Whist

19 July 2025

A story of resilience, ritual, and quiet belief.

From her Essex studio, Kerry uses her instinct (and an invisible strength from within) to grow her candle business into the wellbeing brand that Kerry and her late Husband Nik had dreamed of. Here’s their story.

I suppose the start of my business began 10 years before I finally launched it.

My love and passion for candle making started in 2011, when my husband purchased me a one-to-one workshop with a candle maker in London. I had been keen to make essential oil candles for the skincare and holistic salon that I owned at the time. I wanted to enhance our clients treatments with aromatherapy and candlelight.

I instantly fell in love with the craft, and we used the candles that I then went on to make in the salon.

Fast forward 6 years, and life decided to throw in a few huge curveballs. I had been suffering from severe burnout and stress, which reached its peak when I collapsed in the reception area of the salon and was hospitalised. It turned out that the heart attack that it was suspected I was having, was actually a massive panic attack. The Doctor warned me that I was heading for a breakdown unless something changed.

Within two months of me leaving the hospital, I had closed and walked away from the business I had spent 16 years building. My confidence, sense of purpose and self esteem were on the floor, and in fact, I barely left my house for almost a year.

Then, just as I was finding my way back to me, my wonderful husband was devastatingly diagnosed with grade 4 cancer.

What do I want the person burning the candle to feel?

I knew that I had to find a way to stop myself crashing again, so turned to aromatherapy, and my candles, as a way to manage my stress. My husband was in hospital for prolonged periods of times as he battled, and lighting a candle when I returned home from the hospital, became my ritual. It helped me to find some grounding, and a safe place to land. It enabled me to regather my mental resources, ready for the next day and what it might bring. Almost like the candle light lit the way back to me.

I wanted to offer that to others, and the idea of launching my candles as a business, slowly began to form.

Thankfully in 2020 my husband was declared cancer free, and it was through his encouragement, (and gentle shoving….) that I finally launched Whist in 2021.

My husband has been the biggest champion of Whist since launch. My brand would never have come into existence without his total belief in me and my candles. He believed in me long before I did, and has been my biggest cheerleader and support. In busy times he would be stamping boxes, cutting up tissue paper, bringing me tea, anything that he could do to help me. Whist was my dream, but it became his dream too and he loved it as much as I did.

Our family was absolutely devastated when Nik lost his battle with cancer in February this year. His beautiful light was needed elsewhere and he had to leave us. I cannot express the grief that I feel, so I will not try. But, Nik made me promise him that I would still fight to build my brand, and still keep the belief in myself, so I am doing my absolute best to honour him, by doing that. Nik will always and forever be the second heartbeat of Whist, but now it is just from within me.

It has been known that on subscription weeks, or candle season, our sons, my Mum and my best friend all come in to help (I pay them in tea and cake…)

I have our sons old toy room converted into my tiny little candle studio. Every single bit of space has been utilised, but I make it work.

Despite it being packed full of equipment, it is my favourite room in my house to be. I find calm in blending essential oils, making fragrance. I feel very peaceful when I am pouring candles. I have all of my essential oil blends in apothecary bottles along a shelf, and it makes me feel like a potion maker of yesteryear.

My beautiful ceramic vessels are all in a wooden fruit storage unit, and my botanicals are housed in a vintage artists draw unit. It all just makes me very happy.

I tend to listen to business podcasts or Ludovico Einaudi classical music mainly, but have also been known to listen to a true crime podcast of rap music when I blend! It fully depends on the mood of the day.

When I create an essential oil fragrance blend, it always starts with a feeling. What do I want the person burning the candle to feel? I then go on instinct, and my knowledge of aromatherapy, to start creating.

I usually make a blend up and tweak it until I like the scent, then test it in a candle. This is the best and worst part of the process as 99 times out of 100, the blend/wick/wax/ratio does not work. I have to then tweak and adjust until I find a combination that does. The longest time that it has taken to get an idea for a blend to a working/safe candle is 9 months!

I introduced refillable ceramic candles to my brand two years ago, and they are my pride and joy. I have some hand drawn botanicals that I use within my branding, that a very clever potter and lino print maker made into a pattern for me. When she makes my pots, she uses that pattern to create the beautiful botanicals that adorn the pots.

I absolutely love that I got to work with another small business to take the idea from my head, and make it a unique, bespoke reality. It’s the combination of crafts and I am so proud of them.

I absolutely love that as he is, and will always be, the quietly beating second heart of my brand.

I have so many highs!

Planting our 1000th tree (we plant trees from every single sale).

Realising that our returning customer rate is almost 70%.

Launching the refillable candles and them selling out on launch night. Nik, our sons and me were all gathered around my laptop that night, and the cheering (and crying from me) as the sales came in, will forever be a core memory of my journey.

Realising that we had donated over £1000 to an animal rescue that we support from sales on one of our ranges (the New Hope range).

Being featured in Hello magazine as the editors Christmas gift choice.

Selling out my workshops every time I hold them (and getting to meet lovely customers).

The low of course has been losing my husband. He was the person that was my constant, my anchor. Building a business is an absolute rollercoaster, but Nik was my ever present, always calm, voice of reason. He gave me confidence and unwavering belief. My social media followers had also gotten to know and love Nik over the years. I get asked about him (and his candle that he created 3 months before he passed), all the time. I absolutely love that as he is, and will always be, the quietly beating second heart of my brand.

I built Whist on very firm ethics. I follow a vegan and eco living lifestyle, so these were always going to be the focus of my brand.

I will not use any of the essential oils on the “red list” and every single aspect of my business is carefully considered.

I am 100% plastic free as a brand from January this year.

I also have a passion that my candles do more than just smell nice. They are a wellbeing wish from me, to help aid wellbeing.

Plans for the future has been a question I have had to ask myself a lot recently. Since losing my husband I felt cast adrift, it felt like all of the dreams and plans that we had talked about forever, had gone. I have had to reconsider my goals and dreams, and what they will look like for the person that I am being forced to become. But then a few weeks ago I had the realisation that the facts remain the same, I love what I do, and want to continue to do it.

So, continuing to build Whist into the brand that we both felt it could be, is still my goal.

I aim to continue to build the collection of wellbeing candles that I offer, as well as extend the bath and body range.

I love working with other small businesses, so would love to move into bigger premises that could accommodate various workshops, networking, wellbeing days, retail etc

I would love to build on the amount of Spas and wellness spaces that I am stocked in.

I firmly believe that we should always be looking to give back, (my husband had a motto of “always try to do good”), so I aim to add to the charity candle range.

I would love Whist to become a wellness brand, as opposed to just a candle brand, and have so many ideas to make that happen.

I am excited to see how much I can honour the belief that my husband had in me.

IMAGES ©Whist 2025

Thank you Kerry for sharing your profoundly moving story with us.

We see it often, how crafting anything with our hands can bring a clarity of mind, purpose, and routine when required, but what stays with me is how you’ve extended that sense of purpose, by gently guiding others toward their own calm too. It’s a joy to follow your next chapter.

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