How it began….
It all begins with an idea.
Hi! I’m Christina, nice to ‘meet’ you! I am here as a solopreneur and to share my handmade products with the world. I make candles and some bath products, all from natural raw materials to help support our minds, souls and of course skin. Skincare is so important - especially as we age. The environment is so hard on us and I know I take it for granted. Another thing I take for granted? My health. Physically, emotionally and even mentally. I wanted to have a meaningful, helpful product that filled a gap. The gap to TRULY clean and safe ingredients and something that helped the community. I’m not business minded so this might be a flop but I think I found a solution and I’m willing to learn! This is my story.
How it started:
For decades, I wrestled with my vision—a dream I always had but never believed I could make real. Then the pandemic hit. The world shut down, I lost my job, and life grew quiet. I could hear myself thinking (not great, by the way). With nothing but time on my hands and sourdough starters mocking me, I decided to dive into topics I had ignored— including skincare. I wanted skincare that made sense: real ingredients, truly good for you, and trustworthy. But not just any skincare; I wanted the real deal: products with ingredients I could pronounce, that wouldn’t secretly pickle me, and actually did what they promised.
I started with a few courses to transform my dream into something more than Pinterest boards; and feeling like an unstoppable godly form, attempting to turn a hobby into a career, laying out a five-year plan. I kicked things off with a brand called “No Bull”—because, frankly, the beauty industry loves its B.S. As I researched, though, I realized even my beloved candles were quietly poisoning me. Turns out, I’d been aromatherapizing myself with toxins for years. (Fun fact: ignorance is not bliss when you find out your “pumpkin spice dream” is a chemical nightmare.) That revelation pushed me toward bath products. I continued down the bath path as “No Bull”—a nod to no-nonsense, straightforward products. After all, what hardworking woman doesn’t love a calming bath at the end of a tough day and pretending to have it all together?
Finding suppliers who met my high standards turned into a saga. Apparently, the phrase “all-natural” means about as much as “world’s best coffee.” But I didn’t give up. By the end, I found raw materials that were as pure as my intentions. I tossed everything under my bathroom sink in a fit of righteous fury and vowed never to go back. I promised myself (and my trash can that was now full of the crap from under my bathroom cabinet) that no longer will I support ‘bad things’ in my products. I want it clean, beneficial to the skin, and holds a real purpose to you and me; I wanted real health benefits. My mission became simple: create products that are clean, purposeful, and kind to your skin—and that wouldn’t leave anyone wondering if their bath bomb might double as a science experiment.
I continued to narrow my suppliers to those aligned with my vision: all-natural, free of harmful ingredients, with limited synthetic or man-made additives. Exhaustive work, and how was it that difficult of a task?! The search wasn’t easy. I was shocked by how few truly clean, raw materials were available. But I stayed determined. I committed to using only raw materials that met my standards and were beneficial products for real health and wellness.
The trial era:
I placed my first order with a reputable natural wholesale supplier in Canada. Why Canada? Well, I live here, the supplier provides certificates of authenticity for every ingredient (so I can make sure it’s legit), and let’s not forget the Great Pandemic Border Shutdown of 2020, when even toilet paper struggled to cross borders. Local was my only option. My first batch of products went into testing, and I joined a nearby farmer’s market. Within 20 minutes, I sold $350 worth of clean candles. I stood there, blinking like I’d just won the lottery, thinking, “Okay, maybe this could actually work!” Then reality hit: I needed consistency. A store would’ve been ideal, but considering my bank account, the closest I could get was a dream and a folding table.
Switching Gears:
As I kept going, branding tripped me up. People kept calling my company “Noble” instead of “No Bull.” Cute, but no. I pivoted toward a rebrand. After weeks of brainstorming (and ignoring friends’ ideas that sounded like they came from a Hallmark movie), I went back to basics. Trends? Meh, they’re like skinny jeans—cool one year, cringe the next. I needed something timeless. That’s when math struck me. (Yes, math. Stay with me.) Breaking things down to their simplest terms gave me clarity: candles and bath salts. Wicks and salts. Sticks and rocks. But “Sticks and Rocks” sounded more like a caveman Etsy shop, so I landed on Sticks + Stones. Simple, meaningful, and just whimsical enough to stick. Pun intended!
The name worked on two levels. First, childhood nostalgia: “sticks and stones may break my bones…” Second, it reflected my vision: creating products that soothe, uplift, and bring a bit of peace—whether you’re dealing with stress, internal struggles, or just that one coworker who always emails at 4:59 p.m. My goal was bigger than just selling stuff. I wanted to create tiny moments of serenity in a chaotic world.
