Legacy Vision

During the pandemic, I uncovered a sacred thread in my lineage: my great-grandmother, Emma Lee Gaines, owned and operated a candle and incense shop in Detroit, Michigan during the Great Depression. What began as a discovery became a calling. Inspired by her audacity, resilience, and spiritual intuition, I tapped into my ancestral DNA to resurrect her legacy through a modern candle and incense brand rooted in intention, ritual, and remembrance.

Emma Lee—affectionately known as “Big Ma”—was born in Tifton, Georgia and migrated to Detroit during the Great Migration, guided by faith, hope, and the promise of possibility. At that time, Detroit was a powerful center of Black culture and enterprise, known for its vibrant jazz scene and spiritually rich Black business districts of Black Bottom and Paradise Valley. These neighborhoods housed over 300 Black-owned businesses including restaurants, pharmacies, barbershops, theaters, and clubs. These areas served as sanctuaries of economic independence, creativity, and communal care.

With vision and divine purpose, my great-grandmother manifested Emma Lee’s Candles & Incense as more than a business. Serving as a source of light, grounding, and spiritual protection for the community. In the 1950s, these thriving districts were dismantled through the city’s use of eminent domain to construct expressways, severing sacred spaces and displacing generations of Black families and businesses.

This brand is an altar to her memory and a continuation of her work. Each candle and incense offering is created with intention to honor the ancestors, awaken the senses, cleanse space, and invite peace, clarity, and alignment. Through flame and fragrance, we reclaim what was taken and illuminate a path forward, guided by spirit, legacy, and love.