In this episode X speaks with Brittany Furnari-Kesoglide and Cristian Abbrancati.  Brittany Furnari-Kesoglides, 28 (she/her) & Cristian Abbrancati (he/him), 29 have been best friends since the 6th grade. They grew up together in Long Island and spent much of middle school and high school getting separated in class for chatting way too much and causing disruption. Truth be told, it is not much different nowadays. While school and proximity helped to develop their tight knit friendship that has lasted for over a decade- they both shared similar aspirations to conquer NYC and move away from their small town. 

Brittany grew up in an Italian household but is also proudly a Guatemalan adoptee. As the first of her biological family to come to the United States and successfully complete high school and college, being a Latina business owner in NYC is extremely important and humbling to her. She aims to support and highlight other minorities through carrying local women/POC/trans owned products in the Nose Best storefront. Her goal is to serve as a conduit for creating long term and supportive communities around minorities and women in business. 

Cristian was also raised in an Italian household. He was inspired by his family's entrepreneurial spirit since his parents and aunts/uncles all made a living by working for themselves. He has honed his creative skills of graphic design, photography, and content creation to pioneer Nose Best. As a member of the LGBTQIA+ community and a Women and Gender's Study undergraduate, he has worked diligently on creating a non-toxic work culture that is safe, respectful, and celebrates diversity. 

The notion to become business partners came to them when they both were neighbors in Harlem and meeting up for drinks on Halloween. They made a single handshake to start a candle company together in 2019 not realizing that in 2020 when the global pandemic shut down their respective industries that they would have no other choice but to quarantine and work on their business plan. Thanks to Cristian's social media prowess, the duo has garnered over 112k followers on Tik Tok. Brittany and Cristian have grown the company from a side hustle that was home based and solely E-commerce to a brick and mortar storefront in Bushwick Brooklyn that has noteworthy collaborations with the Museum of Sex and Chicago The Musical. Their candles are also now featured on Urban Outfitters and 1800 Flowers as well as on the shelves of numerous boutiques and retail shops throughout the nation. In 2024, the co-owners of Nose Best look forward to launching a candle making workshop experience in a studio space right behind their storefront. 

Connect with Nose Best: 

• IG: @nosebestcandles_
• TikTok: @nosebestcandles