WHEN Claire Bethell triumphantly thrust a candle under her husband’s nose and declared ‘it smells pretty okay’, little did she realise the significance that those words would go on to have.
At the time, making candles was something the busy dental hygienist and mother-of-two did as a hobby.
‘I really like things that smell amazing, I’m a bit obsessive about scent but I didn’t want to spend a fortune on candles, so I started making my own,’ said Claire. ‘I started in the kitchen, just making candles for our own home and then I started making them as gifts for family and friends.’
And so Claire’s life might have continued, were it not for Covid.
‘When the Island went into lockdown at the end of March 2020, I was furloughed from my job, as we weren’t allowed to do any work with patients at that point,’ she reflected. ‘Having worked ever since I left university, I had never been in that position before and I didn’t like not being busy.’
With her natural energy and already-established love of home scents, it was no surprise that, in between home-schooling her two sons, Edward and Thomas, Claire spent an increasing amount of time melting wax and experimenting with oils to produce even more candles.
‘Having started by just making a few candles in the kitchen, I gradually took over the dining room and then the garage. Materials kept turning up in the house as I ordered greater and greater quantities of my supplies. My husband was going mad,’ she smiled.
‘I quickly reached a point where I had made far more candles than I could possibly burn myself and so I started giving samples to family and friends, who said that the scents were just as good as those on which they had spent a lot of money.’
Thus encouraged, Claire decided to turn her relaxing hobby into a business and so Pretty Okay Candle Co came into being.
‘There is a big difference between good and bad candles, and I immediately saw the potential to make a luxury product at an accessible price point,’ she explained. ‘The process involved a lot of research and a huge amount of trial and error – lots of error – but, after a while, I found the right combination of waxes and blends of oils to produce my initial range.’
Made entirely from natural wax, all of Claire’s candles are plant-based and vegan-friendly.
‘I knew that I didn’t want to use paraffin wax because it is a by-product of petroleum and is full of toxic chemicals,’ she said. ‘It also leaves black marks on the ceiling when you burn the candle and can trigger allergic reactions. I therefore started by using soy wax, which is made from soya beans and is very clean-burning. However, the scent from a soy-wax candle isn’t very strong.’
After further research, Claire experimented with a blend of soy and coconut wax.
‘In its raw form, you could use the coconut wax as a moisturiser – or even eat it,’ she said. ‘Because the coconut burns at a slightly higher temperature than the soy, it throws the scent around a lot more strongly.
‘As a result, combining the soy and coconut waxes gives you a natural, clean product with the same level of scent that you would get from a paraffin wax.’
Having perfected her recipe, Claire needed a name for her business, and it was then that the remark made to her husband, Brian, a few months earlier became more than a throwaway comment.
‘Not only are the candles themselves pretty okay, but the branding – with the anemones on the labels – is a tribute to my granny, who grows and sells them on a hedge-veg stall in Guernsey. They are my favourite flower,’ she explained.
Having established Pretty Okay Candle Co, Claire began selling her products at a number of markets and pop-up-shop events in Liberty Wharf, as well as through her website.
‘I also had a pop-up shop in de Gruchy, where they sold really well,’ she reflected. ‘In fact, some of the lines sold out, prompting the store director, John Marquis, to ask whether they could stock the brand permanently.’
For many months, de Gruchy was one of a handful of Island shops – alongside Love Wine and Harriet and Rose – to carry Pretty Okay candles but, at the beginning of this year, Claire took the next step, opening her own store in Don Street.
‘In November and December last year, I had a pop-up shop in Liberty Wharf and a lot of customers asked where they could get the candles when the arrangement at Liberty Wharf came to an end,’ she explained.
‘At the time, I hadn’t really considered having a permanent shop but then a friend sent me a link to this property in Don Street and, as soon as I came to view the shop, I knew that this was the right move for the business.’
As well as having enough space to display all her lines – which have now expanded to include diffusers, soaps, hand lotions and lip balms, all of which she makes by hand in her St Martin home – the shop features The Candle Bar.
‘As soon as I decided to open a shop, I knew that I needed to offer an experience which you couldn’t get online,’ she said. ‘Before setting up the shop, I had run a couple of candle-making workshops for some corporate clients and they had been really well received.
‘I have also seen a number of similar shops in America with pouring bars and so I started to envisage the shop as a combined retail and workshop space.’
Based on that vision, the back wall of Pretty Okay Candle Co features The Candle Bar, in front of which is a large table, where Claire hosts workshops for up to 12 people.
‘The great thing about the workshops is that they offer a sensory experience, something which you can’t just click and have delivered to your door.
‘They offer a really interactive experience, and give you the opportunity to create something that is exclusive to you,’ she said.
‘You can choose the scent you like, pick any coloured glassware to match your home décor and then finish your candle with a personalised sticker, which can include anything from a name or house number to a birthday or anniversary greeting.’
With around 15 scents to choose from, the range has developed significantly since the business’s early days.
‘Scent is very personal, and often evokes memories of a particular person or place, so it’s important to offer a wide range,’ Claire explained.
‘Some, such as The Don and Sexy Man, are very masculine scents, featuring ingredients such as vetiver and sandalwood. Others are more floral or citrus-based. Most popular at the moment are the Plum and Rhubarb and the Dark Honey and Tobacco, two scents which couldn’t be more different from one another.’
Having diversified the range to include bath and body products, Claire already has plans for further lines.
‘I am working on some bath salts and body scrubs in the same scents as the candles,’ she said. ‘I think it’s important, now that I have the shop, to offer a range of gift inspiration. Everyone likes smellies and I really want to offer something for everybody.’
As well as using natural wax for her candles, there is another eco element to Claire’s offer.
‘I am keen to minimise waste wherever possible, so once a candle has burnt out, people can bring back the glassware and I will refill it for them,’ she said. ‘Similarly, when the oil in a diffuser runs out, people can buy a liquid refill rather than having to buy a brand-new diffuser.
‘I also work with Harriet Rouse, from Harriet and Rose, to share deliveries and with Kat Read, of Rocque Paper Scissors, who takes all the cardboard from my deliveries and recycles it into paper.’
