Sophomore Victoria Castellanos will light her way to San Francisco selling homemade candles.
Castellanos and her grandmother, Vicki Brown, have been making candles every year since she was around four years old. She will be selling candles from her fall collection featuring scents of pumpkin pie, pumpkin pie spice, banana nut bread, caramel apple and vanilla, through the end of November as a fundraiser for the Brighter Side Singer’s tour next year.
“My favorite scent has got to be the caramel apple,” Castellanos said. “It makes my house smell nice and cozy.”
Each candle costs $15-$20 depending on the size. She is taking orders in person or over the phone.
In December, a new variety of scents will be available featuring Jack Frost, Christmas tree, candy cane, gingerbread and apple cinnamon for her winter collection.
The difference between her candles and others is each of them are individually scented and dyed using only organic ingredients such as all natural soy wax and oils rather than artificial scents.
“I think what sets the candles apart from any store bought ones are they don’t have an overpowering scent,” Castellanos said. “They’re great and you can tell it doesn’t have that fake muster some candles from stores have.”
Although the process of giving each candle that smooth texture and vibrant color is time consuming, Castellano’s favorite part is adding the scents to the candles. She also enjoys watching how much precision and experimentation it takes when creating a new kind of scent and color.
Thanks to their popularity, Castellanos’s grandmother has extended her generous help to another member of the Brighter Side Singers, Sophomore Cassie Carmona.
“The fundraiser has helped me raise money for not only my BSS account but as well as the BSS tour account,” Carmona said. “I’ve already sold 10 candles and by the looks of it, I will be able to pay for the trip all thanks to Vicki Brown.”
Next Memorial weekend, Brighter Side will compete against other choir groups and perform at different landmarks in and around San Francisco. The total cost of the entire trip and is around $500 per person.
TCHS School Newspaper