Our Candles help people
We exclusively employ underrepresented youth, with a focus on young men with periods of incarceration, to make our candles — providing jobs, mentorship, and a space to breathe so they can have the best opportunity to become who they aspire to be.
OUR Candle Makers
Our Story
Cathedral
Where we started.
In 2019, we started working with young men from a transitional home based in Woodinville, Washington, a suburb just outside of Seattle. We quickly developed a passion for supporting these young men during our time together. Like many passions, it came out of nowhere and was rooted in a need I saw in a younger version of myself. They were just kids and, like all kids, needed the support and belief of the adults around them. So we had guys come in every week to do...whatever needed doing. Cleaning, side projects, organizing. It didn't really matter. What mattered was getting the time to invest in them.
The Catalyst
Pandemic. In a matter of days, we had nothing to do. No events, no business, no money. And so...candles.
When we began, we did so with a really basic purpose — pandemic or not; we simply weren't willing to end our partnership with the young people we work with. So we did what you do when resources are limited — we got more resourceful. We had no idea what we were doing. We'd never made a candle let alone ordered supplies to do so. Our first candles were...rough. Our first labels were...extra rough, lol. Where do you even get nice-looking labels? We launched with two options, scented or unscented. Then we shared it with our community and they showed up.
Candles
We've sold thousands of candles the last few years — added sizes and scents, offering wholesale and private-label (corporate gifts anyone?) We’ve provided over 4000 hours of employment, over 240,000 minutes.
Spír, pronounced like inspire, means "to breathe" in Latin — which is precisely what we hope to help the underrepresented youth we work with to do so more easily. Jobs are great, but if we don’t first create environments where people feel safe, valued, and supported then it’s not particularly helpful.
We've spent the last few years navigating how we share what we do while protecting and honoring the young men we work with. We are now in a place where we want to be more active in sharing our story and the stories of the young men. There is much work to be done and we have massive aspirations for who we want to become. Both can only be accomplished by sharing what we are up to and more intentionally asking others to join. We can’t do it alone. Would you help us?
When you buy your candle from us, you buy more than a candle. You’re investing in the young people we work with — and hopefully yourself. We believe doing something is better than nothing. In this case, that something is buying a candle. Thank you.
