Meet Victoria Rojas

Today we’d like to introduce you to Victoria Rojas.

Hi Victoria, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
My story is a familiar one. During the Pandemic, I was laid off and still had bills to pay and a daughter to support. I started to understand the definition of essential. I mourned the loss of my job by sitting on the couch, binge-watching Law & Order SVU, ordering uber eats, all while keeping an eye on my savings account. Let’s just say I wasn’t in the best mental space. To get myself out of that funk, I planned a trip to Washington in July 2020. Not the smartest thing to do during a pandemic but San Diego was reopening, and some restrictions were lifted at the time. I was also celebrating my 28th birthday.

So what do you do when visiting Washington, you hike. My boyfriend and I started hiking Colchuck Lake at 4 am, 30 minutes in and I already was not a fan. This hike put my ego into check. People were constantly passing us, at one point I pulled a muscle in my leg but I was so determined to get a picture of the lake for Instagram. Pathetic, I know. I was a mess, but my boyfriend kept me together and would not let me quit. Four hours later, we reached the lake, the clouds were starting to ease to make room for the sun. It was breathtaking. The water was ice blue and there was snow on the mountains. As we sat next to the lake, my boyfriend took a nap while I put my feet in the clear freshwater. It was here, where I had a moment of clarity. I realized I have never been in a position where I could create the job I wanted; I have always been pulled from one supervisor to the next. I realized the difference in power behind the decision to work another office job or create a job just for me. I asked myself, “where would I be essential?” This was the beginning of Pale Moonlight. Co.

Once I got back from my trip, I quarantined for 2 weeks and then I went to visit my mom to show her all the pictures from my trip. She was making a wreath for Summer and while she was adjusting the grapevine for moment it looked like a crescent moon. As a Cancer Sun, I became obsessed with this idea of Moon Wreaths and idea of providing lunar energy within everyone’s home. So I was off to Michael’s that day. I created my first moon wreath in September but did not post it until late October. Simply, I am afraid of rejection. Once I had an idea for a name of my business, which initially was “In The Pale Moonlight” This crazy dream of mine seemed actually possible. I was going to be my own boss. With this in mind, I posted my moon wreath. My business was welcomed by my friends and family with open arms and that gave me the courage to continue with Moon Wreaths. I loved how rewarding it felt to create something out of nothing. I was motivated by my customer’s reactions to my product.

A few months later, I learned through Etsy, Moon Wreaths are very popular. Even though, I found this idea on my own, I knew I wanted to create something original. I shifted my focus to candles. I wanted to give people a unique yet beautiful candle. My first attempt, I inserted the wick the wrong way and I could not get the candle out of mold. I had to cut it up into pieces to get it out and start over. One thing I have learned through my business is “nothing will be perfect the first try and that ok.” After 4 attempts, I had my very first soy wax pillar mold. My first candle took me 2 hours just to decorate with dried flowers, but everyone loved them. Then I had idea of creating a floral candle and crystal combo pack. I literally tried tying the crystal to the candle and it looked way to funky. So then I had the idea of using wax as an adhesive for the crystal, just as I did with the dried flowers and to my surprise it worked. I had to use so much more wax but it was so worth it.

To my knowledge, I created something no one else has ever done before. An original candle design. After that November, everything changed! My business took off and created a life of its own. I was invited to do markets based of my product and that helped spread the word. I am proud of what I created mostly because I never repeat a candle to give each candle its own unique energy, unless it’s requested as custom candle. I also continued making Moon Wreaths and that turn into creating a variety of wall hangings. I also started making smoke cleansing bouquets. My goal was to bring light and good energy into the homes of San Diego. I understand not everyone believes in energy but for customers, this is the most important factor to my products. For each one of my products, I allow them to soak up solar and lunar energy and I personally perform reiki just to add positive healing energy. I have been told by many “your candles are too pretty to burn” and I do agree my candles are pretty, but I also think the energy that surrounds them, is what my customers pick up on.

