D'Shawn Russell founded Southern Elegance Candle Company to remind everyone of our shared history and cultural experiences through the creation of unique candle scents named after Southern cities and favorite things.
In the wake of COVID-19, D'Shawn could have thrown up her hands and quit, but she didn't. Instead, she made a pivot, got laser focused and thrived. D'Shawn will share how her resilience is manifesting in her best revenue to date.
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Southern Elegance Candle Company
Founder and CEO
Founder and CEO, D’Shawn Russell is a true southern belle. Growing up in a small town in North Carolina, she spent summers picking homegrown fresh fruit, swimming in the ocean during the day, and catching lightning bugs at night. As an adult, she held on tight to her sacred memories of attending church all day with her grandmother and then settling in to eat a satisfying meal made with love.
Founder and CEO, D’Shawn Russell is a true southern belle. Growing up in a small town in North Carolina, she spent summers picking homegrown fresh fruit, swimming in the ocean during the day, and catching lightning bugs at night. As an adult, she held on tight to her sacred memories of attending church all day with her grandmother and then settling in to eat a satisfying meal made with love.
She began making candles that would honor the joys of southern living and provide a creative outlet for her sense of nostalgia. When she started giving them away as gifts, the response was so well received that she decided to take this newfound passion of hers and share it with more people. Thus, Southern Elegance Candle Company was born.
At Southern Elegance, we work to remind everyone of our shared history and cultural experiences. Like many others, time spent with family and the joys we find in the simple things are our touchstones. With this in mind, we lovingly craft each scent and city combination to elicit a fond memory, to whisk you to a place of pure joy.
Twitter: secandleco
Instagram: @secandleco
Bunker Labs
Events Director
Liz Marion attended UNC Wilmington and graduated with degrees in both Film Studies and French Language.
Liz started her career in the entertainment industry where she worked as an independent contractor and consultant on both independent and studio projects. Liz eventually started to pursue live event production in the entertainment industry and has produced several multi-day events for filmmakers and creators from around the globe.
As a military spouse, live event production has allowed Liz to work across the country for many different organizations including Milspo Project and Bunker Labs. After serving as a volunteer city leader for Bunker Labs’ Wilmington, NC chapter, Liz took a full-time position with the organization as the digital community manager, bringing her organization, logistics and connectivity skills online to serve the military connected community full-time through meaningful and intentional virtual experiences.
Liz strives to encourage veterans and military spouses to pursue their dreams by working for themselves to create a job that feeds their passion and moves with their lifestyle.
When she isn’t generating new ideas or facilitating a virtual event, Liz spends her time paddleboarding, enjoying the ocean waves and reading professional development books.
She currently resides outside the gates of Camp Pendleton with her Marine husband and dog Archer.
