Door County Candle Company receives new chairs representing the Ukrainian flag

STURGEON BAY, Wis. (WBAY) - On February 24, 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine. Since then, Christiana and Nick Trapani, owners of the Door County Candle Company, have been making yellow and blue candles representing the Ukrainian flag. Sales of those candles go towards Razom for Ukraine, and the Trapanis have raised over $868,000.

Christiana and Nick went on the Door County Pulse podcast to talk about their Candles for Ukraine fundraiser. The podcast caught the ear of KI Green Bay general manager Stuart Kolb. He was inspired by Christiana and Nick’s story and stopped in at the candle company to learn more and support their efforts.

Kolb learned they were adding a manufacturing expansion as staff and volunteers were working on the candles, but there wasn’t enough seating. He offered up his services to Christiana and Nick and they agreed to have KI build new chairs for the staff and volunteers.

One year later, Kolb and KI donated 12 new chairs to the Door County Candle Company in the blue and yellow colors of the Ukrainian flag.

Kolb said the candle company is so close to its $1,000,000 goal and he wanted to help in a way that would allow them to reach that goal.

“It’s, I think, a consistent culture with KI as we have a tagline, I walk under a sign every day when I come into their office or the plant, ‘Changing Lives One Chair at a Time,’ and I think what Christiana and Nick have started here just trying to help raise money, building candles one candle at a time and changing lives,” Kolb said.

The team at KI created a two-tone, yellow and blue chair with a complementary upholstery pattern from affiliate company Pallas Textiles representative of the Ukrainian flag.

Christiana Trapani was so thankful to KI for making these chairs for her staff and volunteers, as they were previously sitting on old, wooden stools. She said the flag-themed chairs are another reminder of their mission to help those suffering in Ukraine.

“These are truly like incredibly amazing for us because we do have so many volunteers coming here helping us with candles and clean jars and write inspirational messages for candles, and a lot of us are in sitting positions and we need them to be comfortable, so this has been just an amazingly thoughtful gift from them,” Christiana Trapani said.

Christiana is a second-generation Ukrainian-American and has family in Ukraine. She said she is truly amazed at how people can come together and make a difference.

“Whenever I talk to my family in Ukraine, they are still so strong and resilient and hopeful and confident that they will prevail because they will and all the support from people here in the United States and around the world really means the world to them and it really fuels them to continue fighting and to continue being as strong as they are,” Christiana Trapani said.

Christiana said they are still selling the candles and they will never stop. She said once Ukraine wins the war, there will still be a country to rebuild.

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