Many merchants who partook in festivals over the weekend shared the same story: how the pandemic inspired them to abandon the nine-to-five corporate life and pursue their passions.
From hand-poured pumpkin pie candles to ground coffee beans and self-made polymer earrings, vendors with a number of artistic endeavors congregated Sunday to show the fruits of their labors. 700 Bryden, a community of businesses, hosted the Olde Town Market with 45 artists, bakers and creators –– many selling in person for the first time.
One of those first-time vendors was Alyssa Justice, founder of Lit Candle Co., who launched her business while pregnant during lockdown. Overwhelmed and afraid, Justice said she turned to candle-making as a form of therapy.
“Being pregnant during the pandemic was one of the most anxious feelings ever, and I think pouring the candles made me feel very calm,” Justice said. “I buy candles left and right, so during lockdown, when nothing was open, I decided to start making my own.”
Despite still working a nine-to-five job, Justice said she places a lot of emphasis on her candle-making pursuits and can often be found making pumpkin clove candles late into the night at her kitchen table.
“I don’t think I would’ve done this without COVID,” Justice said. “I use my daughter as a vision for the future. Hopefully she looks up to me having my own business, also being a mom and working corporate.”
Just 10 minutes away, on the same Sunday in Ohio Village, caffeine aromas filled the air surrounding the annual Columbus Coffee Festival. Despite being entirely separate from the Olde Town Market, many first-time vendors echoed Justice’s sentiments — specifically Alli Chapman, Air Force veteran, author and founder of Alli Cat Creative Co.
By recently leaving her full-time job in mental health and addiction services to pursue candle-making, Chapman said she was making the leap to a different kind of service: aromatherapy.
“Scent is our strongest sense to be able to recollect memories, and that’s very important to me,” Chapman said. “Impacting your daily life intentionally with fragrance is something you can do with candles.”
Being able to work from home during quarantine is what allowed Chapman to get involved in candle-making, she said. The Columbus Coffee Festival was her first festival and biggest sales day to date.
Despite operating outside of the realm of wax and scents, founders of The Columbus Coffee Company, Margaret and David Caldwell, shared a similar story to other quarantine-born entrepreneurs.
Run out of a bright red coffee truck, their business offered a much-needed escape from corporate life, Margaret Caldwell said. She said they took a chance during lockdown and it paid off, eventually leading to incredible success and great feedback.
The Columbus Coffee Company now caters for private events such as weddings, business events and graduation parties. Their schedule changes weekly, but the Caldwells can be found at the Powell Farmers Market every Saturday until Oct. 10 and Tuesdays and Thursdays at the Powell Center from 8 a.m. to noon.
“We love coffee and it kind of came together as we found a truck, found the time and did it during quarantine,” Margaret Caldwell said. “We both left our corporate job and started this, all our eggs in one red basket.”
