Meet The HIBT Fellows: Katie Mitchell & Celena Gill

Candle Origins

The inception of Frères Branchiaux, a home fragrance company, began as a homeschooling project for Celena Gill and her three sons, Collin, Ryan, and Austin. Initially, the boys wanted extra money for toys, prompting Celena to suggest starting a business. They researched successful kit businesses and chose to make candles, bath bombs, and soaps, eventually focusing on candles due to their popularity 1. The name Frères Branchiaux, meaning "Gill Brothers" in French, was inspired by their French tutor's nickname for them, reflecting their unique family bond 2.

   

Bookstore Inspiration

Katie Mitchell and her mother, Katherine, founded Good Books in Atlanta, inspired by a family legacy of valuing education despite historical challenges. Katie's grandfather, a sharecropper who never learned to read, emphasized the importance of literacy to his descendants, shaping Katie's passion for books 3. This passion led to the creation of Good Books, a mobile bookstore focusing on Black literature, which began with selling books through Instagram and quickly evolved into a community-centered business 4. Katie's lifelong love for reading, nurtured by her mother's encouragement to think independently, played a crucial role in the bookstore's mission and development.