Meet Melinda Lee Holm | Author, Tarot Expert, Beauty Brand Creator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Melinda Lee Holm and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Melinda Lee, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I know the exact moment I decided to start my own business, though it didn’t really feel like a decision. I got laid off from my full time job working as a photo editor at a very inconvenient time (I was recently divorced with only a few hundred dollars in my bank account). A friend offered to send my resume around and I felt my whole body say no thank you. There wasn’t a thought process, I just knew it was time for me to make my side work in tarot and magick my main work.

I was lucky enough to get a job working part time at the best crystal shop in Los Angeles, Spellbound Sky, while I built up my businesses. I started writing a lot, I made magickal jewelry, I did tarot readings. Then a dear friend from my days at Betsey Johnson called and asked if I’d ever wanted to do anything in beauty and I said yes. When we had to decide what that would look like and what it would be about, it came down to finding one thing we could start with that would be the center and the ambassador of the brand, so we built a fragrance around the symbol I created to stand for the intention behind all my work, a combination of the divine teachings of The Hierophant and the magickal power of elemental Fire. I chose ingredients used in ritual and spellwork to match those energies and Melinda Lee Holm Beauty and our first Fragrance Oil was born!

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Seeing my books and tarot deck on the shelves of Barnes & Noble – in the same section of that store that changed my entire life when I stumbled upon it at 15 – is profoundly humbling and moving. If I can make the impact on one person that was made on me when I needed it, my life will be well spent.

(NOTE – I didn’t know how this site was going to work, so I answered most of the questions from the first page thinking I would be asked to answer them all, so here are the rest)

Risk taking – how do you think about risk?
From the outside, I think everything I do looks like a major risk (there aren’t a lot of people out there pushing their kids to do the responsible thing and become a professional witch via tarot reading and writing and a magickal beauty line), but for me it all feels very grounded. I had to learn quite early in life to trust myself and my judgment and that has served me well. I think the riskiest thing a person can do is try to do what they think someone else wants them to do or what they think they should do. I am not at all interested in that type of risk. When I bet on myself, I know what I am getting and what I can expect. I don’t do what I should, I do what I know is right and true for me.

Most important factor behind success
I think being flexible and letting my work show me what it needs to be and when is the single most important factor in the success I’ve had. Each MLH Beauty product has paid for the development of the next product. Because we’re making it up as we go along around a single focus – blending science and alchemy to make beauty products formulated with magickal ingredients that reflect the wisdom of the tarot – we have the flexibility to be creative and make products that I want to have for myself while holding everything together in a cohesive brand that makes sense.

It’s the same with my writing. I have a folder of ideas for projects, but when my publisher asks me to write something specific, I’m gonna say yes. Even if I just started grad school, which happened this spring. (Watch for a second tarot deck and a full length book on tarot from me in 2023 and know that they were written during my MFA program!)

How do you know whether to keep going or give up?
You don’t really. There’s no formula to figure it out. It’s like knowing when to leave a relationship. Every relationship has ups and downs and sometimes there’s a big catastrophic event that makes the decision easy, but most of the time you just feel it ending and you know it’s time to let it go. Everyone has their own set of resources and responsibilities to consider and beyond that I think it’s mostly a question of whether you can imagine living without it. If you can’t, keep going.

I also think if you do decide to walk away, you’re not necessarily giving up on anything. You’re making the decision that is right for you at that time. That’s the best any of us can ever do and it is also something to be proud of.

Work/life balance – how has it changed over time, how do you think about the balance?
Before I worked for myself, it was easier to see that line, but as my work has become more personal, the line gets blurrier. For me it’s now more of an on/off balance than a work/life balance. My health – physical, mental, emotional, spiritual – depends on my knowing when to rest and let my creative brain recharge and receive inspiration.

A huge turning point for me was realizing that doing nothing is a very important part of my creative and work life. I need a lot of starting into space time to allow ideas to flow. My natural work day is about six hours. After that, my returns on my time investment diminish greatly. So I’d prefer to work seven days a week for six hours a day over cramming that work into a few twelve hour days. Sometimes I don’t have that luxury, but that’s how I try to pace myself. That’s the balance that works best for me.

What makes you happy? Why?
Singing, learning languages, playing ukulele, getting outdoors, laughing and making people I love laugh. It’s really important for me to use different parts of my brain in my leisure time than I use when developing MLH Beauty and writing. It keeps me fresh and balanced and keeps my work from feeling like a chore. Ultimately, what I do for work is create ways for people to bring magick into their lives and connect to themselves as humans and spiritual beings and that is an incredible gift that makes me very very happy every day.

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?
Spellbound Sky! – A must. The best crystal shop ever. You cannot leave there without feeling great about yourself and the world. (Full disclosure, I was their first employee and am heavily biased, but for very good reason)

The Magic Castle – This is a private club for magicians and their guests, so you’ll have to find a magician member and get an invite. Show magic at its finest in one of the oldest buildings in Los Angeles.

Parks BBQ – Best Korean BBQ in LA and probably the Americas

Guisados – I dream of their tacos when I am away. Even when I am in Mexico City.

Any hiking trail anywhere – One of my favorite things about LA is how easy it is to get to places that feel very removed from city life. Go to Griffith Park, Go to Malibu, Topanga, anywhere with a trail that leads to a view.

Grauman’s Chinese Theater – See a movie there. The interior is insane and they still a live organist who plays before the show. Plus, people clap at the end of movies here which I think is really beautiful and charming. I once had an out of town guest kind of scoff and say “what, so they they think the filmmaker is here?” and I said “Well, maybe!” Maybe a set PA is there, maybe no one, but this city is hyper aware of the work that goes into making movies and we applaud the effort.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Spellbound Sky http://spellboundsky.com/ I met Mark and Martin shortly after I moved to LA and they have become my family. They are incredibly supportive of me and my work and wonderful people who help the community through their business.

LA LGBT Center Youth Education Program https://lalgbtcenter.org/culture-education I volunteer as a tutor with the education program at the LA LGBT Youth Center. It’s a wonderful program that provides free educational resources including tutoring and help with logistics and fess associated with getting your GED and getting into college.

Website: melindaleeholm.com

Instagram: @melindaleeholm

Image Credits
Tyler Curtis (for portraits only)