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“I AM inspired by all of the great entries received,” writes Michelle Rose of U’phoria.  ”Unfortunately, only five can be chosen, but I encourage all of you to continue to seek the ‘I AM’ that you are!” 

Congratulations to Patrice, Paige, John, Shawn and Genea!  Look forward to an email with detailed information on how to claim your free gift from the B U Collection.

Thanks for playing!

Now that we’ve wrapped up the images from the Be U Collection, U’phoria is gearing up to launch a new line of candles:  I am … 

Leave us a comment beginning with “I am …” and tell us about it in 20 words or less.

Five winning comments (chosen by U’phoria) will receive a FREE candle of choice from the B U Collection

• 100% Pure Soy Wax

•  recycled gift box

• 6 oz. square jar

• $15 value (shipping included)

Winners will be announced Wednesday, March 4, 2009

[UPDATE: contest ends midnight, March 4, 2009 and winners will be announced later that day.]

“Love is patient and kind; it is never jealous; it is never rude or selfish; it does not take offense and is not resentful” — 1 Corinthians 13:4-8

You might already know that.  But did you know that love is also a floral blend of carnation, lily and crisp white grapefruit combined with the essence of jasmine, tuberose and violet?

If you aren’t euphorically familiar with this latter version of love, meet Michelle Rose.  She’s infectious.  You know the type — she shows up for a morning coffee date with her hair perfectly coiffed into chic angles (turns out, she’s a hair stylist as well), drawing your gaze straight into dancing and intense eyes, just enough color on her lids to brighten and hide any telltale signs that the small business owner was up until 4 a.m. filling an order of candles for me to photograph.  

Her candle line, 16 in all, is as captivating as she proved to be only minutes into our initial meeting.  Enthusiasm drips from every gesture, each sentence a colorful quote journalists dream of.  I whipped out my checkbook (quickest notebook I could improvise) and began taking notes on the backs of old deposit slips. 

Clary Sage

Name: Clary sage, Salvia sclarea – Soothing, euphoric, warming, inspiring, intense, rich, cool; Mysterious, enigmatic and intoxicating, this incomparably precious and exciting oil has unlimited healing qualities.

It all started with a scent.  After she was let go from her corporate job, Michelle nurtured her hobby of making bath and body products for friends.  Her exploration led to whipping up home scents and candles in her kitchen late at night.  

“My kitchen converts to this other place after hours,” Michelle says. “Eating utensils are all stored away and out comes all this other stuff!”

Soon Michelle was making party favors and souvenirs for baby showers, birthday parties and other events.

“Everybody loved them, but I wanted to focus on what I wanted because what I was doing was just sort of souvenir, trinket stuff,” Michelle explains.  “I was limited to what they wanted.  And what they wanted wasn’t what I wanted to be creating from the artsy portion of it.”

Her leap to U’phoria was as figurative as it is literal; Clary sage is Michelle’s favorite scent.  She took the scent’s definition of “euphoria” and dropped the “e” to focus on the “U” — see?  

As she turned her business focus inward, she discovered she surrounds herself with words.  Scraps of paper, sticky notes, quotes … Michelle has different things written down in different places all over her home.  

“I am motivated by words.  I love quotes.  I decided, why not push that out into the world?” she says.  “Once you read them, pay attention to them, they set up in your soul.  I know these quotes back and forth and I’m starting to live my life by them!  I want to give that back.”

Born just six month ago, U’phoria is an eco-friendly candle and home fragrance company that specializes in inspiration.  Each U’phoria candle is defined by a quote on the front and a description on the back, and Michelle creates her interpretation of its meaning in the form of a scented candle.  Uphoria’s Be U line is driven by these words.

B-Creative!  “Life isn’t about finding yourself.  Life is about creating yourself.” — George Bernard Shaw

B-Creative!’s scent: encourage creativity with an intoxicating blend of fresh Macintosh apples a hint of maple with woody undertones.

“It’s so fun how things start to piece together,” she says of her evolution as a small business owner.  “More than anything, I love the freedom to do what I want to do, no regrets,” Michelle says.  “I can always go back to corporate, it’ll always be there.  I know I’ve found the thing that works best for me.”

Michelle has her candle line in two stores, Maryland and New York, and her client list reaches all the way to California.  Give us a couple more days to finalize the photographs and then we’ll give YOU a chance to win a FREE candle!