Fort William First Nation’s Michelle Elliott with NADF’s Startup Business of the Year award – Anishinabek News
April 11, 2023
THUNDER BAY — Fort William First Nation’s Michelle Elliott was recognized with Nishnawbe Aski Development Fund (NADF)’s Startup Business of the Year award at the 31st Annual NADF Awards Gala on March 24 at the Valhalla Hotel and Conference Centre in Thunder Bay. Elliott, who works in healthcare as a registered nurse, launched Heart/Soul.co in 2021 from her home in Fort William.
“I’m just absolutely honoured and grateful, honestly, [it was] just a vision in starting Heart/Soul,” says Elliott, who grew up in Fort William and returned to raise her daughter on the land. “A lesson I was taught was whatever you’re going to do, do it from the heart.”
Elliott says she began researching fragrances and natural scents for candles after becoming hypersensitive to fragrances during and after her pregnancy.
“I loved burning candles prior to becoming a mother and then once I became a mother, I no longer could burn candles with sweet fragrance,” Elliott says. “I really wanted to continue to burn candles so I researched a lot and wanted to develop a candle that was toxin-free, paraben-free [with] scents that were very nostalgic to the land and childhood.”
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