To my friends and family I'm referred to as "the candle lady." To those that don't know me, my name is Chelsea Arvesen, I am the girl boss behind Bridge Nine Candle Co. I'm here to tell you a bit more about who I am!
I was born and raised in Olympia, WA where I spent summers on the Puget Sound, gained an appreciation for travel from taking family trips and started my very first "business" when I was in high school (selling t-shirts on ebay!). My love and obsession for candles can be attributed to my mom. I remember frequent trips to Pier One to pick up her favorite scent, Ginger Peach.
At 18 I moved to Pullman, Washington to attend Washington State University. The plan was to graduate with a degree in interior design, although, the expansive wheat fields and small town helped to change my path. Feeling unfulfilled, I decided to take a chance and move to a city that had enchanted me ever since I visited NW 23rd a few years prior. You guessed it, I moved to Portland, Oregon.
Ten years later, Portland is my forever (well, as forever as I can see into the future) home. I started Bridge Nine Candle Co six years ago and it has since become a piece of my identity.
If I'm not busy packing up orders or dreaming up new products to make (like the copper votive candles pictured above!), you can find me spending time with my husband and our most important family member, Tessa, our dog! We love to travel locally in the PNW but also getaway to a (warm) sandy beach when we can. I draw a lot of my inspiration for candle scents from our travels. I was inspired to formulate Pacific Sea Salt on our honeymoon in Cannon Beach. Coconut Lime was (you might have guessed) inspired from a trip to Hawaii. A trip in the spring to central Oregon inspired my newest scent, High Desert, set to release in 2018!
I've always been an artistic and creative person. When I have free time, I love to paint, mosaic and my most recent hobby is photography. These days, most of my creative energy is channeled into creating the highest quality of product I can for you, my customers! It's an amazing feeling knowing that something that I created, poured (*wink*) my heart and soul into is bringing joy to you and your home. Without you, this dream of mine wouldn't be possible. Thank you for helping to make my entrepreneurial heart happy. Cheers!
Photography by: Kirsten Wilson Photography