Vancouver artist's curvy candles shed light on body positivity (PHOTOS)
Womankynd Co. began in Vancouver, where creators of colour in the mainstream art market are few and far between.
Often, that means there’s more demand for POC-inclusive products than there is supply. But one local creator is trying to make a difference with a new collection of candles that look like something you’d see in an art gallery.
“Clean, handmade, and perfectly unique” is the ethos behind Bridget Xyle-Mopera’s brand, which only uses small batch soy and beeswax candles.
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Her work is 100% animal-cruelty-free, so you can feel even better about your patronage if you choose to buy one.
She encourages humans to be kind to themselves, too. In an Instagram post on February 14, Womankynd Co. shared a picture of a woman with “Still beautiful” written on her side.
She started making the candles as gifts in September 2021, and at first, many of them were thin and perfectly smooth. That didn’t feel right, so she experimented with more colours, darker shades, and different shapes.
“I really want to embrace every woman of colour because growing up in the Philippines where beauty standards look so different compared to what Filipino looks like, it’s not easy to build confidence,” she said.
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With time, she realized she wants her brand to represent real bodies, imperfect as they may be.
“With the candles, I can tell the world that beauty is all different and we ourselves create our beauty standards. I want to represent that. I want to tell the world anyone can be beautiful, even with the scars and everything else,” she said.
“I’m here to remind everyone our insecurities are what make us unique from each other.”
Her customer’s reactions inspire her to keep going, especially when they appreciate her mission. Usually, the first thing they notice is the colour.
Many of her customers are also women of colour who seldom see themselves represented in art, especially if they’re curvy, disabled, or heavily scarred.
Still, every time she participates in a pop-up, she says she gets different reactions.
“Some people love it. They get what I’m trying to do, and some people — you kind of have to explain to them these candles aren’t meant to be funny, aren’t made to be sexualized,” she said.
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She hopes Womankynd Co. promotes the notion that people can appreciate bodies without sexualizing them.
“There are still people out there who think women should cover up, women should be quiet, and I just want to brand that women can express themselves really freely,” she said.
The official Womankynd Co. website is launching on February 22. Stay tuned to its social media for updates on new colours and scents and the debut of her first candle plate.
You can also see Womankynd Co. at a pop-up in Fort Langley on April 16.
Right now, she’s only taking orders by direct message on Instagram, but plans to launch a website soon.
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