Sweet Smell of Success

Aside from Toronto being a big beautiful city, full of great food, wonderful shops and of course the CN tower, there are also a ton of awesome and successful women. I’ve discovered this by attending events, meeting them through mutual friends and now reaching out to local businesses to learn more about their stories. Every woman I meet gives me more motivation to accomplish my own dreams and to never give up on that.

Meet Suman, a successful entrepreneur of 100 Years of Love, right here in Toronto. I had the opportunity to learn more about the company thanks to Suman who was kind enough to share.

100 Years of Love is a contemporary home fragrance label founded in Toronto by  Suman and her brother and co-founder, Tim in 2015.  It started out as a creative experiment and the passion to build something that was thoughtful, stylish, provocative and a reflection of both Suman and Tim’s views on love and diversity. With Suman’s experience in lifestyle, luxury travel and fashion, and Tim’s background in the fine arts, their expertise guided them in the right direction and kept them on track.

When I first discovered 100 Years of Love, I was curious how the unique name came about, and I had to ask Suman to fulfill my curiosity: We are grateful to have grown up in Toronto. Our city is rich with diversity and this has a tremendous impact on our day-to-day lives, as well as our business. We celebrate our differences and above all else, we believe in the power of love. Give it freely, and the universe returns it. Love, kindness, diversity, and positivity are words we choose to live by.

Suman says the collection is a culmination of an obsession with contemporary art and fashion, travel, design, and fine fragrances. We believe that our senses – particularly visual and olfactory experiences – can move us, making connections to our hearts and leaving impressions on our memories. Our curated collection of uniquely fragranced candles helps you enrich some of life’s most intimate moments. Our minimalist design philosophy ensures our candles will blend seamlessly into your space, and each candle is fittingly named to highlight the scent experience that awaits you.

Each candle name has a connection with the ingredients that Suman uses. Their candles are made with only the highest quality ingredients, including 100% soy wax and 100% cotton wicks,and through a process of small batch production. Each candle is hand poured and hand labelled in their Toronto Studio.

One of their best-selling candles is Nomad. It’s 100 Years of Love’s new fragrance that contains Palo Santo and Bergamot. The candle is inspired by the wandering spirit in all of us and Suman suggests it’s the perfect candle for an evening of reflection, yoga, or a hot bath. Suman’s favourite candle is Eyes Wide, a Black Amber candle. She says "the candle is sexy and intoxicating – it was our best seller at the Spring One of a Kind Show in 2018."

All aspiring entrepreneurs are always looking for tips and advice to either get started or learn more from successful business women. So the question had to be asked: what advice can Suman give to women who want to start their own business? "If you have a dream, you have to follow it! You’ll be surprised by how many people actually want to support entrepreneurs and see them succeed. Don’t give up on what you are working on, even when things get challenging. Instead, look for small victories each day and soon you’ll see you are accomplishing it all!"

Discover 100 Years of Love’s collection online here. Orders over $100 are eligible for free shipping. You can also find information about their stockists and candle care instructions that will give you some tips to make your candles burn cleaner and last longer.

A big thank you to Suman for taking the time to share her story. I speak for all of us who have big dreams to pursue and we appreciate reading amazing stories about successful female entrepreneurs. It really helps us stay focused and driven to make those dreams come true!

Written by: Margaret Saliba