VOA – CONNECT

EPISODE # 265
AIR DATE: 02 10 2023

TRANSCRIPT

OPEN ((VO/NAT/SOT))
((Banner))
Smell of Love

((SOT))
((Alejandro Buxton
CEO, Smell of Love Candles))
The ingredients we use are soy wax. We also use a little bit of coconut wax to make the scent spread out further, and we use natural, essential oils.
((Animation Transition))
((Banner))

Augmented Reality

((SOT))
((Sutu
XR Artist))
Not only are we adding a layer, we’re adding animation, we’re adding audio, changing the text that’s printed on the page. And I like playing around with that aspect of it.
((Animation Transition))
((Banner))
Sharing Success

((SOT))
((Angel Gregorio
Owner, The Spice Suite))

So, I started to post on Instagram that I would allow Black business owners, who have a product that is either uniquely sourced or handmade, to come in and sell their products here completely free of charge. No fine print.
((Open Animation))

BLOCK A


((PKG)) KID ENTREPRENEUR

((TRT: 06:31))
((Topic Banner: Kid Entrepreneur))
((Producer: Faiza Elmasry))
((Camera/Editor: June Soh))
((Map: Fairfax, Virginia))
((Main characters: 1 male; 1 female))
((Banner:
((Alejandro: I was 9-years-old when I started this idea. And it was a little crazy idea to me because when you're a kid, you don't really expect to start a business.))
((Banner:
((Patricia: It doesn't matter if you're seven, and it doesn't matter if you're forty-seven. //You can always start. It's never too early and it's never too late.))
((Summary: With the help of his mother, an 11-year-old learns how to make candles using natural and organic ingredients. He became the CEO of his own company, The Smell of Love Candles.))

((NATS: Alejandro))

I’m stirring the wax together with the citrus oils. I learned this from my mom. I mean, we just learned this by ourselves.

((NATS/MUSIC))
((Alejandro Buxton

CEO, Smell of Love Candles))

