles. I've always got one going and then I kind of you know started doing some research into how to live like a healthier lifestyle and how to kind of clean up your life. One of the articles that I read was like, oh, you know, candles that have paraffin in them are bad for you. So I never realized that and then I got down a rabbit hole. And this was, mind you at the beginning of COVID. I was like, you know, locked in the house, and I needed something to do other than work and really, you know, sit by the TV or something. I needed that other creative outlet. So I was like, why not start making beeswax candles? Like I burned enough candles as it is. And yeah, I guess that's how that started. I was just really trying to clean up my life in these little ways. I started making beeswax candles and just found that it was so relaxing. Gave me a point of creativity. And I said, well, why not start a little business out of it and see how it goes," said Loren.Loren's full-time job typically has her in front of a computer screen for more than eight hours a day. She wanted to find a creative outlet, a place to do something with her hands. Candle making was her first go-to side hustle and then CBD oils was her next."I had some contacts in the cannabis industry and you know, to be completely honest, I was dabbling at first with the idea before I did CBD of doing full-on THC tinctures. It turns out that there's not a ton of demand for that particular THC product. So I learned all about that. And then decided to you know, still make the oils but instead of THC just use CBD, it's in Maine, and it's less regulated. It's more readily available to purchase. And, you know, it has these calming effects, such as it makes you sleep better. And that's also you know, why I wanted to get into making this stuff myself is because I was going and spending money. And you know, not a ton of it. But I was still spending a good portion of money on these CBD really sleep aids for myself. So I really wanted to start figuring out how to do that. Just to save some money.," said Loren.Loren certainly did find a successful way to make her CBD oils and she sells them to various distributors in Maine. Loren has always had craft in her life from a young age to now and it's something she encourages everyone to do especially when you are in front of a computer screen all day."I fondly have memories of doing craft days with my grandmother. And, you know, we would go outside and gather pine cones, and is a very crafty woman. She taught us how to make these like intricate pine cone Christmas trees out of them at one point. My Step Dad paints a lot. But that's, you know, an honest time. But yeah, we were creative," said Loren.Tune in to learn more about Loren's full-time career and how that experience is soul-sucking how she needed to find a creative outlet to give her a slight escape, what advice she would give to others who have a full-time job and want to get into a craft, how the outdoors inspires her and much more. If you enjoyed this Makers of the USA episode, please leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Facebook. Please check out Makers of the USA's YouTube channel, Facebook and Instagram. Thank you all and stay safe and healthy.