Brand Spotlight: Grace the Collection

Welcome to the Flourysh 5 where you get to learn the story behind some amazing black owned brands pushing business forward for the culture. This week we spoke with Denise Reese, the founder of the luxury home fragrance line, Grace the Collection.

 

I really enjoyed getting to know the "Why?" behind this collection. Can you  drop us in the moment when you knew you wanted to start your own home fragrance? 

So it goes back to 2019, traveling on a beach in between roles, getting ready to start a new position. I started thinking about what my word for 2020 was going to be. I was reading an article in the Oprah magazine interviewing Melinda Gates. And she talked about the importance of exhibiting grace when you're telling folks stories. This was in the context of some of the work that the Gates Foundation was doing. And it was just at that moment that it was solidified that "grace" was going to be my word for 2020.

We all know of the myriad of things that took place in 2020. I had some personal things that transpired as well. And after summer of 2020, after being on lockdown, living through the pandemic, I recognized the importance of us having grace for ourselves, but also exhibiting grace for each other. That was the moment that Grace the Collection was born. And we launched officially in January of this year. 

 

So, you were telling me the story about it goes back to your childhood and your own home smelling great. Your mom always made sure that vanilla scent was in the air. So tell us a little bit about your love for home fragrance.

I believe that scent can evoke a mood. It can set the atmosphere for your home. It can make you feel joyous and excited. You can create a little bit of luxe and romance as well. And often that starts with scent and candles are typically the foundation of that as well. So there's always either a diffuser burning in my house, a candle or candles or burning different scents in the bathrooms, plugins too, all the things.It's something that I have a personal passion for and love.

I feel like if you're starting a business, if you start from something that you actually yourself are passionate about and love and enjoy, then that can only translate into the experience that your customers have as well.

 

That brings us to the products, the scents that you offer and the packaging that you have. You really do live up to this luxury feel. What are some of your favorite scents and what has been a big success for you so far?

Absolutely. So luxe is definitely top of mind for Grace the Collection. And it doesn't just start with the packaging. The scents that were created for the company were cultivated. I worked with my supplier to identify fragrance houses and we created and crafted these scents just for Grace the Collection. So you're not going to find these scents anywhere else.

Secondly, I realized that there needed to be an option for something that's much more accessible to folks at different price points. We have our six ounce travel tin in Grace and Peace. This is what we launched with in January. These are available on the site and on the platform. We'll also have two other scents joining the collection. Love and Joy will be launching soon as well.

When I package this up and you get this in the mail, it’s boxed up as a gift to yourself. It's something for you. If you're gifting it, it will be a gift that you can enjoy. And even the boxes are a bit higher end with great quality as well. They ship amazingly. But What I love about the travel tins is that these are awesome for gifting. I have a couple of corporate clients, some real estate agents that are purchasing sets for their closings for their clients. Our six ounce tins give you about 25 hours of burn time.

 

I really want to just take a quick note and say the design, the thoughtfulness around the look of this candle sort of elevates the whole room. You're stylish. You want to put that everywhere. 

I do. It's an extension of me. That's the thing, everything about the brand from the tins that I selected to my designer, Emily Wells Design. She is amazing. Another small woman owned business out of Alabama. She did all of the branding and just really brought the brand to life in a beautiful way.

So, that is exhibited in every facet here. What I've created is intentional, because it's all about the experience. It's not just about the product.

 

Thank you so much for sharing your story and welcome to flourish. We're just so glad to have you. 

Thank you so much. I'm super excited. I'm glad to be here.