Today we’d like to introduce you to Brittany Whitley.
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?
As a child, I’d never really read books for pleasure. I always had a goal in mind – read as many books as you can as fast as you can for good grades, to win reading awards, or to compete with friends. Once I hit college, I thumbed through and skimmed textbooks for class, and for a time in church, I indulged in reading the Bible and a few spiritual self-help books, but nothing beyond that.
Post-college, I found myself drowning in the woes of early adulthood and an extremely monotonous first job, desperately needing an escape from reality. And like every day, my boss would leave his desk (which was directly parallel to mine) for a moment, and I would sneak in a little phone time, scrolling social media, etc. This day, though, I stumbled across a poem written by Maya Angelou and fell down the rabbit hole of intrigue for her life and career. During my lunch break, I booked it to the library, got a membership, grabbed I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, and read it in less than a week (big for a person who didn’t consider herself a bookworm). I remember the free-fall feeling of leaving my own reality to live in Maya’s every time I opened the book and the butterflies. I felt in my own reality at the thought that I could escape the questions, overthinking, and anxiety in my mind for just a moment because of how immersive the experience of reading was. It was healing for me. It was enjoyment and peace. It was transformative. From that moment on, I was hooked. My library membership, at that time, provided me free access to the Kindle versions of an unlimited amount of books, so before I finished a book, I already had another book lined up in the queue. Not all book genres though, just fiction.
No shade to non-fiction, but fiction books take me on a journey that non-fiction books just don’t. The destination is the same, though: I am forever changed after experiencing a book – the way characters navigate the falling action of stories usually invoke a bit of introspection and self-reflection, motivate me to get out of a funk, or encourage me to dream big. And the act of being taken away by book’s story allows me an escape from the sometimes-weeded details of my own life long enough to see the big picture once I decide to return from my “book cation”. I’m not a consistent reader, nor do I read five books at time with a set yearly goal – I am what you call a mood reader, and I love the freedom of that.
In 2019, my dream of owning a bookstore was the seedling of my cutesy, girly love of fiction books and wanting to be surrounded by them. By 2021, my dream of owning a bookstore matured due to my desire to create space for others who love fiction books – to read, talk about them, or be around them. By 2022, my dream developed into building community around fiction books and the experiences they create for bookworms, non-readers (just there for the vibe), and mood readers. And in October 2022, I was pushed by a very new friend at that time to just… do it. This friend I ironically, met at a candle-making class, where I solidified my idea to offer handmade candles as products in my bookstore to enhance the experience of book reading. In November 2022, I incorporated Candescent Books LLC, shaking and scared as hell. We launched June 2023, and the dream that is now reality continues to develop and mature with time and experience.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
There is a bit of grace that I have on Candescent Books while navigating its infancy. With that said, and us only being five months in, it’s been a steady ride business-wise, but that can also pose a challenge in itself – how to grow, increase exposure, and reach the heights I envision.
I’d say the biggest struggle has been within myself, overcoming imposter syndrome and self-doubt, believing in myself, and developing my mindset as a business owner. Finding a nourishing entrepreneurial community has proven itself to be the second biggest struggle, challenging my patience and ability trust the journey and resources as they come from whom they come.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next, you can tell us a bit more about your business.
Candescent Books is an online bookstore and local bookstand offering used fiction books and handmade candles with a mission to promote community and sustainability through sharing previously loved books and the infinite experiences those books (and candles) create with other people. Our community approach expands beyond our product offerings to the lifestyle and book-related blog articles that my best friend and I publish biweekly on the Candescent Books website and supporting local indie authors through our Candlelight Spotlight on the website as well. Since we don’t have a storefront (YET), exploring the art of communing and community beyond having a physical space has been fun and challenges us to be innovative in doing so.
We are constantly evolving and exploring ways to increase sustainability in our offerings – our candles are currently refillable and made from conscious materials.
We Pop Up in markets around Houston, Austin, and Dallas, and our handmade candles are also being sold at Native Coffee, where we also Pop Up pretty frequently.
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
I consider the luck that I’ve experienced to be good (or enough) in how things and people find me at just the right time. The friends who support me in their own unique ways at random, the advice given to me along the way by entrepreneurs I briefly encounter, the attention that I’ve received from people who randomly come across my business… I attract what and who I need in the times when I am most ready to lean into the expansion available from those attractions.
It sucks that the economy isn’t in the best shape to support small businesses as well as in years prior, which I suppose can feel like a bit of “bad” timing, but all in all, I do believe everything I have is enough in this moment.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.candescentbooks.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/candescentbooks/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/candescentbooks
Image Credits
Emily Duncan
