Aromatherapy, Business and Love with Jasmin Kechel

Since the very beginning of Soul Sister Circle, Jasmin Kechel from Lemon Canary has been by my side, supporting every step of the journey. From friendship, business council, Motherhood tips and candles (lots and lots of candles) Jas has been a constant beacon of comfort, inspiration and love and I’m so delighted to introduce you to her.

Jasmin Kechel is the founder and owner of Boutique Aromatherapy Company Lemon Canary. Jasmin stems from a background in Beauty Therapy, Aromatherapy, Yoga, Meditation, Reiki and Longhaul Flying. Her goal was to create a business that makes it easy to express your emotions to another person through a gift. Jasmin marries her handcrafted products alongside other carefully selected etheral gifts to create a one of a kind gift for yourself or someone you love. She gives back to the community through her Canary Project and her ultimate goal is to spread love and change the world.

We talk to Jasmin about her favourite things, building her business and the true essence of Lemon Canary…

 

SSC: So let’s begin with a little bit about you. How would you describe yourself in three words? What gets you up in the morning? And what’s your favourite season?

Jasmin: Mmm.. three words..  Passionate. Sensitive. Loyal.

I would have to say what gets me up, literally, is my boys jumping on my head, one day in about 10 years time I’m hoping to have a sleep in LOL.

My favourite season is Spring, I love the birds and the Jasmine that blooms in our front garden, sitting outside with a little tea in the late afternoon and smelling that is absolute bliss.

SSC: Tell us a little about your love filled company Lemon Canary… Where did the idea and name come from? What is the underlying essence of the company and what did you hope to achieve through creating Lemon Canary?

Jasmin: I wish I had a good story for the name as I get asked all the time, it’s the first name I ever came up with and nothing else seemed quite right afterwards. I wanted a name that allowed me to branch out into other avenues if I desired so that I wasn’t tied only to candles.

The idea for Lemon Canary was born from my desire to create a business that I was passionate about. I had been in a job for 13 years that I disliked and felt that if I wanted more happiness and joy from my career it was up to me to create it. I searched for many years to find something that I wanted to do, making a hobby into a business was something that took me by surprise. I think often we can’t imagine that our hobby could become our primary source of income.

The underlying essence of Lemon Canary is love. My goal was for others to be able to express their feelings towards others with beautiful, handcrafted, thoughtful products. I felt if I could create connection between two people and give them the ease of expression love and understanding would follow.

SSC: Talk to us about life before Lemon Canary… What did life look like for you before you began your business?  What were your interests and passions, what brought a smile to your face?

Jasmin : After I finished school I studied and became a Beauty Therapist, I really loved the caring aspects of the job, I found a lot of joy in making people feel loved. I studied Aromatherapy and started a little salon from home making my own products. I was working hospitality jobs on the side from 14 and the opportunity came along for me to apply as a longhaul flight attendant with Qantas, my years of hospitality experience and my second language (German) helped me get the job. I was 19 and was ready to see the world, flying was a wonderful experience, I stayed in the job for 13 years, life looked like, airports, planes, shift work, hotel rooms, shopping, sightseeing and drenching myself in the big wide world. I wouldn’t trade those years for anything but after about 13 years I became tired of missing out on being at home with the people I loved. I was often tired to the point of illness and utterly exhausted. The job was very demanding physically and when my son came along, also emotionally, I really missed him.

When my Dad became ill I made a decision to leave and pursue yoga and meditation, a far cry from the demands of flying life. I started using my Aromatherapy knowledge to make little candles for my meditation and had such great feedback that I made some more.. and some more. I remember having a moment where I connected the dots, all those years ago, if I hadn’t fallen into flying I don’t think I would have done just what I’m doing now. Flying was like an intermission in my true calling.

SSC: What does “love and connection between people and within ourselves” mean to you? And how do you practice self-love?

Jasmin: I think this is such a personal thing and can vary depending on your experiences. For me love and connection is the ability to love wholeheartedly, this means listening without thinking about what you’re going to say next, hugging (when required), noticing when someone is down and they need some extra care, sharing what you have, loving people for who they are right now and not putting expectations on them. In a nutshell, accepting and loving what is.

I practice self love a few ways, one is rituals. I treat myself like a lover would, I run a bath for myself, lay out a nice towel and robe, make a tea, light a candle, give myself a body scrub and then I put on my favourite pjs and read a nice book. I also go to bed early and have naps when I can despite my housework or workload. I listen to my body and treat it with respect, when it’s not well I take it easy and when it is I exercise gently.

SSC: The Canary Project is something quite special and close to your heart… talk to us about why it means so much for you to give back to the community and what charities you have been focusing on?

Jasmin: Yes is is and thank-you for asking about it. When my Dad passed away last year I started ‘The Canary Project’, I donate money from my product sales into the Canary Project. At the moment I am raising $3000 towards clown doctors, a charity that sends clowns into the children’s wards of the hospitals to make them laugh. When I was little I was in hospital for a spell and my Dad used to visit me and make me laugh, he would dress up and tell me jokes, so this cause is very close to my heart. The logo is an Eagle (his favorite bird) pulling up an anchor with it’s talons (he was a sailor) and it reads ‘refuse to sink’. It feels good to give back to the community and I get so much joy that I’m doing it in his memory.

SSC: Being a busy business owner, what do you do to take time for out for yourself? Or do you have any daily rituals that bring about some calm to your day or set you up for an inspiring day?

Jasmin: When I arrive at the studio I put my bag down and set up my laptop. Then I place on a chant or meditation and light my candles (I have a little table) then I sit down in front of it for 10 minutes and breathe slowly and deeply, I think about what I would like to achieve in the day and set myself the intention to behave in a way that I am proud of and that improves the state of the world. As I have young kids some mornings can be quite ‘busy’ so this really helps me to reign in my thoughts and actions for the day.

SSC: What are your top 3 tips for someone who may want to start their own online business? And what did you wish you knew before you had started out?

Jasmin:  

1. Make sure you love what you do, when things get tough you need to really LOVE it! Don’t just grab any idea that comes along, grab the one that makes you lie awake at night because you simply have to do it.

2. Don’t look sideways, it doesn’t matter who is doing what, you will bring your own flavour and beauty to whatever you do, there is room for everyone.

3. Less is more. You will be successful because of what you don’t make as much as what you do. Too much choice is confusing.

There are so many things that I wish I’d known. I think the biggest one was believing in myself. I made a few products to try and please what I thought the market wanted instead of what I really wanted and these were never a success. If a product or service doesn’t work move on, don’t dwell on it. Listen to the beat of your own rhythm, if you love it chances are someone else will too. The best creative gifts are always the authentic ones.

SSC: What is your favourite essential oil or candle scent and why? How do you believe scent can impact someone’s day or bring about a sense of peace to their mind?

Jasmin: My favourite Essential Oil is Dream, I put it in my diffuser every night and the smell triggers sleep for me. Smell/scent is one of nature’s wonderful gifts, it can transport you directly to a place that was all but forgotten and bring it to life in an instant, what a gift!

        

SSC: What are your hopes and dreams for the future? And what would you like to achieve in the near future?

Jasmin: My hopes and dreams are to continue serving as I am and to reach as many people as possible with my products in hope that they can then experience self love and share love with others. As long as my products are supported I will continue to make them. I would like to achieve a gentle balance between being a Mum, Wife and Business Owner and also taking care of myself. In short a simple happy life.

You can follow Jasmin & Lemon Canary here:

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