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Rest for U was created in response to a culture that glorifies burnout and treats rest as something to earn rather than something we need.
We offer intentional products, thoughtful content, and calm spaces to support rest as an essential part of everyday well-being. Why? Because this work is rooted in lived experiences.
Meet the Founder
Hi, I’m Marciane, the founder of Rest for U.
I’m a first generation African American of Ivorian descent, married to a Haitian man, and living in Canada as an immigrant. As I became more connected to our cultures, I started to notice how naturally rest, care, ritual, and community were woven into everyday life. These were not special practices or luxuries. They were part of how our ancestors lived, connected, and looked after one another.
At the same time, I was navigating present systems that often reward overwork and emotional endurance, pressures that are unevenly distributed and deeply felt by people of colour. The contrast between those expectations and what I understood culturally about care and rest stayed with me.
Rest for U grew from that tension. It is shaped by lived experience, cultural grounding, and a desire to create space for rest that feels real, accessible, and supportive. Not performative. Just human.
Marciane Urquhart
The Journey
Seeing the Absence of Rest in Systems
Through my education [BSc in health, physical education, exercise science & MSc in nutrition], and my work in healthcare and community settings, I saw firsthand how symptoms of stress, burnout, and lack of rest show up long before people receive meaningful support. Systems are often reactive, prioritizing treatment over prevention, and rarely centering rest as foundational to health.
Recognizing the Patterns Within Myself
For much of my life, I existed in spaces that celebrated overwork and resilience while I learned, often slowly, how to care for my own mental health. Over time, I came to believe that being high achieving meant moving between exhaustion and recovery without ever feeling fully rested.
Eventually, I reached a breaking point. My body forced me into rest, a reminder that I could no longer ignore my own needs. That moment marked a shift. I began unlearning the idea that exhaustion was proof I had earned rest, and instead learned that rest needs to be consistent, intentional, and woven into daily life.
Rest is not something to wait for once everything falls apart. Like every living system, and even the machines we rely on, restoration and recovery are essential for longevity. Rest is not a reward for burnout. It is a requirement for continuing at all.
Rest for U was born from recognizing the necessity of rest, and from a desire to be both a person and a brand that helps others reconnect with this truth. In a world that often feels loud, heartless, rushed, and demanding, Rest for U exists as a quiet reminder that rest is not something we have to justify or earn.
Today, Rest for U is a growing brand rooted in care, intention, and lived experience. Through calming content, thoughtfully crafted products, and gentle digital offerings, we are building a space that invites people to slow down in ways that feel real and accessible.
The hope is simple. That anyone who encounters Rest for U, whether through a piece of content, a product, or a moment of pause, leaves feeling a little lighter. Shoulders dropped. Breath softened. The mind given permission to slow, even briefly.
