RIVERVIEW, Fla. — Kenyetta White-Johnson needed calm, peace and a way to meditate.
The Riverview woman was going through a divorce and was an empty-nester.
She craved a hobby to soothe those jangled nerves.
"I used to make candles just for myself," White-Johnson says. "It helps melt the stress away."
Kenyetta's main gig is Director of Administration at MOSI in Tampa. She is surrounded by the ways of science, study and research.
So in her free time she did the work on candles: melting times, types of wax, non-toxic scents. She longed to make an all-natural candle that not only smelled great, but also burned clean with cotton wicks.
Her signature homemade scent was white sage and lavender.
"That's the one I used to meditate to," White-Johnson says.
Now, just a few years later, that candle is the big seller at her budding business Scented Intentions Candle Company.
After friends and family urged her to start selling her natural homemade candles, she did just that.
And now her online business is booming.
"My favorite part is seeing people's faces light up when they first smell one of my candles," White-Johnson says.
She's lighting up faces with bath products as well.
She was born and raised in Plant City. So by stressing natural earthbound products, she's also helping American farmers.
Running Scented Intentions lifted Kenyetta's mood and her confidence.
Her business partner is her daughter Makia, who says her mother's emotional transformation has been nothing short of inspiring.
"It's almost like watching your child grow up," Makia says with a laugh.
For more on the Scented Intentions Candle Company, click here.