4 years into a 5 year plan:
Fast forward: four years into my five-year plan, and I’m… well, let’s call it “creatively delayed.” Inflation, material costs, and a severe case of being broke have slowed things down. But progress is progress! This year, I built a website (<stickstones.ca>). It’s been a battle—me versus e-commerce—and right now, the website is winning. But hey, one product listing at a time. Copy, paste, tweak, repeat. I’ll get there.
My official - not so official- about me statement:
The takeaway: Here’s what Sticks + Stones stands for: every product is made with the highest-quality, all-natural ingredients, free of the nasty stuff like parabens, sulfates, and synthetic fragrances. My promise? Safe, thoughtful blends designed to help you unwind, relax, and maybe even reclaim a bit of your sanity.
Natural materials merge together to create elegance in a lineup of sophisticated luxurious selfcare products. Sticks + stones believes in care products that are undiluted in ornamentation, enhanced by raw authenticity and unrefined in beauty. The line up offers candles and body care using the highest grade and premium ingredients harvested directly from some of the world’s most natural and treasured wonders. Ethically sourced and fair trade, these materials are brought from around the world and help create 100% all natural selfcare products to help you unwind to your fullest potential.
My promise to you, the customer, is that you will never find an ingredient in any product that isn’t safe or useful on a biological level. Scented with only the purest certified essential oils and mixed mindfully for a safe indulgence into a world of mindfulness and relaxation. Our guarantee is there will never be a harmful additive including all absent use of any harmful compounds, toxins, parabens, SLS/SLES/sulfates, EDCs (endocrine disrupting chemicals), synthetic fragrances and colours, phthalates, aluminum, ethoxylated ingredients and as more are discovered to be harmful they will be added to our No, No’s list.
Thanks for hanging around and reading my story. I’m still figuring it all out, but I’m giving it my best shot. If you’ve got a dream, don’t wait—start somewhere, even if it’s small. I encourage you to be brave enough to give it a shot. YOLO, right?!? I still have no idea if I’ll be a success story, but I’m sure going to try. I can’t give up on myself now! So, let’s get up, wash our faces, find our courage, sprinkle it with a bit of failure to keep us scared straight, and stumble toward success together!
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Hi! I’m Christina, nice to ‘meet’ you! I am here as a solopreneur and to share my handmade products with the world. I make candles and some bath products, all from natural raw materials to help support our minds, souls and of course skin. Skincare is so important - especially as we age. The environment is so hard on us and I know I take it for granted. Another thing I take for granted? My health. Physically, emotionally and even mentally. I wanted to have a meaningful, helpful product that filled a gap. The gap to TRULY clean and safe ingredients and something that helped the community. I’m not business minded so this might be a flop but I think I found a solution and I’m willing to learn! This is my story.
How it started:
For decades, I wrestled with my vision—a dream I always had but never believed I could make real. Then the pandemic hit. The world shut down, I lost my job, and life grew quiet. I could hear myself thinking (not great, by the way). With nothing but time on my hands and sourdough starters mocking me, I decided to dive into topics I had ignored— including skincare. I wanted skincare that made sense: real ingredients, truly good for you, and trustworthy. But not just any skincare; I wanted the real deal: products with ingredients I could pronounce, that wouldn’t secretly pickle me, and actually did what they promised.
I started with a few courses to transform my dream into something more than Pinterest boards; and feeling like an unstoppable godly form, attempting to turn a hobby into a career, laying out a five-year plan. I kicked things off with a brand called “No Bull”—because, frankly, the beauty industry loves its B.S. As I researched, though, I realized even my beloved candles were quietly poisoning me. Turns out, I’d been aromatherapizing myself with toxins for years. (Fun fact: ignorance is not bliss when you find out your “pumpkin spice dream” is a chemical nightmare.) That revelation pushed me toward bath products. I continued down the bath path as “No Bull”—a nod to no-nonsense, straightforward products. After all, what hardworking woman doesn’t love a calming bath at the end of a tough day and pretending to have it all together?
Finding suppliers who met my high standards turned into a saga. Apparently, the phrase “all-natural” means about as much as “world’s best coffee.” But I didn’t give up. By the end, I found raw materials that were as pure as my intentions. I tossed everything under my bathroom sink in a fit of righteous fury and vowed never to go back. I promised myself (and my trash can that was now full of the crap from under my bathroom cabinet) that no longer will I support ‘bad things’ in my products. I want it clean, beneficial to the skin, and holds a real purpose to you and me; I wanted real health benefits. My mission became simple: create products that are clean, purposeful, and kind to your skin—and that wouldn’t leave anyone wondering if their bath bomb might double as a science experiment.
