Meet Anastasia
Anastasia is the Ukranian maker behind The Bequem’s 100% soy wax, handpoured and perfumed candles.
The Bequem are the home scents that are all about being cozy and feeling at home doesn't matter where you are. Minimalist, calm, easy design that helps you to relax combined with rich scents that bring character to any place. Beyond that, each item is handmade in Berlin!
We asked Anastasia to share how she got into creating candles and how the Bequem came about:
I was always into the scents and I also happened to move a lot. For some, turning a new rental into a "home" means adding personal photos or cool textiles, for me it was about bringing my scent into it. Once we all were at the lockdown, I figured out I had so much spare time, and I wanted to have some crafty, grounding thing to do and doing something home scent related was an easy answer. So I made my first candle. The rest is the history :)
And what are the materials important for her brand?
Wax! Lots of wax! Overall, candles seem to be so small and cute, but they need lots of materials that are bulky: glasses, packaging etc. With candles you can scale your tools as you go, but the materials are the main focus from day one.
Anastasia used to have just a small office room, but now she works in her own space in Kreuzberg where she pours her candles, conduct workshops and also invites customers to to pick up their online orders directly.
Outside of making candles, what does Anastasia love to do?
I love CrossFit, I am a marathon runner and I summited 6000m mountain. I also used to play tennis for many years, and now slowly come back to it, enjoy watching it too. And here comes the real fun fact: I have a degree in Political Science :) And Berlin... Well, like for all of us: was something temporary at first, but now, after 8.5 years, it is truly my home.
We asked Anastasia what her ideal future for The Bequem would be:
“I believe that all dreams come to us with the power to bring them to live, so let me tell you what feels wild at the moment, but check on me in a couple of years please! I would like The Bequem to have a bigger product line and step into cosmetics: to have all my best selling scents available as a really working body care. I also would like to build a team for my business, so the brand can really grow. A dream collab? I don’t have names, but a boutique hotel or two would be great! ”
Find Anastasia’s handmade perfumed candles (classic and travel size) at mijas Thursday - Friday 13-19 and Saturday 12-18
The Bequem on instagram: @thebequem