Hi, Im Michaela.
Oleilu all started when i saw a body shaped candle and thought wow! Thats amazing , i want it... no, i can make that!
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I started making candles of all different shapes and because it was late October i made alot of christmas designs. After the first few months of Markets, the business ideas took over.
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When deciding on a business name, i spent days searching for something perfect, i didnt want to use my name because its too long, but i stumbled accross Oleilu prounouced (Oh-Lay-Loo). Oleilu is a Finnish word that means To Relax And Just Be.
From getting a jesmonite tray kit for Christmas to make trays and then moving onto candle vessels. With endless testing and video watching the business grew from a little idea to my whole life. I am proud to have the range and knowledge that I do, from my experience with in health care and customer service, and I am proud of the business I have built. I often think back to the name i choose for the business and think, I made the perfect choice. From the range of products i have now, I believe i have something to suit everyone's tastes and hope that people can use our products and even if its for a few minutes they take the time to relax and a have a moment of selfcare. One main thing that i love about the products is that i make everything myself, from the packaging/stickers all the way through to the final product. All the ingredients are all made with natural ingredients.
I still work full time at a Eye Hospital and spend my evenings in the workshop and weekends at Manchester Markets. I am a permanent trader at Heaton Moore (every 1st Sunday of the month) and i attend Altricham market regularly. I hope one day my dream of becoming full time will come true. They say, 'choose a job you love and you'll never work a day in your life' and I know exactly how that feels.
