Student entrepreneurs Mushtariy Ishmukhamedova ’27 from Uzbekistan and Coumba Ndiaye ‘26 from Senegal turned a classroom friendship into a small business that sells culturally inspired, homemade candles. Kelum, their brand, puts scents from their home countries into small glass jars designed to offer students comfort, relaxation, and a sense of belonging away from home.
Kelum launched this semester with three original scents that each tell a story.
Bissap, inspired by the name of Senegal’s famous hibiscus tea, contains the bold, tangy sweetness of dried hibiscus petals and softens into a gentle breeze of cool mint representing the memory of a summer evening in the village in West Africa.
Dessert Bloom, captures Uzbekistan’s essence by focusing on the richness of pomegranate mixed with gulab, rose water that is very big in Central Asia. This candle honors ancient beauty rituals and reminders of home.
For the last one, the students created a candle that represented a mix between both their cultures. Eclipse, a fusion candle that combines mango, an extremely popular fruit in Senegal, and gulab.
Each candle is hand-poured, vegan-friendly and made with soy wax, a choice that aligns with the brand’s focus on sustainability. They’re topped with dried flowers or small pomegranate pieces, a visual reminder of the natural ingredients and cultural symbolism behind the fragrances.
“Whether you’re an immigrant or just moved somewhere new, we all relate to missing home. All we want to do is create that healing environment through aromatherapy, so you can have that connection back home in a piece of jar,” Ishmukhamedova said.
The name Kelum came from Pular, a language widely spoken in Senegal. The founders brainstormed several ideas but wanted a name that was simple, meaningful, and connected to their mission.
“Kelum was born from our love of sharing culture. We were talking about how we just want to spread our cultures and share it with people,” Ndiaye said.
The two founders first met in an Arabic class at Loyola. What began as quick compliments soon grew into a deep friendship, which eventually became a business partnership. As they worked on a class project together, they discovered how much they shared, despite growing up thousands of miles apart.
“We’re so different, but alike at the same time. We realized how similar we were in culture, food, and personality. And we both had that entrepreneurship mindset,” Ishmukhamedova said.
The idea for the business didn’t come instantly. They originally planned to create and sell stickers, but once finals hit, that plan shifted. Candles, however, offered more creative possibilities, especially when they realized fragrance could become a bridge to identity and storytelling.
“At first we had no idea how to create candles. We failed at the beginning, but in the end we were successful and came up with scents that remind us of home,” Ishmukhamedova said.
Production happens in their home kitchen spaces, and the process is very precise. Temperature control matters: if it’s too hot, the fragrance burns off; if it’s too cool, the wax won’t set correctly. They spent their time researching suppliers to ensure quality materials that allowed them to keep everything natural and vegan-friendly.
“When creating our candles we really wanted them to be therapeutic. So when you smell it, it literally sends you back home and gives you that sense of nostalgia,” Ndiaye said.
You can purchase their candles through their Etsy Shop, “Kelumco”, and learn more about their business through their Instagram.