All-natural candles and bath salts for slow, mindful living in Arlington, VA.
There are moments when the pace of a day naturally softens. Maybe it happens while writing a note or waiting for a bus. It’s in that softness that we can be more present—for ourselves and for each other.
Open to Being is rooted in finding and creating those moments to help us express and connect more meaningfully. In addition to letterpress greeting cards and paper goods, I look for tools and materials that will support you in slow, mindful living.
I’m delighted to bring Handmade Habitat all-natural soy candles and beauty goods to the studio + shop. Working from a minimalistic, earthy, wabi-sabi mindset, their candles, bath salts, and soaps are consciously handcrafted with natural materials to be healthy for the body, home, and Mother Earth.
Just in time for a lovely gift for Mother’s Day - and always in time for self-care!
Candles and bath salts to elevate your daily rhythms
Handmade Habitat is a candle and body goods company guided by a desire to live more mindfully, walk more lightly, and be more active in our everyday choices. Their products are all-natural, vegan, and free from synthetic additives.
Candles are handmade in the DC area and made with soy wax and essential oils, creating scents that feel grounded and connected to nature rather than artificial or overpowering. Bath salts are designed to turn an ordinary routine into something more restorative.
Like letterpress, their process is hands-on and small batch, with care and attention to every detail.
Meet the Maker: Handmade Habitat
When I bring another maker’s work into Open to Being, I’m thinking about more than whether something is beautiful or useful. I’m considering what supports in your life and how well it aligns with the Open to Being vision for a more compassionately connected world.
Handmade Habitat was founded by Amina (pronounced Ah-min-uh, not Ameena) Ahmad – a mother, artist, and maker living and working between Maryland and Washington, DC. Her varied work is a living meditation exploring patterns and cycles in nature. Amina is also a yoga teacher and a community organizer in the arts field, having worked to organize dozens of markets, pop-ups, open studios, and cultural and community events across the DMV.
Her artwork explores patterns, movements, and meditations in nature and through her personal yoga practice, which is currently manifesting in a variety of work including colorful pastels on paper, black and white embroideries on fabric, and a combination of both black and white and colorful motifs in clay.
Learn more about Amina here.
Extending “Open to Being” beyond the page
Including other makers in the shop expands the Open to Being message beyond paper into daily rituals that focus on care for ourselves and each other.
As an Open to Being customer, I know you are thoughtful about what you bring into your life and seek objects that reflect your values. Like you, I prioritize artists and businesses that care for the Earth, create beauty in our everyday moments, and know that compassion is essential to our humanity.
Lighting a candle before writing in your hand-bound journal creates an invitation to slow down, so that you can be more present with yourself.
Bath salts combined with tea and a card that says “You bring so much care into the world” offer love to someone who supports others.
A candle paired with a “Bloom into Being” print on a recycled garden book page brings nature into your home.
Combinations like these make elegant, meaningful gifts for Mother’s Day or for anyone who could use a moment of rest.
Shop Handmade Habitat online or in our Arlington, Virginia studio + shop
Handmade Habitat is made locally, with Amina working between Maryland and Washington, DC, and now available in our Arlington, Virginia studio + shop.
Because our Arlington location is a working studio, we’re only open for special events. Our online shop is always open, and local friends can skip shipping and pick up at the studio + shop.
Shop Open to Being greeting cards
Upcoming events at Open to Being
May 6: Workshop: Words + Wishes – Mini Notebook Making
May 8: Creative Night Out: Vintage Letterpress & Postcards (Anniversary studio + shop celebration)
May 9: Creative Open Studio: Vintage Letterpress Card Making (Anniversary studio + shop celebration)
