Reading’s Sweet Shoppe Candles to Appear at Golden Globes

A piece of Reading will be in tinsel town this weekend when Sweet Shoppe candles are gifted to celebrities at the Golden Globes. Owner Leslie Gennari received a phone call from GBK Productions asking her to make custom cupcake candles for the Globes' nominees, presenters and VIPs.

According to their website, GBK Productions is a marketing, public relations, fundraising and special events company. They will create the Luxury Lounge at the Globes this year to benefit Lambda Legal, an organization fighting for the rights of lesbians, gay men and those with HIV/AIDS. 

After celebrities enter the GBK Luxury Lounge at L’Ermitage Beverly Hills, they will be handed a Sweet Shoppe cupcake candle. Gennari was asked to make cupcake candles to celebrate Lambda Legal's 40th birthday. The custom candle looks like the one pictured, only it has a candle instead of a cherry, Gennari said, a special request by GBK.

While in the lounge, the stars will receive gift bags including Sweet Shoppe brochures and coupons, handmade reindeer leather jewelry from the Arctic Circle in Sweden from SwedArt; a collection of jewelry, stationery, fine art photography, spa and bath products from The Artisan Group and much more. They will also enjoy refreshments and pool-side spa treatments.

Gennari's candles were placed in gift bags at last year's Oscars. GBK found her through a Google search, and were pleased with the results.

"The candles from the Oscars were a big hit," she said. "That's why they called me back."

Although the Golden Globe cupcake candles will not be available on her website, she does have other cupcake candles with the same scent.

"It smells like butter-cream, like a birthday cake, with a hint of clove," Gennari said.

She started making her candles in 2007 and it was just a hobby at first, she said. She was searching for a fruit tart recipe online and found a fruit tart candle instead. 

"I was was curious and ordered it and fell in love with it. So I decided I wanted to start making it," she said.

She made the candles for herself and displayed them in her dining room. Her friends loved them and suggested she have a candle party.

"It took off from there," Gennari said.

She created her website in 2008 and has been making the candles in a workshop in her basement ever since.

Business increased dramatically for her after the Oscars. She has sent candles as far as Australia and they have been featured on CBS, 7 News and even in Ireland's KISS magazine.