My name is Alejandro Buxton. I am the CEO of Smell of [Love] Candles, and I am 11 years old, and I am in sixth grade. Smell of Love Candles is a candle company that specializes in vegan candles and organic candles. We do not sell candles that have bad chemicals in them.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Alejandro Buxton
CEO, Smell of Love Candles))
I was nine years old when I started this idea. It was a little bit of crazy idea to me because when you're a kid, you don't really expect to start a business.
((NATS))
((Alejandro Buxton
CEO, Smell of Love Candles))
What inspired me? My mom. She loved to burn candles. But then after a while, we got headaches. Our allergies were acting up. So she didn't know where they were coming from. So after a while, we found out it was actually coming from the candles she was burning.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Alejandro Buxton
CEO, Smell of Love Candles))
The ingredients we use are soy wax. We also use a little bit of coconut wax to make the scent spread out further. And we use natural, essential oils. And our, all of our supplies can be traced back to the fields in the west of the United States.
((NATS))
((Alejandro Buxton
CEO, Smell of Love Candles))
I learned the process from my mom because she's made candles in the past, just for us, not really for selling. So, she taught me how to make a little small candle. So, I created a candle for her. It's called “Jurassic Orange.” And she really loved it.
((NATS))
((Patricia Buxton
Mom & business partner))
When I went through my separation and divorce from Alejandro's dad, Alejandro and I became even closer because it was just us and his little sister. When he asked me to show him, that's where he was like, “Well, we can sell these,” you know? And that kind of grew from there. But I wanted him to experiment and get the process right. And also, I wanted to see if he was really serious about it before we began the registration, before we did all the legal paperwork for the foundation of the business.
((NATS))
((Alejandro Buxton
CEO, Smell of Love Candles))
So, the role for my mom is that she helps with the back end. She does all the back end. She makes sure we have enough inventory. She orders the inventory. And she does a lot of marketing and getting us into market.
((NATS: Alejandro & Valentina))
Put the popsicle stick on.
That one?
Yes. Done. Be careful.
((Alejandro Buxton
CEO, Smell of Love Candles))
My little sister's name is Valentina and she is four years old.
Alright. There we go.
She’s the assistant of operations. That's her role and she likes to help around.
((NATS))
((Alejandro Buxton
CEO, Smell of Love Candles))
The candle-making part is pretty cool. Just sometimes, when you have like preparing for markets, it can be a little stressing because we make sure we have enough. But it's pretty cool because we can work together as a family.
((NATS: Patricia, Alejandro & Valentina))
Yay! Make sure it's in the middle.
Good job.
Middle.
((Patricia Buxton
Mom & business partner))
To me, it's a big bonding family experience because it's almost like, you know, when we cook together, like we're making candles together. That's sort of how I can relate to them.
((NATS))
((Alejandro Buxton
CEO, Smell of Love Candles))
The time I spend in the studio when we’re making candle, about, you know, four hours. During the waiting time, we can do other stuff because candles take a time to cool down. So, we sometimes, you know, read during that time. We do school during that time. And we do a lot of things. I also love to build Legos. I’ve always dreamed to be a civil engineer and I like building Legos. I spent hours with those little sets.
((MUSIC/NATS))
((NATS: Alejandro in the market))
((Courtesy: Smell of Love Candles))
((Alejandro Buxton
CEO, Smell of Love Candles))
The most interesting part is the markets. I love the markets because we get to interact with different people and we get to suggest like candles you like. And it can be pretty fun, even though it can be kind of tiring because markets last for a while, it’s fun because you get to talk to people and I like talking to people. I definitely know that my social skills are better now.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Alejandro Buxton
CEO, Smell of Love Candles))
I've learned a life lesson of budgeting and also, you know, taking the time and not, you know, rush because if you rush, you know, things can be damaged or can be messed up. And another thing I've learned is just interact with people and don't be shy. That’s one of the things I’ve done
((Courtesy: Smell of Love Candles))
because when I first did our markets, I was like really shy.
((NATS: Alejandro))
((Courtesy: Smell of Love Candles))
You need a glass jar for a candle.
So, I have a YouTube channel. It's called Lessons from a Kidpreneur. This cools evenly. You need any piece of paper to keep the area clean.
((Alejandro Buxton
CEO, Smell of Love Candles))
We give out a lot of advice for other people who want to start business
((end Courtesy))
or who want to, you know, create candles.
((Patricia Buxton
Mom & business partner))
It doesn't matter how old you are, you know, like that's sort of his biggest message when people ask him. You know, it doesn't matter if you're seven and it doesn't matter if you're 47. You know, it doesn't matter. You can always start. It's never too early and it's never too late.
((NATS))
((Patricia Buxton
Mom & business partner))
The question people always ask me when it comes to parents is like, “How do I make my son or daughter also be an entrepreneur?” And my answer to that is always like, “Don't push them. Don't push them into what you think they want to do. Pay attention to what it is that they're interested in. Pay attention to the things that they start.” You know, I was paying attention to Alejandro’s lemonade stand. I was paying attention
((Courtesy: Smell of Love Candles))
to him picking weeds and like cutting grass for people.
((Patricia Buxton
Mom & business partner))
We got a lot of snow. And so, he was also shoveling sidewalks
((Courtesy: Smell of Love Candles))
and parking spots for neighbors and charging them a fee as well.
((Patricia Buxton
Mom & business partner))
And so I knew that seed was there.
((NATS))
((Alejandro Buxton
CEO, Smell of Love Candles))
Secret of success? We've learned a little bit because we're still unlocking that. One of the things is that it can't be quick. Things take a really long time. And another thing is that, of success, is to help others because we give money to charity. In that, you know, we spread the message and then, we also advertise too.
((NATS))
((Patricia Buxton
Mom & business partner))
There's always a message that he writes on every order. I'll be making boxes. He'll be wrapping the candles. So, it's almost like an assembly line that we're doing when it comes to shipping. And then we'll go drop them off at the post office.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Alejandro Buxton
CEO, Smell of Love Candles))
So, it does bring joy. A table accomplished. It feels like we did something great.
((NATS/MUSIC))


TEASE ((VO/NAT))
Coming up…
((Banner))
Augmented Reality
((SOT))
((Sutu
XR Artist))
What is your artwork even about? Sometimes the artists would just do some fun imagery for art’s sake. Other times artists will try to communicate more important message.


