We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Paris Campeau. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Paris below.
Alright, Paris thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.
Wow. I think it is a series of risks that keep paying off, starting with me moving from the West Coast to the East Coast by myself, my dog, and a car full of my belongings. I had a full tank of gas and about $2000 to my name. I didn’t know anyone on the other side, nor did I have a job lined up or a stable place to live. Fast forward many years later I found myself living in Atlanta, and working in a small neighborhood spa as an aesthetician. The next big risk and life changer was deciding to have my daughter, by myself. With all of my family and friends still on the west it seemed like an insane decision, but I knew it was the right thing for me. She is now 10 years old and the drive and inspiration for every decision moving forward. Best risk I’ve ever taken! My daughter, Indigo, gave me the tenacity and motivation to do more. So as a single parent of a 3 year old, when given the opportunity to buy the spa I was working in, I jumped. The scariest risk, because I literally risked everything to make it happen. By that time I was fortunate enough to have some amazing friends, that I now call family, that helped build what is now, Indigo Wellness; a boutique spa in Kirkwood. She blessed my life with a determination and spirit and brings beauty to everything she is a part of. Watching her grow, and her unique creative spirit also influenced me to create our candle company rebel + suede. We are still in the beginning stages of growth, but I know that was a risk well worth taking too!
Paris , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I started in the beauty industry 25 years ago as a free lance makeup artist while living in San Francisco. Fast forward I became as aesthetician in Atlanta. After years of working in a small neighborhood spa I got the opportunity to purchase it and make it my own. That was never my goal in life, but as I started doing skin care my life started changing in the most beautiful and magical way, and I kept walking through the doors that kept opening for me. I have been able to bring my Masters in Holistic Psychology to the table with me, as well as my personal belief system and spirituality. My business motto is Internal Health Creates External Beauty, which I keep in mind with every service I perform. My continuous growth and passion has allowed me to create a really amazing community around my spa, I will be forever grateful for the neighborhood that embraced an outsider and gave me a home, and a space to raise my daughter and expand my business. While working in the spa my favorite services are more transformative like microneedling and chemical peels, and I will never get tired of a flawless brow! After six years in business and the gift of time given to me by the pandemic, I was able to start to doing things “for fun” during lock down. I started making candles, which was something I was always curious about, and almost overnight, my fun hobby became business number two! Rebel + Suede was born when I posted a picture of a couple of my first candles in a friend chat group, and one of them ordered 150 of them on the spot. I carry my work in the health and wellness industry into my candle making life too. All of our candles are consciously sourced with the most clean raw goods I can find. We don’t put any additives in our wax (which many companies do to help them smell stronger). All of our fragrances are sulfate and phthalate free, and our wicks are free of lead and zinc. And even after your candle has burned completely we ask that you upcycle (with many ideas on our website) or at the least, recycle. The spa has a recycling program too, when you bring in an old vessel you receive money off your next candle purchase. We also intentionally don’t box our candles, and have limited labels so the canister can be reused easily and less waste goes in the trash.
Indigo Wellness will always be my home, but it’s hard to share your energy with the whole world from a tiny neighborhood block. That’s why I created rebel+suede, so I could reach people all over the world, share my energy and my light, and hopefully educate people on health and wellness and taking care of themselves in a different light. And, if candles aren’t your thing, I am also working on a skin care line that should roll out in the spring. It’s currently on the shelves at Indigo Wellness, along with our candles, but we haven’t started marketing them to the outside yet.
The world seems like a heavy toxic place right now, and through the healing touch at the spa, and the energizing light of a candle, its my intention to change the world one tiny change at a time. Be it a non toxic candle of a fabulous moisturizer, both free from cancer causing agents, rebel + suede sets out to be the change and education needed in our world.
How’d you meet your business partner?
Ha! You never know that moment in time that can change your whole life. I met my rebel+ suede business partner in a coffee shop five years ago. I remember a moment in time, about an hour in to our first date, thinking “we’ve been talking easily for an hour and I have no desire to leave. The energy isn’t goosebumps and butterflies, but there’s something interesting about it” On our second date, the Universe told me he was my person, and 3 weeks later we moved in together. The next two years handed us some serious life lessons and growing, both individually and together. But no matter how many times we wanted to walk away in the beginning, the Universe had other plans for us. He is my twin flame, which is so kismet, as our rebel candles have double wicks. We both have our own separate businesses, but in the spring of 2021 I asked him if he wanted to be my business partner in rebel+suede, and he accepted immediately. I actually didn’t think he would say yes, lol. But he said he saw the vision and the trajectory immediately. He had already been my go to for all the questions and fragrance testing so it was an easy alliance. Shortly after that we came up with the name rebel + suede and began building a real business foundation and our respective roles.
Can you talk to us about manufacturing? How’d you figure it all out? We’d love to hear the story.
Years ago, before rebel+suede was ever a flame in my heart, I bought a candle making kit off Amazon. I skimmed over the directions, barely, and threw everything into a pot and called it a candle. It was the ugliest, and smelliest (not in a good way) candle I’ve ever seen. Despite the fact that I used 100% pure lavender oil, it smelled like burnt rubber. My receptionist at the time told me to take it home and throw it in the trash, it was ruining our zen. I still have that candle today to show how far I’ve grown. When I decided to take the time and try again I started with a lot of education. At the time, I didn’t know the amount of science and patience it actually takes to make a single candle! But through online resources and forums I began to learn the basics of candle making. In the beginning we went through so many different types of wax, and then found our favorite fragrances. From there we tested and tested and tested.
I have been asked numerous times where we get our candles, implying that we purchase the made goods and then slap our logo on it. However, that couldn’t be farther from the truth. After we decided on our wax of choice and the never ending testing, we also hand blend and create each fragrance of every candle. Up until 3 months ago, every single candle was made by us, in our home. As our business grew, so did the number of boxes overwhelming our living room, dining room, and kitchen. We finally made the leap and moved into a makers space and we couldn’t be happier. Not only do we have our home back, but we are able to create, pour, design, and ship much more efficiently. Leaving more time for more creating and testing….that’s the fun part ;)
Contact Info:
- Website: www.rebelandsuede.com
- Instagram: @rebelandsuede
- Facebook: @rebelandsuede
- Other: tiktok @rebelandsuede