Brenda De Los Santos

Brenda De Los Santos

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.
  • Articles: 0

So Black Candle Co.: Culture Meets Lit Scents

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.

The Green Room: All In the Family

At The Green Room, it’s all about family. The New London restaurant and bar that features a welcoming and cozy ambiance, a menu of comfort-soul food along with meticulously thought-up cocktails, opened in July of 2019 to fill a void in southeastern Connecticut. Co-owners Jonai Phillips, Tondra Bryant and Shakim Outler wanted to create something for their community by their community, where patrons could feel like they were at their home away from home.

Dutch’s: Ethically Delicious

When Tiffany Shultz’s son was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis (MG), an incurable neurological autoimmune disease in 2016, she had no idea that it would lead her to opening her incredibly popular new Pawcatuck, Connecicut vegan cupcake and ice cream shop, Dutch’s.

Crab Shack King A Touch of Soul: Always Fresh, Always Flavorful

For Reginald White, opening his Middletown, CT-based food trailer, The Crab Shack King - A Touch of Soul, was the culmination of years of hard work and determination. Crab Shack King, which officially opened as a food trailer in March, offers seafood with a touch of soul. Some fan favorites on the menu are the deep fried lobster, crab cakes, poboys and his signature “King Sauce.”