Meet Jennifer Champa

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jennifer Champa. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jennifer below.

Jennifer, so excited to have you with us today. So much we can chat about, but one of the questions we are most interested in is how you have managed to keep your creativity alive.

I craft all-natural incense using real woods, resins, flowers, and botanicals, harnessing their therapeutic properties to enhance wellness. I am inspired by global cultural practices of incense in ceremonies, rituals, wellness, health, and therapy. I spend time in natural environments to reconnect with the earth and draw inspiration from the scents, sights, and sounds of nature. The vastness of the cosmos and details around us fuel my creativity. The connections and interactions within the community, both from customers and fellow makers, spark innovative ideas.

Sharing knowledge and experiences fosters mutual growth, so I enjoy collaborating with peers in healing communities. I regularly attend and teach workshops on aromatherapy, herbalism, incense making, and other healing modalities. Ongoing education introduces new techniques, ideas, and perspectives. I pursue mindfulness activities such as journaling and meditation. Adventure and self-care keep my creativity alive. These practices allow me to deeply connect to my craft and reinforce my wellness mission as an incense artisan.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

I create all-natural incense by selecting aromatic herbs, resins, woods, and flowers that provide a fragrant experience as well as therapeutic benefits. Each incense stick contains plant wisdom and is made mindfully and intentionally. I am also a physical therapist, and help patients improve their functional mobility. I have treated a wide range of patients, including those with brain injuries, strokes, and joint replacements. Witnessing their progress through physical therapy is incredibly rewarding. I take a comprehensive approach to healing, addressing physical, mental, and emotional well-being to enhance the quality of life for my patients and I advocate for holistic health and wellness.

My incense journey started early at home. In our Lao household, my family regularly burned incense. It was used at home and in temples to honor ancestors, give and receive blessings, celebrate, express gratitude, and bless homes and unions. I enjoy burning incense as a ritual tool, but I found that the commercially available incense I was using was too strongly scented, causing irritation to my eyes and skin, and triggering headaches. I discovered that many of these products contain harmful chemicals that are detrimental to health and the environment when burned.

Determined to make better quality incense, I set out to create something that could be part of a daily self-care ritual and make people feel good. I explored the spiritual properties of plants and the ways different cultures around the world use incense. There is a wealth of ancestral plant knowledge and medicine globally. I was captivated by how each culture utilizes locally sourced materials and ingredients to heal their communities. Their deep familiarity with plants and their medicinal and spiritual properties inspired me. Making incense is an ancient art rooted in ancestral wisdom, and it connected me to the work of shamans and healers, whose purpose in healing resonated deeply with me as a physical therapist. I began using natural ingredients like woods, plants, flowers, and resins to create high-quality incense. With these natural ingredients, I no longer experience headaches or sensory irritation. Magixstyx has become the self-care ritual I needed, and I am excited to share it with you.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

1. Learn your Craft
Since I enjoy learning, I invested time in studying the different parts of incense making, aromatherapy, herbalism, and botany through courses, workshops, and books. I joined communities and forums where you can exchange knowledge with other enthusiasts and professionals. This allows me to create incense with specific therapeutic properties and high-quality natural ingredients. This knowledge also helped me educate my community about the benefits of my products.

2. Be Inspired and Stay Passionate
Inspiration and creativity allow me to develop unique incense blends and experiment with various ingredients and techniques. To develop creativity, I engage in activities that stimulate my imagination, such nature, art, music, and observation. Experiment without fear of failure and view mistakes as learning opportunities. Passion for my craft keeps me motivated and inspired.

3. Enjoy the Journey
I happily embrace the ability to laugh at myself, keep things fun, and maintain an open heart. I take care of my health which helps me have clarity and focus when navigating the ups and downs of life and business. I let my passions shine through my work and take pride in how far I have come. By enjoying the journey I find joy and fulfillment in each moment, making the path to my goals as rewarding as the goals themselves.

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?

As an incense artisan, I am grateful to be able to offer my unique talents and gifts to the world. Growth and learning allow for me to expand my body of work by exploring new techniques and ideas. I have had diverse opportunities and experiences from building an intentional incense community. Some unique projects I have had had include teaching incense workshops at retreats, being a part of an art gallery exhibition, and collaborating with artists on custom blends. I am always open to partnering or collaborating with individuals and businesses that share a passion for creativity, holistic wellness, and craftsmanship. I would love to work with spiritual practitioners, healers, herbalists, aromatherapists, artisans, craftspeople, eco-friendly and sustainable brands, retailers and boutiques. By working together, we can create innovative products, share knowledge, and inspire our communities. I look forward to hearing from individuals and businesses who are excited about the possibilities of collaboration.

How to Connect:
Email: [email protected]
Social Media: IG: @magixstyx
Website Contact Form: https://www.magixstyx.com/

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.magixstyx.com/
• Instagram: @magixstyx
• Other: email: [email protected]

Image Credits

Product pics: Will Chen
Pics of me and pics of my hands: Dennis Hope