HER STORY: How Noël & Co. Found Its Voice
“We would rather be steady and present than everywhere at once.”
Branding from the Ground Up: How Noël & Co. Found Its Voice
It did not begin with a business plan. It began with a school trip and a kitchen table.
We were sixteen when our class announced a tour of Greece. Janie and I loved Greek myths, but there was no Bank of Mom. If we wanted to go, we had to earn it ourselves. Chocolate bar fundraisers helped, but not enough. Typical teen jobs weren’t accessible for me — I live with cerebral palsy and am a two-time kidney transplant recipient. Janie refused to go without me. “No sister left behind,” she said, and together we began listing what we might build.
Those lists became the beginning of a brand. Candles felt like an answer we already knew. Our mother guided the visual world, our grandmother helped with markets and deliveries, and our name carried the weight of everything we made. Each product had to pass a simple test: Would we use it? Would we display it? Would we be proud to give it? If the answer was yes, we carried on.
Our voice emerged through practice. We wrote like ourselves — plain, warm, specific. We answered messages personally. Packaging followed the same ethos: amber jars, recyclable materials, attention to how the product would live in a real home. It wasn’t about looking considered in a photograph; it was about being considerate in life.
Growth came gradually. Local markets led to retail shelves, seasonal collections formed, and mistakes were corrected along the way. Purpose runs through our work: a portion of every sale supports the Kidney Foundation of Canada, and sustainability guides our choices.
Living with cerebral palsy and navigating two kidney transplants shaped more than my schedule; it shaped our company. Accessibility is not a footnote; it is a framework. Roles are built around strengths. Plans are realistic, and communication is clear. That discipline is an advantage, keeping us focused on what matters.
I used to think a brand was a look. Now I see it as a living agreement: how story meets practice, how a candle burns at dusk, how a customer feels when opening a box with our name carefully written on a card. We did not begin with expertise. We began with a promise and a table that smelled faintly of warm wax and tea. That is still where you will find us: three generations, one table, the next right pour.
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Twin sisters Lauren and Janie Noël co-founded Noël & Co., a small-batch candle studio in Nova Scotia. Living with cerebral palsy and as a two-time kidney transplant recipient, Lauren helped shape an accessible family business that now spans three generations. Together with their mother and grandmother, they craft thoughtful, art-driven goods rooted in care, sustainability, and story.
