BLACK-OWNED BUSINESS GUIDE (CT)
  • Home
  • About
    • FAQ
    • In The News
    • Volunteer Team
    • Contact
    • Thank You
  • Browse Directory
    • Directory by City/Town
    • Directory by Category
  • Blog
    • Blog Archive
  • List a Business
  • Resources
  • Events
  • Home
  • About
    • FAQ
    • In The News
    • Volunteer Team
    • Contact
    • Thank You
  • Browse Directory
    • Directory by City/Town
    • Directory by Category
  • Blog
    • Blog Archive
  • List a Business
  • Resources
  • Events
Search by typing & pressing enter

YOUR CART

9/1/2021 1 Comment

SO BLACK CANDLE CO.: CULTURE MEETS LIT SCENTS

Picture
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. 
Picture
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.”
​
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.
Picture
Picture
“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.” 
Picture
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.
Picture
Picture

BROWSE THE SHOPBLACKCT DIRECTORY:

BROWSE BY CITY/TOWN
BROWSE BY CATEGORY

Picture

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.

Archives

August 2021
June 2021
May 2021
April 2021
March 2021
February 2021
January 2021
November 2020
October 2020
September 2020
August 2020
July 2020
June 2020

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 Crafts CTSBDC Damon Carter David Milton Disability Diversity Dr. Cicero East Hartford Education Encouragement Experience Farmington Female Owned Business 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 Jewelry Kerry Kincy Kristen McNevins Lajeune Hollis Lajuene Hollis Larianne Tide Literacy Mahalia Anderson 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 Shariffah Mason 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

1 Comment
Alex M Sawin link
12/21/2021 02:20:35 am

Such incredible advice from so many awesome sources! I love it!

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    RSS Feed


    ABOUT  -  CONTACT  -  DIRECTORY BY CATEGORY  -  ​DIRECTORY BY TOWN  -  SUBMIT A BUSINESS