Help Roseline open her Minneapolis storefront

Hi, I'm Bre, and I'm fundraising for Roseline, my candle-maker. She's opening a new storefront in Minneapolis, and I'd love to see her fully funded so she can start out debt-free. Here's her story:

The Vision

Imagine a community store that allows you to walk in and fill your own candles in your favorite jar, one that would have likely ended up in the landfill but can now be given a second, third, fourth life, etc. The best part? Not only are you walking away with a one-of-a-kind-candle, it's also one that’s made sustainably from start to finish. Created with the highest quality ingredients—100% soy wax and the safest of scents. Not only do they burn cleanly, they burn beautifully. And for longer than any candle you’ve met before. Because the world is too precious to fill it with waste. And, your body is too precious to be exposed to unnecessary toxins. Meet a new kind of candle.

How it all started

Roseline’s Candles began with a single candle and a dream. The goal was to meet a need we have in our communities: more sustainable business practices and zero-waste products. We must care for each other and the world in every act. In business, in life, and in our homes. When Roseline first started making candles, she was living in a zero-waste household, learning everything there was to know about the impact we all have on the planet. As she moved through life, she has kept these lessons at the forefront. Whenever Roseline was finished burning a candle she had purchased, she would save the jar and tell herself that someday she would put it to use.

When Roseline had enough jars collected, she began using them to throw a couple making parties (2019-2020, pre-covid). She also started making candles on the weekend in her spare time. Her friends, family, and then strangers began seeing her items as the most indulgent, guilt-free candle that they felt good about burning every time. She started selling these candles to friends & family, and then via social media.

Igniting a movement

In March 2020 at the beginning of lockdown, Roseline was still working in the non-profit sector and began working from home. In May, George Floyd’s murder happened very close to where Roseline worked and in the city where Roseline grew up and still lives. Roseline was among the thousands in Minneapolis who marched and protested peacefully in the fight for justice. The weekend following the murder of George Floyd, Roseline was in the crowd of over 15,000 people on the 35W bridge when a trucker barrelled through the crowd.

That traumatic experience led Roseline to have PTSD symptoms. Roseline decided to channel the negative symptoms she was experiencing into something good & turned to candle making. She committed to making 300 remembrance candles with George Floyd’s photo as a label. She posted these on social media and gave them all away at no cost. In the end, Roseline was able to bring a group of people together to help make over 600 George Floyd remembrance candles. All these candles were made in Roseline’s basement and sent all over the US, and even in France. For Roseline, the process was about finding a way to bring people together, collectively, to grieve.

What happened next

Roseline’s experience with making over 600 candles in a short time frame helped her to understand she could make candles in mass quantities. So, she did. She started signing up for markets and eventually launched a very basic website in September 2020 - exactly a year ago. The candles sold themselves.

Earlier this year, Roseline took a leap of faith and decided to become a full-time entrepreneur & business owner. Roseline is the lead candle maker, visionary leader, CEO of Roseline’s Candles, where she makes 100% soy candles and hand-pours them in recycled glass vessels. Her candles are sold in 15 retail locations in Minneapolis and continues to expand.

As the demand for Roseline’s Candles has increased, she has outgrown her small production space in her basement. She is expanding her business and will be opening a commercial location that will serve as a production space, a storefront to showcase other local makers, and a studio for candle-making classes. Roseline will maximize the use of this space. The location is at the heart of Northeast Minneapolis, on the corner at Central and Lowry, and opens at the end of September.

Where you come in

Starting a brick-and-mortar business is no small feat. It takes a lot of hired help, time, sweat and blood, and no shortage of tears. But Roseline is committed to her vision for a community of collective care, and you can help her be a force for change in the world of small business.

As you've seen, her dream is big, but also simple: to run a business that is honest to her community and cares for the environment. A business that doesn’t use the word “sustainable” as a marketing gimmick, but rather, as its North Star. With her business, many are impacted: other local makers, shop owners, the environment. We change the culture when people show up.

Your support today will not only help Roseline start her business debt-free, but will ripple out in waves across Minneapolis. It empowers a local, woman-owned, environmentally-friendly business. Roseline’s Place is not just a candle shop - it’s a movement to bring people together and care for our planet.

Thank you for your donation to this cause! Please share Roseline's story to spread the word.

Learn more about Roseline follow her business on social media:
https://roselinescandles.com/
https://www.instagram.com/roselinescandles/
https://www.facebook.com/roselinescandles/