Today we’d like to introduce you to Leah Gabrielle.
Hi Leah, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’ve always been a creative person who finds the most unique art to celebrate. From videography to making picture books to the newest venture making cast-stone candles. I was born in New York City, but my family moved to East ATL in 2014. New York City is the city that breeds urban creatives and similar genres. I can do the urban art scene very well, but seemingly enough, my true posture is the total opposite, I like to make art more on the luxurious side. That is where my heart breathes!
I wanted to bring a certain type of enlightenment to people, not the hipster-yogi-type, but the type that would fortify truth. I started a brand called Beacon of Luxury last summer (2021.) The name was curated in collaboration with my best friend and cousin. When I looked up the definition of Beacon, I sought out its’ second value, “enlightenment” and when I looked up the definition for Luxury, it rendered the word abundance in its definition. Those two definitions constituted the exact way I saw my life and the way I wanted to live. So I thought, let’s bring together this name to establish a greater thought process in the world.
While working as a flight attendant for a major airline, I spent time thinking and getting to understand the way I think. One month in particular (September) I acquired a lot of trips to Los Angles. I worked one trip in particular to LA with my best friend and we had a layover in Redondo Beach. We went to the hotel, got our rooms, freshened up. Before we went out to conquer the town, we decided to go to WholeFoods to grab a few groceries to have for our flight back home. While in the store, I spotted an endcap that had a few candles, so I walked up to it, picked one smelled the delicious vanilla bean aroma. I then looked at the price and saw that it was $19.99 for a simple glass container filled with wax! Not only was I taken aback, I exclaimed to my friend “I can do this, and I can do this way better!’ From that moment on, Beacon of Luxury came into fruition.
Since then, we at Beacon of Luxury have built an extensive portfolio of different candles with unique cast-stone features. We’ve created additional revenue by advancing a clothing brand with our logo on it. We also just printed our first concept for our new coffee table book idea and the creativity keeps flowing!
2023 has amazing ideas in store for us. The excitement for all the new creations to come at Beacon of Luxury are genuine and coming with a luxurious force. I can’t wait to add my piece/peace to the world and somehow make it a better place.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
All the challenges I have faced stemmed mostly from my personal life. I’ve realized the things in which we take on and deem important in our lives are the things that help align our character. I’ve struggled with being honest many times personally but in business, building relationships are the most important. Honesty is the number one way to earn trust and satisfy natural human nature. I quickly realized that dishonesty followed me into my workplace, and it didn’t call for any good business. Very early on within three months of starting Beacon of Luxury, I gained the wisdom of honesty and my business has been trustworthy ever since.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am a Creative, an Employee, and an Investor.
Creatively I’ve curated (shot and edited) a docu-series about an artist from Philidelphia who is passionate about historical figures and the youth today knowing exactly what they did and how they have helped their people survive. He created his own currency through the art form of painting, with those historical figures imprinted images. He contacts the descendants/family of these people and delivers a painting to honor them. I have hours of footage and created videos traveling to Switzerland, Alabama, and New York City with this artist. I find it therapeutic creating and writing treatments that come to life. It’s a sincere hobby of my that has grew into a career.
I also find pleasure in creating picture books, because telling stories hold a unique place in my heart. A picture is worth a thousand words but when you can add 50 more in a sub-caption you can redirect the reader’s mind to the path you traveled. So far I’ve made 1 picture book waiting to be published and creating the next volume as we speak and will be for sale after publishing mid-2023.
Beacon of Luxury candles are my hands-on creation.They are made out of limestone and a variety of aggregates, then mold/harden them (shout out to our manufacturers American Stonecast.) I pour them to perfection and scale them into the market. I took a 1-year course and specialized in this concrete masonry.
In my communities across the board, I am known for being a Flight Attendant. With that being my place of employment, I am a world-class traveler because of it. It set me apart from peers in the matter that I can socialize and have genuine connections with just about anyone I come across. It comes from a special ability to understand people as a whole.
I also invest and have a small portfolio that includes real estate, stock and options.
Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
Just start! A large amount of your ideas and visions get stifled by over-planning and over-strategizing. Writing business plans and brainstorming are important but engaging with the product seen in your mind’s eye and executing it is the best way to start learning and making progress.
Pricing:
- Candles start at $79
- Tee Shirts $45
- Crew Necks $74
- Coffee Table Book $99
Contact Info:
- Website: www.beaconofluxury.com
- Instagram: @beaconofluxury
Image Credits
Leah Gabrielle. Sophia Parkinson.