BREAK ONE
((https://www.voanews.com/a/logon-bird-migration-tech--web-mp4/6655228.html))
((Bird Migration Tech))
((Rodd Kelsey
The Nature Conservancy))
((Courtesy: Google Earth))
((Courtesy: Cornell Lab of Orinthology))
((Courtesy: Point Blue Conservation Science/The Nature Conservancy))
((Jon Munger
Montana Farms))
((Courtesy: California Rice Commission))
((Courtesy: Migration Bird Conservancy Partnership))
BUMP IN ((ANIM))

BLOCK B


((PKG)) AUGMENTED REALITY BOOKS
((TRT: 06:52))
((Topic Banner: Unlocking the Narrative))
((Producer/Camera/Editor: Genia Dulot))
((Map: Los Angeles, California))
((Main characters: 1 male))
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Sutu
XR Artist))
Hi, I am Sutu. I am an XR [Extended Reality] Artist and that means everything to do with different digital realities like virtual reality and augmented reality. I’m from Australia and I am living in Los Angeles. And today, we’ll be talking about augmented reality books.
One of the first things that we did was Modern Polaxis.
I put up some street art around the streets in Sydney, Australia. And then we kind of rolled up to these street art works with a projector on the back of a bike and we used the augmented reality app to calibrate the projection onto the street art.
This was in 2013 or something, very early.
((Sutu
XR Artist))
We put this video online and it got a lot of attention. And then we thought, well, what about if we just make a comic book using this character? So, Modern Polaxis became my first augmented reality comic book.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Sutu
XR Artist))
It’s a story of a paranoid time traveler. The book is set out like his own private diary.
You’ll see drawings. You will see lots of crazy writing like a madman’s diary. And then the idea is that you use the augmented reality app to reveal his secret journal.
You’re almost like an investigator. And if you put your phone close to the book, you’ll discover little notes like the text is replaced in the book with some new text in the app. So, the app is telling you a different story to what is printed on the page.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Sutu
XR Artist))
The character is convinced that there is another dimension that’s overlaying our reality. And in this dimension, there are forces that are manipulating us and changing the trajectory of our lives. And so, he is determined to expose these forces. So, the augmented reality is also used to expose these forces.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Sutu
XR Artist))
Here are your bubbles. See, he’s still interested in bubbles. He doesn’t care about the technology. That’s his bubble wand. Yeah, come over here, man. Stelarc, come here. I want to show you something. I’m putting the book here. Look at those little guys jumping around. No, wait. Can’t touch it.
I think augmented reality is a great tool as an extension to traditional book because it has this ability to unlock other layers of narrative.
Chewing on my books.
((Sutu
XR Artist))
As a storyteller and also as an enthusiast of sort of technologies, I like that we can break the convention of traditional storytelling with device like this. Not only we are adding a layer, we’re adding animation, we’re adding audio, changing the text that’s printed on the page. And I like playing around with that aspect of it, you know. I like challenging the reader.
((NATS))
((Sutu
XR Artist))
When I finished Modern Polaxis, I got a lot of emails asking, “How did you create that?” I decided to release a tool to allow people to create their own augmented reality art. And to kick off that tool, I created prosthetic reality.
I invited all these artists that I know around the world to use my tool and to submit their creation, the augmented reality artwork, that resulted in about 45 artists’ work.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Sutu
XR Artist))
Well, the thing I love about the book is all the artists have their own style, and then you get surprised by how they use the app to bring that artwork to life. This was actually this artist’s first animation, which I thought was a fantastic effort.
And then there is the message as well, like what is your artwork even about? Sometimes the artists would just do some fun imagery for art’s sake. Other times artists will try to communicate more important message.
So, this was a friend of mine, Ezra Clayton Daniels. This artwork is probably one of the most powerful in terms of political message. There are African American slaves being auctioned off.
And then you look at it in AR [Augmented Reality], and suddenly we jump to the present, and these are African American men in orange jumpsuits and they are being sent to prison. There’s a lot of discussion in contemporary politics today about the prison system being a modern-day slave labor.
((Sutu
XR Artist))
I thought it was a very clever message, very clever like use of augmented reality to jump a hundred years in time, to point out very literally in a few seconds, this dichotomy of progress.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Sutu
XR Artist))
This is one of the 3D artworks in the book. I think the future for augmented reality books and all augmented reality experiences are going to become more prevalent when we have augmented reality glasses.
((Sutu
XR Artist))
So, I imagine in the future, in the near future, we’ll probably see a, one of those famous launch days at Apple, where they say something like, “This is the new MacBook,” and then they will only put on a pair of glasses, and the world will go, “What? That’s a MacBook?” And it’s suggesting that we would just see the information floating in front of us. And this will be the sort of the tipping point when we enter into like a full augmented reality future.
I think that will happen in the next five years. And all of these experiments that we’ve been doing will become a part of the mainstream culture for how we experience digital art.
((NATS/MUSIC))