I continued to narrow my suppliers to those aligned with my vision: all-natural, free of harmful ingredients, with limited synthetic or man-made additives. Exhaustive work, and how was it that difficult of a task?! The search wasn’t easy. I was shocked by how few truly clean, raw materials were available. But I stayed determined. I committed to using only raw materials that met my standards and were beneficial products for real health and wellness.
The trial era:
I placed my first order with a reputable natural wholesale supplier in Canada. Why Canada? Well, I live here, the supplier provides certificates of authenticity for every ingredient (so I can make sure it’s legit), and let’s not forget the Great Pandemic Border Shutdown of 2020, when even toilet paper struggled to cross borders. Local was my only option. My first batch of products went into testing, and I joined a nearby farmer’s market. Within 20 minutes, I sold $350 worth of clean candles. I stood there, blinking like I’d just won the lottery, thinking, “Okay, maybe this could actually work!” Then reality hit: I needed consistency. A store would’ve been ideal, but considering my bank account, the closest I could get was a dream and a folding table.
Changing Gears:
As I kept going, branding tripped me up. People kept calling my company “Noble” instead of “No Bull.” Cute, but no. I pivoted toward a rebrand. After weeks of brainstorming (and ignoring friends’ ideas that sounded like they came from a Hallmark movie), I went back to basics. Trends? Meh, they’re like skinny jeans—cool one year, cringe the next. I needed something timeless. That’s when math struck me. (Yes, math. Stay with me.) Breaking things down to their simplest terms gave me clarity: candles and bath salts. Wicks and salts. Sticks and rocks. But “Sticks and Rocks” sounded more like a caveman Etsy shop, so I landed on Sticks + Stones. Simple, meaningful, and just whimsical enough to stick. Pun intended!
The name worked on two levels. First, childhood nostalgia: “sticks and stones may break my bones…” Second, it reflected my vision: creating products that soothe, uplift, and bring a bit of peace—whether you’re dealing with stress, internal struggles, or just that one coworker who always emails at 4:59 p.m. My goal was bigger than just selling stuff. I wanted to create tiny moments of serenity in a chaotic world.
4 years into a 5 year plan:
Fast forward: four years into my five-year plan, and I’m… well, let’s call it “creatively delayed.” Inflation, material costs, and a severe case of being broke have slowed things down. But progress is progress! This year, I built a website (<stickstones.ca>). It’s been a battle—me versus e-commerce—and right now, the website is winning. But hey, one product listing at a time. Copy, paste, tweak, repeat. I’ll get there.
My official - not so official- about me statement:
The takeaway: Here’s what Sticks + Stones stands for: every product is made with the highest-quality, all-natural ingredients, free of the nasty stuff like parabens, sulfates, and synthetic fragrances. My promise? Safe, thoughtful blends designed to help you unwind, relax, and maybe even reclaim a bit of your sanity.
Natural materials merge together to create elegance in a lineup of sophisticated luxurious selfcare products. Sticks + stones believes in care products that are undiluted in ornamentation, enhanced by raw authenticity and unrefined in beauty. The line up offers candles and body care using the highest grade and premium ingredients harvested directly from some of the world’s most natural and treasured wonders. Ethically sourced and fair trade, these materials are brought from around the world and help create 100% all natural selfcare products to help you unwind to your fullest potential.
My promise to you, the customer, is that you will never find an ingredient in any product that isn’t safe or useful on a biological level. Scented with only the purest certified essential oils and mixed mindfully for a safe indulgence into a world of mindfulness and relaxation. Our guarantee is there will never be a harmful additive including all absent use of any harmful compounds, toxins, parabens, SLS/SLES/sulfates, EDCs (endocrine disrupting chemicals), synthetic fragrances and colours, phthalates, aluminum, ethoxylated ingredients and as more are discovered to be harmful they will be added to our No, No’s list.
Thanks for hanging around and reading my story. I’m still figuring it all out, but I’m giving it my best shot. If you’ve got a dream, don’t wait—start somewhere, even if it’s small. I encourage you to be brave enough to give it a shot. YOLO, right?!? I still have no idea if I’ll be a success story, but I’m sure going to try. I can’t give up on myself now! So, let’s get up, wash our faces, find our courage, sprinkle it with a bit of failure to keep us scared straight, and stumble toward success together!