Izabella Miko: One Hot Candle
Photo credit: Witek Berkan
You most recently saw her in NBC’s “The Cape,” but Izabella Miko almost didn’t become an actress. Born in what was still Communist Poland to thespian parents, Izabella learned to dance at the same time that she learned to walk. At the age of 15 she was given a full scholarship to study in New York with the School of American Ballet, only to have injuries cut short her dance career.
Then, a fluke casting in a Lithuanian television movie took Izabella back to America again—this time to the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute—and roles in “Coyote Ugly,” “Bye Bye Blackbird” and HBO’s “Deadwood” shortly followed. We talked with Izabella from the Los Angeles set of “The Cape,” where she opened up about her obsessive environmentalism and non-profit EkoMiko Foundation. Part Two of Five.
EcoStiletto: The EkoMiko candles are absolutely gorgeous—we were so thrilled to include them in our “Sustainable Sex Guide.” How did you become such a green entrepreneur?
Izabella Miko: We have so many different plans, like an EkoMiko school bus that will be traveling around the country and greening schools—all that stuff that I really want to do. So I was trying to raise money for the Foundation and I came up with an eco-candle line.
The candle is made out of coconut wax, something that you can actually put on your skin, and we came up with two different natural scents—Eko Hero and Eko Heroine. I really wanted to make this candle sexy so it’s a product that’s green but oozes sensuality.
It’s a recycled wine bottle that’s been cut in half and all the inserts are made out of stone paper using no water or trees, and the boxes is biodegradable with seeds in it so you can plant it. The wick is wooden; it crackles when it burns. I really made sure that every single element of the candle is as green as possible. Even the companies that we use, one is wind-powered and one has a zero carbon footprint.
Every candle is hand poured. Every single candle I touch with my own hands because I’m so detail oriented—you know, if it was too frosted I was there rubbing it with olive oil. The presentation has to be beautiful because it’s a luxury candle line. I’m really proud of it. It’s doing really well and all the proceeds go to the Foundation, I’m not making any money from it. It’s the first EkoMiko product but we have a jewelry line and a bag line that will come out this year.
ES: Did going green in your production mean the costs were higher? Why was that worth it to you?
IM: At this point, I invested my own money into it. It’s the same with the Foundation, it’s coming out of my own pocket because I really believe in being a responsible citizen of this planet. I grew up in the environment where my mom said that half of the day you should spend on yourself, and the other half on somebody else or the planet. So my friends laugh—when I make money instead of going on a vacation I’m like, “Oh great! Let me put more money into EcoMiko!”
But it’s hard when it’s an eco-production, it’s really, really hard—which is what I found out. When you’re using eco-ingredients it gets more expensive. I wish it were different because then it would be accessible to everyone.
ES: At EcoStiletto, we’re of the philosophy that as we inspire the demand, the supply gets bigger and prices go down. It sounds like you are, too!
Want more? Our exclusive interview with Izabella Miko covers sexing up sustainability, one hot candle, eco-obsession, seizing the spotlight and going electric. Check back here next week!
Rachel Lincoln Sarnoff is EcoStiletto’s founder and editor. A mother of three who also blogs as Mommy Greenest, Rachel enjoys organic pina coladas and getting caught in the rain.