TEASE ((VO/NAT))
Coming up…
((Banner))
Training for Toolbelts
((SOT))
((Jenna
Construction Worker))
As long as you're willing to put in the work and to work for it, I don't see why women can't be in it. I don't see why the stereotype was made in the first place.

BREAK TWO
((UV Disinfecting Robots))
((Andy Molnar
UVD Robots))
BUMP IN ((ANIM))

BLOCK C


((PKG)) THE SPICE SUITE
((Previously aired August 2021))
((TRT: 05:52))
((Topic Banner: Spice Suite))
((Producer/Camera/Editor: June Soh))
((Map: Washington, D.C.))
((Main characters: 1 female))
((Sub characters: 3 female))
((NATS))
((Angel Gregorio
Owner, The Spice Suite))
So, typically I start with something familiar, and my most familiar spice is sea salt. Salt is just as delicate as saffron, and it should be treated just as such. And this is parsley, onion flakes. This is smoked paprika, and this is rubbed sage.
((Angel Gregorio
Owner, The Spice Suite))
So, after we get everything all mixed in a bowl, this is like the point where you are at home,
((Courtesy: The Spice Suite))
and you are standing in the mirror, and you’re trying to figure out if you love that outfit, right? And I am like, okay, I think I like this. I think this is it. And so, you pull your camera out, right? Or your whisk. And you whisk it. And as I whisk it, this is when I really know if I’ve gotten it right because I would start to smell it and I would immediately know if this smells good.
((NATS: Angel Gregorio))
Hi, welcome.
((Angel Gregorio
Owner, The Spice Suite))
I am Angel Gregorio, owner of The Spice Suite, a spice shop and dream incubator located uptown in Washington, D.C.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Angel Gregorio
Owner, The Spice Suite))
So, our motto here is ‘Food Is Fashion’ because I really believe that you should have just as much fun in your kitchen as you do in your closet. You should go out into the world with no rules when it comes to flavor.
((Courtesy: The Spice Suite))
And I take that philosophy into my spice creation. ((NATS/MUSIC))
((Angel Gregorio
Owner, The Spice Suite))
Not having any culinary background, it still kind of blows my mind that I am a spice girl because I did not grow up going to spice shops.
((Courtesy: The Spice Suite))
And when I saw this vacant space, I called the landlord and
((Angel Gregorio
Owner, The Spice Suite))
had this like very like random serendipitous conversation around like what I wanted to do with this space. I still don't have any idea what made me say, ‘I would turn this into a spice shop.’ But I said it on a whim.
((Courtesy: The Spice Suite))
Three and a half weeks later, I opened this spice shop. I left my job a month and a half after that conversation and that was almost six years ago.
((Angel Gregorio
Owner, The Spice Suite))
So, when I opened The Spice Suite, I had no idea what I was doing.
((Courtesy: The Spice Suite))
I was ordering spices online not really sure what was going on.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Courtesy: The Spice Suite))
Now, I've been to about 26 different countries to source spices. And so, that is really me like sourcing and me doing research and me like this understanding this spice world. I'm really like learning on the job, like this like on-the-job training.
((Courtesy: Instagram))
Right now, I have over 120,000 followers on Instagram. And I have learned that my followers on Instagram like to see me cook. And so, I do not like to cook on camera.
((Courtesy: The Spice Suite))
But I do enjoy cooking and I love the peace and solitude of cooking. I am doing things that are fairly easy to do. I'm just layering flavor in ways that folks never imagine doing. I use my regular, old iPhone and I record everything in the Instagram and I upload it.
((NATS))
((Angel Gregorio
