Each year, our card is dedicated to a worthy cause (on behalf of everyone we’ve had the joy to work with), and is carefully crafted to tell the story. It’s our way of keeping things in perspective and reminding our recipients of what the holiday season is all about.
This year, we wanted to think bigger. How do we keep the spirit of giving alive past December? And just like that, our idea for a year-long initiative was born: the Courage Candle. We opened an online shop called B&Y Untethered (which will act as our creative outlet long after this initiative is over), created custom candles, thoughtfully constructed our message and supporting materials, and shipped them out to our vendors and partners.
The package encouraged recipients to purchase a candle at our store, where 100% of the proceeds throughout 2019 support three local charities: Erin’s House for Grieving Children, Community Harvest Food Bank, and Parenting Time Center Evansville. We wanted to make the message simple and succinct to ensure our audience would get the point — that they have the power to change lives.
It’s all in the details:
- We started with custom, hand-drawn typography that was silk-screened onto each candle. Because the message printed on the candle was the main visual for this “card,” we wanted it to be bold, unique and beautiful enough to be displayed at home or in the office all year.
- Once we came up with names for each candle, it was important to ensure the scent matched the message. After digging deep into our creative minds, we’re pretty confident we nailed exactly what Inspiration, Courage and Empowerment should smell like (at least our noses think so).
- We designed, printed, cut and assembled our own labels with a fun, whimsical design to complete the overall look. The labels had a holiday twist during December, and were made “all-year friendly” afterwards.
- Because the box for each candle acted as the “cover,” it was concepted to peak our audiences’ interests until they could get inside for the big reveal.
- We offered each charity the ability to take our idea and run with it — allowing them to brand the candles with their own message to raise even more donations for their cause.
- We truly believe our Courage Candles are a win-win for everyone. The charities get a donation that helps keep their mission going, and the customer gets a fragrant reminder of the change they helped create all year long.
We encourage you to help us make a difference. Courage Candles can be purchased through December 2019 at shop.b-y.net.