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9/1/2021 1 Comment

SO BLACK CANDLE CO.: CULTURE MEETS LIT SCENTS

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By Brenda De Los Santos
Summertime Fine. Living Single. Get Ta Steppin’. Gramm’s Kitchen. These are just a few of the varieties of candles and wax melts made by So Black Candle Co., “the place where culture meets lit scents,” based in New London, CT. Kylah Chadwick, owner and creative force behind the online business, combined her love for candles with elements of Black culture to create the business in September of 2020.

Chadwick hand makes all of her products, and has done extensive research and testing to ensure that her candles and melts are the best. Her products use a parasoy wax blend, which she says has a nice scent throw, and she customizes the amount of fragrance in each variety based on the type of jar used. She has even researched to ensure her candles have the right wick so her candles have strong scent throws, slow, clean burns, as well as longer burn times. Chadwick notes, “Before you ever get the candle there is so much testing that goes in behind it. I double check the packaging and the candle itself. I go above and beyond to make sure when the candles arrive they have a good experience.” She has even gone so far as to contact shipping services on behalf of her customers. 
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A one-woman show, the business keeps her very busy — she does everything herself, from website creation and maintenance, designing her product labels, and regular trips to the post office to ship orders. She thinks that being relatable to people is a big part of providing great customer service. “At first, some people don’t realize there is an actual person behind the business,” she says, “but then people see that I am a regular person listening to their concerns.”
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With many other handcrafted candle businesses out there, Chadwick knows the concept behind her candles and melts stands out. “People will see a  label and connect to it whether it's a show that they remember or that the Gramm candle reminds them of their grandma.” Some of her most popular varieties are 90’s R&B, a sangria scent that comes with a playlist, Double Melanin, a cocoa butter and cashmere scent, and her sample packs, which include nine varieties in tea light form. Her Black culture-centered products are available as wax melts, 4 ounce candles in a tin, or 8 ounce candles in a glass jar, as well as two different options for sample packs.
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“People will see a  label and connect to it whether it's a show that they remember or that the Gramm candle reminds them of their grandma.” 
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Having gone to school for social work (she has a masters degree in it) and currently working as a full-time crisis specialist, candle making has given her a creative outlet; She sees each candle as a work of art. “I feel like I found my passion,” she says, “I knew I wanted to make it into a business, I just didn’t expect it to go this fast.” So Black Candle Co. celebrates it’s one-year anniversary in September 2021, and Chadwick’s next goal is to be working for herself. 

Find So Black Candle Co. on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or visit their website to shop or learn more.
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AUTHOR & PHOTOGRAPHER

A New London, CT native, Brenda De Los Santos (she/her) has always considered herself a creative. As a child and teen, she was always drawing, painting, or whatever other visual medium she could try. In college at Boston University, she signed up for a photography class on a whim and immediately became hooked - she fell in love with telling people's stories with photos and graduated with a degree in photojournalism. 

After working on staff at daily newspapers for years, Brenda took her photography in a different direction and now focuses on portrait and wedding photography. Brenda celebrates diversity and is incredibly proud of her Puerto Rican heritage, which means her ancestors are Indigenous, African and European. She loves getting to capture the unique backgrounds of her clients as well.

In 2019 she started a photo project, “Small City, Great Women,” which celebrates the great women of her hometown of New London through photos and words.

When she is not photographing people, Brenda loves to photograph the beauty found in nature and the landscapes around us. 

​Aside from photography, Brenda is a person who believes in the good in people and the beauty of the human spirit. She gives back with photography and in her personal life as a volunteer with Help-Portrait, Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep and Nutmeg Big Brothers Big Sisters.

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4/12/2021 1 Comment

ReFramed by Nikki: Viewing Life Through a Different Lens

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By Lajeune Hollis
​Launched in August 2020, ReFramed by Nikki is an eyewear business located in North Haven, Connecticut. Owner Nicole Forbes-Shaw—who goes by “Nikki”—is a nurse by trade who believes that patient care should be a nurse’s first priority.
 
With an extensive professional background in nursing, Nikki is an Assistant Nurse Manager of the Interventional Immunology Center where she assists in managing two out of six sites that focus on chronic and auto-immune diseases including multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, scleroderma, lupus and other inflammatory disorders. Nikki also attends Western Governors University and is actively working to complete her Masters in Nursing in 2022. 
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To Nikki, “ReFramed means reframing your visual perspective. Your glasses make your whole visual perspective – clear.” The ReFramed by Nikki eyewear includes a range of styles, from chic and precise, to astute and edgy, with eyewear styles categorized in unique collections, each of which has a significant meaning.