Owner, The Spice Suite))
COVID has impacted our business positively
((Courtesy: The Spice Suite))
because everybody is at home cooking. They had time to try those recipes. So, they wanted access to my products. And so, our business has really grown a lot during COVID.
((NATS))
((Charita Armwood
Customer))
I have tried over 70 different spices. I really love her products and it’s taking my food to like a whole another level. I am getting really creative with my meals.
((Jerlene Matthias
Customer))
This is actually my first time here. I found her on her Instagram and my sister brought me in the area. I am from Boston. I can’t wait to go home and try it.
((Angel Gregorio
Owner, The Spice Suite))
When I opened The Spice Suite, I almost immediately realized that I needed to start to invite community into the space. And so, I started to post on Instagram that I would allow Black business owners, who have a product that is either uniquely sourced or handmade, to come in and sell their products here completely free of charge. No fine print. And we became known as a dream incubator.
((NATS))
((Ambrie Jones
Pop-up Participant))
I create all of my products by hand and blend and pour in small batches at home. So, the cool thing is just being able to be around all these women and be encouraged by all of them and then continue to
((Courtesy: The Spice Suite))
grow with them, laugh with them. We have friendships outside of being spice girls. So, it’s just fun to connect with all of them.
((NATS/Music))
((Angel Gregorio
Owner, The Spice Suite))
Prior to opening The Spice Suite and being a spice girl, I was an assistant principal.
((Courtesy: The Spice Suite))
I’ve been an educator for, oh, about 10 years. I went to Howard for undergrad and grad-school. I got my degrees in psychology.
((Angel Gregorio
Owner, The Spice Suite))
So, I decided I wanted to work at the youth jail. And I became familiar with this youth jail because
((Courtesy: The Spice Suite))
my younger brother has spent a substantial amount of time at this youth jail. Because I saw myself in them. I saw my brothers in them. I saw so many people I loved in them. And so, that is what kind of set me on the path to become an actual teacher.
((NATS: Angel Gregorio
Owner, The Spice Suite))
You are all set? Please sit your basket here.
((Angel Gregorio
Owner, The Spice Suite))
So, business has been absolutely amazing. I mean, we have gone from like, you know, making just enough to pay the rent to this being like a thriving business in such a short amount of time. My accountant is who sent me an award saying like, “Welcome to the seven-figure club”. I didn’t even pause so like recognize that as an achievement on my own.
((Courtesy: The Spice Suite))
I’ve done a lot of community service. I’ve given back. I continue to reach back.
((Angel Gregorio
Owner, The Spice Suite))
I do not believe that, as a business owner, you can expect community to show up and support you financially, and you not show up and support your community.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Courtesy: The Spice Suite))
You know, I have two brothers serving life in prison.
((Angel Gregorio
Owner, The Spice Suite))
If ever my brothers are given an opportunity to come home, I'm the only person that will hire them immediately. ((Courtesy: The Spice Suite))
They’ve been locked up for so long for so much of their lives, this spice shop will be the lifeline for them to be able to thrive and succeed and be contributing citizens again.
((Angel Gregorio
Owner, The Spice Suite))
I am currently living a dream I didn’t even know
((Courtesy: The Spice Suite))
I had. I just hope that my life feels like less of a dream and more just like this really cool reality.
((NATS))
Cheese.
Thank you.
((NATS/MUSIC))

