Cleveland Teen Makes Candles To Spread Positivity

Josh Ruminski can’t remember a time when he didn’t want to make people smile. But the 18-year-old also can’t remember when he wasn’t struggling with depression.

After surviving two suicide attempts when he was 12 and 15 years old, the Cleveland native wanted to make candles in scents that could conjure happy memories with just a flick of a match. Since launching Happy Thoughts Candle Co. in 2016, the St. Martin de Porres High School senior estimates he’s made more than 200 different scents of his soy candle.

“Research says that a memory is about 10 times stronger if it is associated with a scent,” Ruminski says. “I thought that if I can create scents that can help bring memories that are happy for people, that maybe it can overpower those negative thoughts.”

Memory Gains: Almost every candle holds a specific memory for Ruminski. His favorite, Blueberry Pumpkin Patch, reminds him of a great day at a pumpkin farm. “I burn that candle in challenging times to remind myself that happy times are ahead,” he says. He also has scents such as lemon and bamboo that are proven to increase serotonin levels, which improves mental health.

Can Do: To make his candles, he purchases tomato sauce in 8-ounce cans, pours it into freezable bags and then donates the sauce to two local homeless ministries and a youth ministry. “I grew up volunteering almost every Saturday with the homeless in Cleveland,” he says.

Home Base: Ruminski, who stocks his candles in five shops, hopes to have his own storefront one day. But for now, he and his parents create, package and ship his candles out of their West Side home. “We make about 96 candles every night,” he says.

Helping Hand: Ruminski puts encouraging phrases such as “go smell the flowers” on the packaging along with the number for a suicide prevention hotline. “I want to show people that they aren’t alone,” he says. “We all need to lean on each other sometimes.”