ABOUT US
The Black Collection, LLC was founded by owner Carlie Austin in 2022 with one vision in mind, to honor her mother Carla Dillard. In February of 2022, I received the heartbreaking news that my mother was diagnosed with Triple Negative Breast Cancer for a second time. Sitting on the couch with my mom and reading the results to her that would shake her world for a second time, was one of the most painful moments in my life.
I immediately felt like I was once again, that hopeless 6 year old girl sitting in the Doctor’s office alone with my mom, while the doctor told her she had Stage III breast cancer. At that moment, I was too young to quite understand what was occurring, but all I knew was that my very best friend was hurting, and I felt helpless in how to fix it. 22 years later, our past had abruptly become our future.
I thought to myself, my world is crumbling around me and I was speechless that after everything we endured, we were here once again. But after those quick thoughts of defeat, I praised God that my mother was still in 22 years of remission from the first Stage III diagnosis and although my mom would prepare to face this test again on the adjacent breast, she would be facing this test very differently. She would be facing this test with a daughter fully equipped for battle.
Make it
While the physical health of my mother was mostly out of my control, I truly believed the mental belonged to us. I believed that healing already belonged to my mother but the key to this battle would be keeping her mind and spirit in remembrance of that.
I created this candle line to represent not only the remembrance of my mother’s journey but to birth a purpose from it. Creatively, I created the candles to essentially be love letters to my mom. As you read the candles, the naming are characteristics that my mother embodies, and the quotes are my own words describing how she represented those characteristics to me throughout my lifetime.
As my mother goes through this new journey, I simply wanted her to see the line as constant representation of encouragement and that when she looks back on her life and the adversities, she doesn’t see pain, but she sees the purpose. Because through it all she has been nothing short of a graceful Black queen, while carrying the heaviest crown.
Love you mom.