((PKG)) TRAINING FOR TOOLBELTS
((Previously aired August 2021))
((TRT: 03:20))
((Topic Banner: Training for Toolbelts))
((Producer: Karina Bafradzhian))
((Camera: Artyom Kokhan))
((Adapted by: Martin Secrest))
((Map: Portland, Oregon))
((Main characters: 1 female))
((Sub characters: 1 female))
((NATS))
((Kelly Kupcak
Executive Director, Oregon Tradeswomen))
At first, everyone was like, ‘That's crazy. You don't know anything about construction.’ And it was a whole new world and it was really, really hard and really physically exhausting but really interesting and really exciting and I loved it.
((NATS))
((Text on screen: Oregon Tradeswomen offers free, eight-week basic construction training for women.))
((Kelly Kupcak
Executive Director, Oregon Tradeswomen))
You know, just helping so many women come through our program and go out and after, you know, one year, two years when they graduated, four or five years, they became an electrician, a carpenter, a plumber, a pipe fitter, a heavy equipment operator, like myself. They were able to no longer have to survive on benefits from the government and they could have pride in a job that was not just a job but really a career pathway. And they could buy a car. They were buying their first home and they had economic independence.
((NATS: Construction))
((Kelly Kupcak
Executive Director, Oregon Tradeswomen))
In the construction industry, you're making really good wages and if it's a union job, you're also getting a pension, you're also getting health care. So, I saw the difference, right, of what was happening and what we also know is that a lot of girls and women, even though we're in the 21st century, folks still are like, ‘Oh, I don't see myself as that. I don't see myself doing that.’ Or you know, they drive down the road and they just see men working on a highway job. So, they don't think that's an opportunity for them.
((NATS: Jenna and Woman))
Jenna: And you take the bottom, so see that here? Take that and turn this this way.
Woman: I was thinking it wouldn’t even be able to reach.
((Jenna
Construction Worker))
It's definitely an old stereotype that I think we definitely need to lean away from. It’s, for sure, a very physically demanding job. You have to be in shape. You have to be willing to work hard. As long as you're willing to put in the work and to work for it, I don't see why women can't be in it. I don't see why the stereotype was made in the first place. So, you don't see very many women out there but more women need to be in the trade for sure.
((NATS: Jenna))
Jenna: So now, we’ve got to move this over a way, so we can afford to…
((Kelly Kupcak
Executive Director, Oregon Tradeswomen))
I think the women that come through our doors, some of them are women who have, you know, a master's degree in engineering, and they don't want to sit behind a desk all day anymore, and they want to do something more dynamic, and they want to be outdoors, and they want to use their bodies and their brains. Those women come through our doors. Women in the community who are coming out of incarceration, so, you know, leaving prison. We are in the prison system. We talk to women there as well, to say, ‘Have you thought about this pathway?’ So, we work really hard to make sure that the folks that want to do this, can do it, and we give them the tools they need, the training they need, and the support they need. And I think that piece is really important to underscore because while you're also learning all the skills that you need, we're helping you get rid of the barriers.
((NATS))

CLOSING ((ANIM))
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BREAK THREE
((https://www.voanews.com/a/episode_experiencing-realities-aging-through-virtual-reality-4505071/6113741.html))
((VR Experiencing Aging))
((Courtesy: Embodied Labs))
((Carrie Shaw
Founder & CEO, Embodied Labs))
((Courtesy: Carrie Shaw))
((Courtesy: Embodied Labs))
((Courtesy: Carrie Shaw))
((Courtesy: Carrie Shaw))
((Courtesy: Embodied Labs))
((Courtesy: California State University Channel Islands))
((Courtesy: Embodied Labs))
((Jaime Hannans
California State University Channel Islands))
BUMP IN ((ANIM))

CLOSING ((ANIM))
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SHOW ENDS