Lake Nipissing candles at the Ziigwan/Spring Handmade Artist Market in Duchesnay
By Kelly Anne Smith
NIPISSING FIRST NATION— What does a Lake Nipissing Candle smell like? Savannah Mcleod answers, “It’s like a fresh, clean, lake breeze. It’s been a popular candle everywhere we’ve been to.”
Savannah and Brooklyn Penasse are owners of Cedar Canoe Candles. The Nipissing First Nation cousins appear at pow wows and on May 4, they will be at the Ziigwan/Spring Handmade Market in Duchesnay at the Nbisiing Seconday School from 10am to 2pm.
Brooklyn says the Lake Nipissing Candle evokes memories through aroma.
“We grew up in Garden Village. We were always at the beach swimming. We were really close to the lake so we were always breathing in that fresh air from the lake.”
The entrepreneurial cousins planned Cedar Canoe Candles for a year before starting with the Lake Nipissing Candle, which reminds them of home. Savannah says the business idea stirred with the women always looking for sweet grass candles at pow wows.
“We went all in with the candle experience. We wanted to make sure it felt good. It smelt good. It sounded good. If it brought us peace and joy and comfort, we wanted to make sure our customers felt the exact same way when they light it.”
Brooklyn says the pair are similar and work well together making decisions on candle scents.
“These smells remind us of specific memories we had or something from our life. And then we both would agree. We have similar memories; we are easily connected to each other.”
Savannah says Cedar Canoe Candles are made from soy wax, therefore slow burning and long-lasting.
“That was one thing we were worried about at the start, that we weren’t going to get repeat customers that soon. But every time we go public, they’re buying. Some people have our whole collection. They just rotate the scents. We receive a lot more repeat customers than we thought we would.”
The candles also have unique wicks, adds Savannah.
“We use wooden wicks, it helps burn the candle slower with the soy wax. And it helps throw the scent just a little bit better. And it has a nice little crackling sound to it.”
Savannah and Brooklyn have a 10-scent collection and every season, create limited edition scents.
“We have something like Valentine’s Day where it’s romantically themed. ‘True Love’ smells like musk, floral, and woodsy. In the fall, we have an apple styled candle. We kept that one for the longest because people keep buying that one,” Savannah explains.
Brooklyn, who is busy with her full-time job as a Crisis Support and Outreach Worker at Ojibway Women’s Lodge, is yearning for vending on the sunny pow wow trail with her cousin.
“Now, it’s really amazing to see all the youth and the dancers starting so young and growing up with it. And we’re always set up before Grand Entry. You can feel the energy shift as everyone gets prepared to enter. It’s pretty powerful.”
Brooklyn says she and Savannah enjoy eating tacos and other traditional fare at food booths and food trucks at pow wows and markets.
“We get to test them all and rank them. We’ll even travel to certain pow wows because we know certain food vendors are going to be there and we know it’s going to be good.”
With the smell sense satisfied by candles, the visual is piqued with Savannah Mcleod’s artwork at the booth. Her collages of local species are interplayed with florals that Savannah designs.
“It’s a woodland mix,” she says. “I wanted this one – this is in the bay at Garden Village. You see the cattails. You see the irises. These guys make the nicest sounds and those guys are always floating around. You go on the lake, you can see all that there so I just wanted something like that on my own wall.”
“I started applying this system,” Savannah waves over the display of Cedar Canoe Candles, “to my art, just starting small and just let it grow over time. I’m also shocked by the support by the community and here [North Bay] already.”
The local support is appreciated agrees Brooklyn.
“People who know us, want to support us. I do believe that’s true. We’ve always had the best support from community members and family and friends. We love vending for Nipissing First Nation. We’re looking forward to the up-coming Ziigwan/Spring Handmade Artist Market. We want to support that,” she says. “It’s amazing. It’s fun to see the other community members showing their talents and their artwork at those markets. And we support each other. If you see someone that’s new, we’ll get talking and we’ll provide tips to each other and network with each other.”
Ziigwan/Spring Handmade Artist Market organizers are Natasha Boshaw, artist and Nipissing First Nation member, and her cousin Amanda Bellefeuille, a Nipissing First Nation artist, and Natasha’s mother Alison, also a Nipissing First Nation artist.
Boshaw says their goal is to provide safe and welcoming events for all small vendors and artists.
“Whether it’s their first market or they’re seasoned pros, we especially want to give space to Indigenous artists and entrepreneurs to showcase their talents and support their economic development. I’m extremely grateful for the privilege to host our markets on Nipissing First Nation. Our community spaces are beautiful and booking coordinators at the NFN Band Office are a dream to work with.”
Natasha is passionate about hosting the markets within the Duchesnay Community. She says it’s a chance to showcase beautiful Nipissing First Nation, community spaces, and provide opportunities in the Duchesnay community, such as incorporating the Ojibwe Language in the markets as a method to reclaim the language. In the upcoming market’s name, Ziigwan means spring in Anishinaabemowin.
The Ziigwan/Spring Handmade Artist Market have many registered vendors of Indigenous ancestry and from Nipissing First Nation.
Boshaw points out the Ziigwan Handmade Artist market will be the third they hosted. The Merry Nish-mas ran in November 2023 and the Valentine’s Day Artist Market in February 2024.
“Later this year, we plan to host three more markets: The Firefly Night Market on July 19, The Halloween Handmade Market on October 26, and The Merry Nish-mas Holiday Market on December 7.”