THIS LIGHT IS FOR YOU

Posted by Daniela · SouthShop.us

I had a Pride collection ready.
The labels were printed. The scents were cured. The artwork was beautiful.
But I didn’t launch it.

Not because I forgot. And definitely not because I didn’t care.
I care deeply. Maybe too much. And when everything felt so heavy, I froze.
I didn’t want to show up and sell something when so many people were hurting. It felt impossible to hit "post" while my heart was breaking over the way LGBTQ+ people and immigrant communities are being treated in this country.

Even here on Long Island, where it sometimes feels like a bubble, I carry California in my heart — it’s my home away from home, and I carry it with pride. And lately, I’ve felt the weight of witnessing people being treated in ways that strip away their dignity — in ways that not only go against the values I believe in, but also violate the very laws that once made me so proud to call this country home.
I’m originally from Venezuela. And this environment — the fear, the silence, the slow normalization of injustice — feels hauntingly familiar to when the dictatorship first took hold.

I’m not a politician,I'm ignorant in many ways. I do know that it would feel mediocre to stay silent. And honestly, it would be a sign of me being unwell if I wasn’t affected by the current environment in our nation.

I don’t want to stay in that heaviness. I want SouthShop to be part of what lifts us up. So here I am, sharing the collection now, not because the timing is perfect, but because the message still matters.

SOUTHSHOP X LIUBOV POHORELOVA

This collection is a collaboration between SouthShop and artist Liubov Pohorelova, blending scent and visual expression to celebrate identity.

To those exploring who they are, becoming who they were meant to be, or simply existing as they are — this light is for you.

This was never just a June thing. Pride isn’t about a calendar. It’s about showing up for yourself and for each other. Every day. Every version of who you become.

SHARING WHAT MATTERS

I recently watched a talk by Dean Graziosi, and he said:

If you have something that can help people — it’s selfish not to share it.

That stayed with me. Because I know what I make can offer more than scent.
It can create pause. A small sense of peace. A visual reminder that you matter. A permanent celebration of diversity.

So I’m sharing it now. Not as a Pride Month launch. But as a permanent offering.
For whoever needs it. Whenever they need it.