The ME Project creates premium quality concrete home goods and luxury self-care items, intending to empower individuals to prioritize personal growth. We spoke with Margoe, Erika, Mikee and Carmel, founders and co-founders of The ME Project, to learn more about them.
What is your business called and what does it do?
The ME Project has always been passionate about empowering individuals to prioritize self-care and personal growth. Throughout the years, we have evolved from starting an online blog into creating luxury self-care items. We create premium quality concrete home goods, mainly our candles, that provide a luxurious yet accessible tactile experience. Our brand is more than just a product line – it’s a supportive community that fosters positive change. Quality, authenticity and inclusivity are our core values, and we aim to empower people to embrace their journey of self-discovery and we hope that our products and community play a pivotal role in making that vision a reality.
What made you want to do this work?
Since the early days of the pandemic, we wanted to help empower individuals through such a turbulent time in all our lives. Adulthood can slip right by or hit like a truck. We resonated with both sides and we felt like we had experiences to share and stories to hear. Our brand started out as an online blog, which we launched in June 2020. We mainly focused on guiding young adults through the challenges of adulthood through our shared experiences as well as working towards fostering a community. From then on, we slowly transitioned from writing about self-care to actively creating products that contribute to self-care. We wanted to create products that would represent our thoughts, ideas and values; a tangible and physical manifestation that could be integrated into daily routines and serve as a reminder to prioritize oneself. We have been fueled by a passion for promoting self-care as a fundamental aspect of a balanced and fulfilling life.
What problem did you want to solve with the business?
A fundamental problem that we aimed to address is the often-overlooked need for self-care in our fast-paced and ever-evolving world. Recognizing the increasing challenges faced by young adults in navigating adulthood, we wanted to provide practical solutions to promote mental well-being.
Our goal is to offer products that serve as tools for self-care, encouraging individuals to prioritize their well-being. In a society that can sometimes neglect the importance of relaxation and mindfulness, The ME Project seeks to fill this gap by creating thoughtfully crafted items, starting with our concrete coconut-soy candles. By doing so, we hope to contribute to a culture that values and prioritizes self-care as an essential component of a healthy and fulfilling lifestyle.
Who are your clientele/demographics?
Our clientele is diverse as we cater to individuals who are looking for products that help them to prioritize self-care and enhance their well-being. Our target demographic includes young adults in their 20s to 30s navigating the challenges of adulthood and are conscious of the importance of mental health. We also resonated with those who appreciate locally-sourced and natural products as well as individuals who are drawn to the aesthetics of carefully crafted goods.
How does your business make money? How does it work?
We sell our candles via our online website, retailers, local markets, in-person events and custom orders, such as for weddings and other events. Each method starts out differently – with each new collection or launch, our website and social media pages are updated and we get in contact with our current wholesale accounts to inform them of our new products and stock the stores accordingly. As for markets, we do our best to sign up for as many events as we can months leading up to our launch date. Market dates and pop-ups are constantly updated on our social media pages.
Where in the city can we find your profession?
While we operate out of our home-based studio in Calgary, you can find us online, in-person or at any of the different retail locations that hold our candles. A list of which can be found on our website.
What is the best question a prospective customer could ask a member of your profession when comparing services? Give the answer as well.
We’ve received quite a few questions throughout the years. The best questions we receive or can receive are really centred around: What is The ME Project and why are you different?
The ME Project is all about well—you! It’s about recognizing oneself, what makes you unique, what makes you different and what similarities we share as human beings.
In that same vein, our products are all beautiful and imperfect in their own little ways, but they were created with so much love and care. Each candle boasts its own kind of beauty and we want our products to help you recognize your wants and needs. We create our vessels from a concrete blend, we formulate our fragrances ourselves, we carefully design the candles one by one, we use wooden wicks to make the burn last longer and we hand-pour all our products in small batches for quality control. We know what we would like in a candle, so we ensure that our products are high quality and last a long time so that you can enjoy long hours of relaxation. Our candles are all part of different collections, which we hope can resonate with a diverse range of scent preferences.
What is the best part about what you do? What is the worst part?
Best:
– Knowing we are making an impact on our customers’ lives and having the power to cater to certain individuals’ needs.
– The ability to promote self-care and well-being. We ourselves are on a journey of finding time for ourselves to do this. By being part of this brand and small business, we are striving to always practice what we preach and to remember that it’s okay to do things easily once in a while.
Worst:
– Balancing different aspects of our lives while navigating the complexities of running a small business.
– Sourcing the finest natural ingredients and supporting local suppliers can be logistically demanding.
– Administrative and operational challenges that require constant attention.
However, despite these challenges, the passion for our mission and the positive impact on our customers make the journey well worthwhile!
What is your favourite joke about your own profession?
That this is our “5-9’s after our 9-5’s” and it couldn’t be any truer! While we love our small business, it’s no secret that running a business while working a full day-time job can be quite stressful! We really have to ensure we are doing our best to give ourselves grace when things get busy or when we hit rough patches. We are incredibly grateful to have the opportunity to do what we do and seeing and hearing feedback from our friends, followers and customers is the most rewarding thing ever!
Where can we follow you?
Website | Instagram | Tiktok | Facebook
PAY IT FORWARD: What is another local business that you love?
We have encountered so many amazing small business owners! We loved meeting every single one of them and they each bring something different to the table. We’d love to give a shoutout to Cuties Club and Besties Floral Cafe! All Calgary-based brands and all businesses have played a part in influencing our journey. A big thank you and please keep your eye out for these businesses!
