Candles have come a long way since 500 BC when they were made from animal fat by the Romans. But don’t worry this isn’t why we started Känsla. As we approach our first birthday, I wanted to share the story behind Känsla with you all.
Känsla was born after spending years searching for the perfect scent.
Have you ever visited a luxury venue and thought…. WOW what is that smell. If you have ever travelled to the middle east and stayed in a posh hotel you know the scents I am talking about.
Woody, earthy, rich… and just cool. I could never find these scents when buying fragrances for my home and trust me I tried.
I love my home to look and smell nice and candles were my first love. I would find amazing looking candles that didn’t smell, or the nicest scent in a jar that looked…well…basic. And if I was ever lucky enough to come close to the perfect scent in the perfect jar it came at the cost of a trip to the posh hotel in the middle east!
I searched high and low for a luxurious candle that smelt strong and looked good enough to have out in my home. In the end I decided to take matters into my own hands and make my own.
I started in the kitchen with an Amazon DIY candle making kit. There I was with my glass jars, wax and oils ready to make my masterpiece and solve the worlds problem of finding the perfect scent. I was on a mission.
A few things I learnt very quickly. Candle making is an art and requires what felt like a Masters in Mathematics (something I didn’t have) there are multiple calculations to create the perfect mix, heating, cooling and pouring times. How long to stir, how to pour and in what conditions. Safe to say when I put everything into a dish and turned on the hob the first candle did not come out well.
The next thing I learnt about was the curing process. I can officially certify that as soon as a candle looks set… it isn’t. The curing process takes 14 days for a 100% soy wax candle. Certainly not 5 minutes after it looks set.
So after my first candle turned out as a lump of wax that didn’t smell and had a huge gaping hole from where I lit the wick too soon. I decided to put down the apparatus and learn about the art of candle making.
I didn’t make another candle for 4 months, instead I absorbed every piece of information I could on candle making. Thousands of pages of books and countless hours online. I was ready.
Tuscan Leather and Oud was the first candle. I counted 27 samples before I knew I had it right.
This was the scent I had been longing for. Masculine, rich and woody. It reminded me of an expensive deep aftershave and that feeling you get when a scent stops you in your tracks.
The plan was to make my own candles for my own home. Never did I dream that people would love them as much as I did. I made some candles and shared them with family. Their feedback was amazing, but they are family right? I then started to share them with my wider connections to see if they really were as good as people I knew were saying. Turns out they thought they were!
One afternoon on a winter walk I decided to take the plunge and start my own business.
The first thing to decide was the name. This was actually the easy part. When I light a fragrance in my home I want to enjoy it. I want to feel happy or nostalgic.
Känsla is Swedish for 'feeling' and the feeling you should get from a Kansla product is enjoyment and happiness.
The candles I had made didn’t look how I wanted them to. It wasn’t something that finished off the room in my house. I knew what would so I set about another 3 months of research and Känslas concrete candle jar was created. Not only does this jar look and feel premium it has multiple benefits to make the candle burn well. The concrete keeps the heat retained which makes the candle burn evenly and last longer.
It needed a lid! I like to keep candles out as a decorative feature and there is nothing worse than a candle covered in dust or when you can see it is half burned.
I love texture so the labels were next. The candle labels needed to look sleek and expensive.
Then came the box. Who doesn’t love to open a perfectly packaged, gift wrapped candle? The packaging was important to me. I wanted customers to feel excited about opening their new purchase and the quality of Känsla needed to be begin before you even see the candle.
Känsla make the perfect gift for someone special or as a treat for yourself and when buying a Känsla the experience starts with the packaging.
I think the little things are important when buying something new and it’s those little extras that make you feel great about your purchase. This is why all Känslas come with a set of complimentary matches. The full kit to allow you to enjoy your new candle with no routing through the drawer for a lighter.
Finally, after months of research and testing Känsla was born.
Fast forward 12 months and we are preparing to celebrate our first birthday. The last 12 months have been incredible. We have met some fantastic people, grew our brand, launched new products, sold out in John Lewis in 5 days, stocked in the most amazing independent stores and have the most exciting 2023 planned.
We now have a range of beautiful candles and reed diffusers and we will always keep our scents limited to a small number. Quality over quantity is so important to Känsla and we perfect every scent we launch. It has to pass the ‘perfect scent’ test.
What’s next is to make our range fully refillable. Not only is this better for our environment but reusing and recycling is embedded deep within Känslas ethos. 2023 will also see brand new products launch and even a special appearance from some limited edition scents.
So finally, what does Känsla represent. Luxurious, refillable and sustainable home fragrances for you to enjoy that you can use over and over again, and you never know, maybe you will find your perfect scent.
Love Känsla. XX