Slowly, I have found my purpose through my business, I am a crafter and an energy worker. On top of crafting, I use my following to connect the spiritual community as well with Moon Gatherings. I am slowly building a matriarchy of spiritual and power women. I know I still have much to learn but I am ready to teach what I know and apply my own perception on spirituality. When I started my business, I had no idea how far I would come and now here I am celebrating 1 year anniversary with a massive community giveaway. It has been a divine journey but this is only the begin beginning.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Oh dear God, No! The journey has been rough. Every day I learn from my mistakes and I have to being patient with my craft. I must think of every detail that goes into products. My candles require a level science that I was not prepared for, from learning what type of wax to use that is eco-friendly, figuring out what is the best melting temperatures, to learning what scent is safe to our furry friends. Also, searching for a decent crystal supplier, that has been the most challenging.

With my wreaths, I went from silk flowers to dried flowers, finding where to buy quality fresh flowers and how to dry them out without any mold. The countless times I’ve been burned by my hot glue gun. I doubt I will ever get used to that pain. And don’t get me started on, how much money I have thrown away when new idea has failed. All while trying to support and only buy from local & small businesses and staying on top of being my own supervisor in all departments of my business, which include advertisement, photography, packaging & delivery. I wear so many hats it hard to keep tract of all my job titles. Every week, there is a new problem to solve, but I stay determined on finding solutions because I know at the end of the day, I am living my creative dream.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
All my products are spiritually inspired. My pride and joy are my Crystal Cylinder Candles. To my knowledge, I am the first to create these types of candles. I basically looked average candle and “How do I make this difficult”. I worked at my craft for a year and it still takes me 45 mins to an hour to finish the front design, that does not include hand pouring each mold and wait for them to solidify. On the other hand, decorating is my favorite activity because I have so much artistic freedom. Most are made with dried floral accents alongside the crystal, but I dabble in adding printed images and natural dried herbs. Recently, I created a crystal grid type of design to a couple candles. Meditation has really help with my creative process. I enjoy tapping into my creative practice. I know that technically, I am a crafter but, in my heart, I am an artist.

What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
I love how accepting San Diego is when it comes to spirituality. I’ve met my fair share of retired hippies that are extremely supportive and love to share their experiences and knowledge. I believe this is a growing movement, especially amongst Millennials and Gen Z. One of my main goals, is to bring spirituality to lower income neighborhoods. How do I say this delicately? It breaks my heart to see a divine in the spiritual community. I feel like spiritually, the more “well off” people in San Diego have had this huge jump on their spiritual journey because financially they have more access to spiritual knowledge or classes. Not everyone can afford to pay thousands of dollars to become a Reiki Master or Yoga Instructure. I understand everyone has bills, especially living in San Diego but my goal is to create awareness for spiritual practices, especially because I know it would benefit the mentality of our society. Maybe even create a non-profit that offers financial aid, just like a college but I am getting ahead of myself.

Please understate me, I am not some spiritual guru. I simply want to teach the life lesson I have been given through my spiritual practice and I am looking to connect likeminded people. I have been fortunate enough to meet multiple healers in the BIPOC community, who charge half of what others charge because they believe in raising the collective consciousness and not gatekeeping it. I hate using that word but unfortunately, it’s true.

Basically, your price corners your demographic. Running my own business, I fully understand you must spend money to make money, but spirituality is not a product, it’s a practice. I grew up in National City and to this day there is only one yoga studio and it’s temporally closed due to Covid. I was only able to attain my beginner’s yoga certification because by some miracle it was available through Southwestern College and they recently cancelled that class. I spent most of my life in Southern San Diego and I can visually see the changes people are making and energetically, they are raising. I hope one day we can all merge together but until then, I will do what I can for my community, just as others are doing for theirs.

Pricing:

• Short candle : $20-$25
• Tall candle: $28-$36
• Large: $30- $44

Contact Info:

• Email: palemoonlightco@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/palemoonlight.co/

Image Credits:
James White Photography