By Mead Gill

In a moment of joyful solidarity and support in Black History month, three Black woman-owned businesses came together at The Postman in Seattle’s Central District on Thursday to launch their new candle collaboration called “Together.”

Spearheaded by the owner of The Postman Keanna Rose Pickett, the owner of Noir Lux Candle Co. Colina Bruce, and artist Jessie Lipscomb, “Together” symbolized the importance of Black unity and comradery. The launch organized by Laura Clise of Intentionalist encourages the community to mail a Noir Lux candle featuring Lipscomb’s artwork to friends and family in an effort to spread love and hope to the community. The candle is exclusively available at The Postman to be delivered by mail.

The “Together” collaboration represents the importance of Black unity and hope, combining Pickett’s mail service with Bruce’s candle making and Lipscomb’s artwork.

More than a Candle

Just as candles provide warmth and light through the bleak winter months, the three business owners strive to do the same in their collaboration.

“It’s not just a selling thing. It’s selling a unit of healing and hope and love and collaboration,” Clise said, emphasizing the values of the launch in light of the perpetual struggles that Black businesses face in Seattle, especially the Central District.

Clise and Pickett, who have known each other for years, bumped into each other while standing in line on the last day of Jackson’s Catfish Corner, a beloved Black-owned restaurant in the Central District that closed last month. Struck by Pickett’s goals of expanding and safeguarding the sustainability of The Postman, Clise organized the candle collaboration with the support of Converge’s Support Black Business campaign.

“This collaboration is about three different but incredibly bold, creative, compassionate Black woman business owners bringing their talents together to help spread love and light and hope to the community,” Clise said.

“I’m a creator too. I could create everything on my own, but that’s boring. It’s funner to collaborate and to add other people to your own story,” Pickett said.

The Postman

Pickett originally opened The Postman in 2018 with her husband D’Vonne Pickett Jr., until shutting down the business after D’Vonne was killed outside the storefront on October 19, 2022. In honor of D’Vonne, a section of East Union Street was renamed D’Vonne Pickett Jr. Way, symbolizing his incomparable presence in the tapestry of Seattle. For Pickett and her three children, candles represent their never-ending connection to D’Vonne and the community that has never stopped supporting them.

“I think deeply about candles because I have an altar at home, I have an altar in the business,” Pickett said, explaining she had also partnered with a candle maker before in honor of her mother’s passing. “[I] light a candle every day to honor all the loved ones…like D’Vonne who would’ve been part of this business or other folks that’ve been part of the community.”

Since its reopening in November 2022, The Postman remains an epicenter of community, connecting people all over the world from China to Alaska to Antarctica. On a small scale, The Postman allowed the community to send comforting letters to loved ones for free amidst the solitude of lockdown in 2020, many of which included poetry from local activist and creator Nikkita Oliver. Pickett’s longtime prioritization of supporting like-minded creators keeps the candle collaboration in tradition with everything The Postman stands for.

“I’m a creator too. I could create everything on my own, but that’s boring. It’s funner to collaborate and to add other people to your own story,” Pickett said.

“It's just so fulfilling to be able to create a product and a campaign that is inspired by, created by, and made for and by Black folks, Black women, Black businesses, our community, and anyone who supports that,” Bruce said.

Noir Lux Candle Co.

Celebrating three years of her candle company this month, Bruce operates Noir Lux Candle Bar in Belltown. In addition to providing space for self-care and creative liberty through candlemaking, Noir Lux acts as an incubator space, showcasing products from other small Black business owners. Bruce’s relentless support of her peers with shared business aspirations made this collaboration a no-brainer for her.

“This collaboration brings me so much joy,” Bruce said. “It's just so fulfilling to be able to create a product and a campaign that is inspired by, created by, and made for and by Black folks, Black women, Black businesses, our community, and anyone who supports that.”

Candle-making started in Bruce’s kitchen in 2020 as a means for her to practice self-care and creativity during the pandemic. She described feeling delighted by the act of creating something and then lighting it with intentionality. The scent of the “Together” candle is eucalyptus, fir, and evergreen, a snapshot of Pacific Northwest nature and relaxation.

“Candles for me are a conduit to everything else that we’re doing, which is building community, creating connections, providing opportunity for creativity to shine through. I think all of that is present in this collab,” Bruce said.

“I wanted a very quick but understandable hand motion that everybody would understand. And to me that was obviously a dab,” Lipscomb said.

Momma Lips Draws

Black female empowerment gleams brightly through the work of Lipscomb and her company Momma Lips Draws, a testament to the unique power yielded by artists and creators. Lipscomb’s design on the “Together” candle features two Black arms together, serving as a reminder of the importance of Black unity.

“I wanted a very quick but understandable hand motion that everybody would understand. And to me that was obviously a dab,” Lipscomb said. “A universal sign that changes from person to person but it’s still that physical connection of ‘I got you.’”

Momma Lips Draws was born out of a mental break for Lipscomb going into 2023, which pushed her to swing big on herself and start painting on huge canvases instead of smaller paintings and digital designs. Her efforts paid off, landing a window display on Pike Street downtown, eventually showing her work in museums and art walks around Seattle. Lipscomb proves the ideology upheld by “Together” that from a place of darkness, light can emerge.

Support Black Business

With the help of Intentionalist and the Buy Black Card, “Together” marks an opportunity for the community to support and give back to three Black women who serve them through their inspiring businesses. The Buy Black Card is a vehicle for intentional spending in support of 135 Black-owned businesses in the greater Seattle area, all with their own impactful stories of success and struggle in line with Pickett, Bruce, and Lipscomb.

“Each of [these women] has a different inspiring story, a different inspiring business,” Clise said. “And yet I think that combined they’re going to be offering the community a really wonderful way not just to support three incredible Black women in business, but to…spread a little love, a little hope, a little light.”

The Postman

2715 East Union Street

Seattle, WA 98122

Phone: (206) 257-4623

Instagram: @thepostman_seattle

Noir Lux Candle Co.

3020 Warren Place

Seattle, WA 98121

Phone: (206) 708-6869

Instagram: @noirluxcandleco

Facebook: Noir Lux Candle Co.

Momma Lips Draws