Trying to Be in More Rooms — Why We Joined Faire

This month RŪPAHAUS went onto Faire Australia — a wholesale platform that puts our pieces in front of independent retailers anywhere in the world, not just here. We're starting with the candles, not the clothing, and I want to explain why plainly, because a decision like this shouldn't just show up in your inbox without the reasoning behind it.

The decision

Faire isn't a US platform with an Australian sign-on. It's a wholesale marketplace that connects makers with independent retailers worldwide — a shop in Fremantle and a shop in Copenhagen can both buy through it. That's what made it worth doing: it's one listing, reaching rooms I can't reach by cold-emailing boutiques one at a time.

Why now

We've had stockist conversations for a while, but never had a scalable way to handle inbound interest without it becoming a full-time job on top of everything else. Faire handles the logistics side — payment terms, ordering, the admin — which meant the actual decision came down to: do we have something ready to send out into the world at volume. The candles said yes before the clothing did.

Why candles first, not the clothing

The cloth moves at its own pace. A Kanekes panel or a Lorek run doesn't exist until it's woven, and I wasn't ready to promise a retailer stock on a panel that might not be finished for months. The candles are handrolled in batches I can actually plan around. So candles first — not because the clothing matters less, but because I don't make promises on cloth I can't yet see.

The honest economics

Wholesale means a smaller margin per piece — that's just true, and I'd rather say it than not. Our AOV sits at $366 against a category median of ~$110. Our customers spend at the top end of the market, which is part of why the direct relationship has worked. Wholesale doesn't replace that; it's a second, smaller-margin channel that reaches people the direct site never will.

What Faire Australia actually is

Despite the name, it's not an Australia-only wholesale surface — it serves retailers worldwide, which is the whole point for us. WA beeswax is genuinely known for being one of the cleanest, most pristine sources of raw wax globally. That's a story worth sending anywhere in the world, not just to the four stockists we already have in Perth.

What this changes for you

If you're a direct customer, nothing. Same site, same candles, same prices. If you're one of our Perth stockists reading this, nothing changes for you either — this just means the next shop that finds us might be somewhere you've never been. And if you're a retailer discovering RŪPAHAUS for the first time through this — I'd genuinely love to talk.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Faire Australia?
A wholesale marketplace that connects independent makers with independent retailers worldwide. RŪPAHAUS is now listed there with our handrolled beeswax candles.

Does this change anything about buying from RŪPAHAUS directly?
No. Direct customers at rupahaus.com see no change — same products, same prices, same site.

Will RŪPAHAUS clothing be available on Faire too?
Not yet. We're starting with candles because production is more plannable in batches. Clothing depends on cloth that doesn't exist until it's woven, so it's not on Faire for now.

If you're a retailer and this is the first time you're hearing from us — reach out, I'd love to talk. If you're already part of our Perth stockist family, thank you for being first. And if you'd like the shorter version of how the candles are made in the first place, that's here too.