My Story

From a candle burning in my first home to a small business of my own.

It started with an empty candle jar

After my boyfriend and I moved into our first home, lighting a candle in the evening quickly became a part of my everyday routine. I was buying double-wick candles regularly and, whenever one finished, it seemed such a shame to throw away a perfectly good glass jar — especially knowing I'd soon be buying another.

So I decided to keep one and try making my own.

From an idea to something I loved

What started as a practical idea quickly became something I genuinely loved. There was plenty of trial and error along the way, but I became completely absorbed in learning about waxes, fragrance, wicks and burn performance, testing and refining each candle until I had created something I was genuinely proud of.

I've always been creative, and I loved having something I could physically make from beginning to end. Somewhere along the way, the idea of simply making my own candles turned into the idea of creating something much bigger.

A new beginning

Around the same time, I was going through a difficult period in my working life. After being made redundant from a job that had taken a real toll on my mental health, I knew I wanted to do things differently.

The experience made me realise that I wanted to build a working life on my own terms, doing something that gave me the freedom to be creative and create something I genuinely cared about.

Candle making had already become something I loved, and suddenly the idea that had started at my kitchen counter felt like it could become something more. The idea of building something on my own — something I could physically create, develop and be proud of — felt like the right direction.

That little experiment with an empty candle jar eventually became Freya Nichols Home Fragrance.

Made at home

Today, every candle is still made by me, in small batches from my home in Surrey. From choosing the fragrances, placing the wicks and pouring the wax to applying the labels and packing each order, I'm involved in every stage of the process.

I'm only at the beginning of building Freya Nichols Home Fragrance, and that's something I'm proud of. This isn't a huge company or a production line. It's a small independent business that started at my kitchen counter, built from a love of beautiful fragrance, creativity and the simple ritual of lighting a candle at the end of the day.