When starting our family business, we knew we wanted to do more than “just” sell candles. We wanted to bring about change and we wanted to help create a world where our daughter has access to positive representations of people who look like her. For us, and for so many like us, the Black Diaspora represents beauty, strength, joy, collectivism, and thriving. We’re using candles to share those positive representations.

And why candles? Because across centuries, candles have been embraced as a gateway to connection, joy, spiritual growth and understanding. In short, candles speak deeply to our souls, something a meaningful dialogue around Blackness absolutely needs.

In many ways, we feel like our family was destined to start Bright Black. Dariel’s last name is Heron, a bird known to many cultures as the creator of light. Our daughter’s name means “the bright one,” and Tiffany’s name means “an illuminating discovery.”

Our journey began five years ago when, upon dating, we discovered we both loved candles. What started out as a fun couples activity at the beginning of a new relationship, soon transformed into a hobby that yielded gifts for friends and family. Candlemaking was a peaceful activity for Dariel and the scent artistry became a creative outlet for Tiffany. Fast forward to the end of 2018, when dreaming of ways to create more freedom in our lives, and the candle company we imagined years before re-entered our minds. Tiffany wrote the Bright Black business plan and registered the business while furloughed during the government shutdown, and with that Bright Black had officially begun!

The road to a fully launched Bright Black candle company has been anything but easy. But finally, we’re here! And we’re overjoyed to be on this Bright Black adventure with you.