The first collection, “The Collective,” was introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic and was a way of acknowledging the heroic work of close family, friends and colleagues who worked as essential workers – including Nikki herself. Ten percent of the proceeds from eyewear purchased from “The Collective” collection was given to Yale Haven Hospital’s COVID Relief Fund. 
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“ReFramed means reframing your visual perspective. Your glasses make your whole visual perspective – clear.” 
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The second collection, launched in October 2020, is the “While Black” collection. It was introduced to increase cultural awareness and knowledge of common stereotypes and issues faced within the Black community. 

ReFramed by Nikki is an online-based eyewear business that also offers services such as virtual and in-person consultations. In-person consultations are offered for a ten-dollar fee per person. These consultations offer an opportunity to meet with Nikki or a brand ambassador to try on and purchase frames upfront (depending on availability). To ensure the utmost safety during the COVID-19 pandemic, Nikki and her team adhere to CDC guidelines when meeting in-person. Group consultations require a minimum of five people, with the host receiving their consultation free of charge. 
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Beginning in Spring 2021, ReFramed by Nikki will offer a new service for clients outside of Connecticut who want to try on or purchase frames. This service will allow clients to select four eyewear styles of their choice and schedule a private Zoom consultation with Nikki or a brand ambassador. The brand will also be expanding to include eyewear for kids, readers and smaller frames for petite faces. 
 
Click here to visit the ReFramed by Nikki website or find ReFramed by Nikki on Instagram or Facebook.
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AUTHOR

Lajeune Hollis is a Connecticut resident, media sales professional, local news junkie, daughter, sister, proud aunt and colon cancer survivor. She has spent the past 30+ years in the media industry and has written, produced and hosted mini-biographies (bio-line) for a gospel video show called Lifeline Gospel Videos on a Bridgeport, CT public access television station; written African American book reviews for a monthly urban newspaper, The Inner City Newspaper, in New Haven, CT; co-hosted an on-air book review (the L & L Book Review) on an urban contemporary radio station (WNHC AM 1340); hosted an African American monthly book club at Barnes and Noble bookstore in North Haven, CT; worked as a community radio announcer (Lovers Corner with Lajeune) at a New Haven area radio station (WYBC 94.3 FM); worked as a local ad sales manager for Umoja Newspaper in Bridgeport, CT; worked in radio advertising sales and management for a total of four Connecticut radio stations (WNHC AM 1340, WEBE 108FM, WICC 600 AM, and WYBC 94.3FM) and is currently working in local ad sales (television, digital, online, content marketing and social media) for News 8, a New Haven, CT based ABC TV affiliate.
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PHOTOGRAPHER

Meghan Olson is an up-and-coming photographer based out of Connecticut who specializes in lifestyle, portraiture, and food photography. Meghan believes in the power of visual storytelling and strives to create work that portrays something deeper than a beautiful image. She graduated from Southern Connecticut State University with a BA in studio art and concentration in photography.

Archives

April 2021
March 2021
February 2021
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Categories

All Accessories Alexandra Frisbie Alicia Brown Allison Reynolds Allyship Angel Thompson Anti-Racism Apparel Arianna Velez Art Assistance Aviation Avon Awareness Bakery Beauty Black History Black Owned Black-owned Black Owned Business Black-owned Business Black Owned Businesses Black-owned Businesses Books Bookstore Boutique Brenda De Los Santos Cakes Camila Vallejo Candy Cassandra McKenna Catering CBD Classes Cleaning Clothing Community Connecticut Consultants Contest Corey Lynn Tucker Corporate Responsibility Cosmetics CTSBDC Damon Carter David Milton Disability Diversity Dr. Cicero East Hartford Education Encouragement Experience Farmington Female-owned Business Finance Finances Financial Fine Art Fitness Food Foodies Food Truck Gary Pope Giveaway Giving Back Hair Hartford Health Homecare Inclusion IT Jaclyn Wilson Kerry Kincy Kristen McNevins Lajeune Hollis Lajuene Hollis Literacy Maintenance Meghan Olson Mental Health Meriden Middletown Money Natasha Samuels New Britain Newington New London Norwich Online Op Ed Op-ed Patrina Dixon Pets Plainville Race Racism Real Estate Resource Restaurants Retail Rode Bataille Sarah Thompson Seafood Self-care Seshu Badnirath Shopping Simsbury Skin Care Small Business Social Responsibility Sweet Treats Technology Terrence Irving Therapy Torrington Training Vernon Wellness West Hartford Winsted Women Women Owned Business Women-owned Business Young Yvette Young

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