We had the good fortune of connecting with Cornilia Issa and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Cornilia, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I actually had no intention of ever starting my own business. The Burning Stones grew from a curiosity project and received such positive feedback that inspired the business to be created.

Initially it was a fun way to spend more time with my parents and create beautiful crystal candles. As we grew in sales and exposure, I realized this could be bigger than I expected which encouraged me to pursue it more seriously and here we are 🙂

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I’ve never had an entrepreneurial background. Everything I’ve ever been interested in has been health or fitness related. While there’s been a huge learning curve for me on that front, my experiences in my careers have been helpful for me to be able to listen and relate to people.

 

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
When my best friend visits me, we mainly restaurant hop as food makes me very happy. I love going to several places back to back for my favorite things. B19 for wine, oysters & fries. upstairs Le Colonial for their carajillo, veggie spring rolls and good music, Kata Robata, Nobies or Houston’s for dinner. Flower & Cream for ice cream.

The flip side of this would be the studio hopping to balance it all out. Mōtiv fitness for the most fun barre & trampoline classes, Khango for a workout that definitely pushes you to your limit, LHTX for the most intense reformer class of your life and BIG yoga for the most delicious yin class you’ll ever take. If it’s not sweltering hot, we would take my two little monster puppies for a walk around Memorial Park.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
100% my parents & brother. They have been the entire driving force behind The Burning Stones. My parents help me create the candles, join me when I travel hunting for rocks and help me with every artisan market I participate in. My dad is the muscle behind everything I do, my mom hand drills every single stone and my brother helps with marketing and the business side of things. Honestly this feature should be directed to them entirely as the business wouldn’t exist without them. And I’d be remiss to not mention the encouraging support of my amazing friends.

 

Website: TheBurningStones.com

Instagram: @theburningstones

Facebook: TheBurningStones

Image Credits
Billy Morquecho KSRC Media+ Roy Prasenjit

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutHTX is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.