meet totem.

100% soy wax, hand poured candles 

Each candle offers a reminder that whatever you are going through, we are going through with you. These bold reminders, or totems, are designed to trigger a deeper part of you and ignite a fire so that you can be a light for yourself and others.

totem. was brought to life in Seattle, WA in 2020 (at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic) by two neighbors. Prior to the pandemic, Erin Chonko and Lynny Callinan knew each other as neighbors in passing. Unbeknownst to either, they were both experiencing huge transitions in their personal lives. Erin, going through separation and adjusting to life as a single mom. Lynny, moving her life halfway across the world from Australia to Seattle, WA. 

Erin learned from her recent separation that having friends in your corner to say "you're so f*cking brave" or "this is going to be a rough, but I'm here with you" was the reason she could move forward in her life. She and a dear friend discovered this simple fact: we all need these people and these reminders in our life to get through dark times. So when the global pandemic hit and sucker punched the world, it also knocked Erin and Lynny down through job loss and feelings of isolation in new chapters of life. Through a few tears, glasses of wine and f-bombs, a friendship formed between two neighbors in Seattle. Lynny shared her love for crafting candles and Erin shared a desire to scale the power of bold love that she had experienced in her own life. The two neighbors built on their common values and skills to create totem.