Rosy Rings has a unique origin that dates back to the creation of our company in a small kitchen with nothing but a dream and a drive to create a product to be proud of. Shannon Cumberland, the founder of Rosy Rings was determined to do something unique fueled by her love for gardening and the creative passions it gave her. Now, from that small kitchen to the business you all know and love, Rosy Rings has successfully created a candle that not only fills your home with beautiful fragrances and warm light, but we hope that our candles remind you that anything is possible.
In 1995, Shannon started to make candles in her tiny duplex kitchen. At first, she had no clue how, and her original versions weren’t terribly successful. Several years after working as a waitress and bike messenger, she had become burned out in the service industry and she wanted to find a way to use her creativity and passions to create the life she always wanted. She didn’t have a degree or any marketable skills, but what she did have was a lifelong love of craft, an insane amounts of optimism, and what is commonly referred to as “grit”.
After she got the basics of candle making down, Shannon was faced with a new conundrum: pouring wax into the same jars over and over again was boring. As always, she found inspiration in music, and the antique bits and bobs she obsessively collected. But above all else, her garden was the best creative guide she could have found. Tender shoots pushed, and buds bloomed, with no two flowers ever alike. At the end of each cycle, the soil itself would repurpose dried remnants of seed, leaves, and flower heads. Her endless cycle of blossoms and blooms made her ask herself if she could commit these garden treasures to fragrant wax, instead? She found her answer in the Rosy Rings botanical.
Before long she had her own booth at national trade shows and three maxed-out credit cards. Fortunately for Shannon, those early shows were a success. However, like many small business owners at the beginning of a journey, she had no idea what she was doing. She had to learn to manage employees, unclog wax melters, read financial statements, drive forklifts; just name a task, and it found its way onto her plate.
Now Shannon lives with her husband and two children in central Denver. Their house is an old brick bungalow, and she is continually grateful and understands how fortunate her family is to have a fairly large yard in an urban space. When she tends to her garden, her mind wanders, dreaming up new Rosy Rings products. With constant new ideas and inspirations, Shannon always has several projects spread over her work tables at any given time.
Shannon knows that Rosy Rings wouldn’t have given her a dream come true if she didn’t plants little seeds of ideas all over, and understand that the process is always about cultivation. By letting go of expectations, Shannon and all of us at Rosy Rings can now enjoy surprises as the flower.
Today, Shannon runs Rosy Rings Studio in Denver—a vibrant, hands-on space where customers can attend botanical workshops, pour candles, and experience the creative spark that started it all. Her journey from a tiny duplex kitchen to a beloved brand is a reminder that with patience, creativity, and a little grit, beautiful things can bloom. At Rosy Rings, we’re honored to keep planting those seeds of inspiration—one fragrance, one flower, one workshop at a time.