Jonathan Ward - artisan scented candles
Latest Posts
Stepping into New Shoes
July 11th 2020
It was another enthralling Friday night in the middle of April and I was having one of my (correct me if I’m wrong Stephan…) a 3 hour phone call talking about everything that we “weren’t” achieving during lockdown. There were mentions of overindulgence in our culinary creations, late night media indulgences and how we see […]
A.C.T.I.O.N.
May 30th 2020
It is with a harrowing sadness that while we steer the tragedies dispersed from the Covid pandemic, a spotlight has recently been placed on another profoundly tragic issue. One, that has affected a much greater number of individuals (for decades) and is impossible to collate accuracy on it’s victim count (past and present). I had […]
Let’s Collaborate
May 23rd 2020
Over the years, I have learned that when you are confident in your own worth, the pathway through life becomes remarkably less burdensome. Have you ever noticed when you read a review on a new restaurant venture, a new album or a writer’s latest novel, critics can be enthralled and thrilled or acidly disappointed. After […]
Evolution. Jonathan Ward Perfume.
May 9th 2020
A new chapter begins. One of the gifts in enduring lockdown, is the ability to shift focus onto the creative endeavours that the pace of everyday life doesn’t allow. The extra headspace and a little boredom shifted my focus to think about the future. What will the next evolution of Jonathan Ward be ? We […]
Help. No help.
May 4th 2020
If you’re a continued follower of the Jonathan Ward brand, you will have a sense that we strive for transparency. You have to share the ups and the downs, if you wish to remain rooted in truth. Each day we continue to tackle the new reality for our business during the COVID catastrophe. I felt […]
The New Life at Home.
April 28th 2020
We’re entering week seven of staying at home. Trying to keep the momentum going on the wheels of our beautiful business, I go into the studio two days a week and try to stay positive, but all 77 studios are closed. The entire community is at home and its a strange feeling being present in […]
A Look Inside (Part Two) Q&A
April 25th 2020
This is potentially a contentious and provocative issue to embrace, making it quite delicious to open the olfactory pantry door upon… Unless you’ve been living on Jupiter for the past fifteen years, it would be difficult not to have noticed a significant shift in the home fragrance industry. When I commenced my journey into the […]
A look Inside (Part 1) Marketing
April 24th 2020
With ample spare time in the wake of our current global position, I wanted to offer a little insight inside the choices we made as a young niche brand. The world has changed. All industries will likely shape their marketing approach rooted in new values. When you’re busy and caught up in busyness, it can […]
Launched & Landed. An Assassin & A New Reality.
April 9th 2020
On Tuesday the 17th March, we proudly put forward our new vision to the beauty and fragrance press in a launch that was to be the final launch for the foreseeable future. Assassin Belarus was the culmination of five months work and development. It started in October as a fleeting observation. I passed by a […]
East.
February 6th 2020
The year started with an interesting twist in our business development. Over the Christmas holidays I took a short break at New Year to skip out of town and visit Riga in Latvia. In an odd twist of affairs, I attended a Great Gatsby themed New Year “affair” and ended up seated next to someone […]
He. She. We. Them. They.
January 5th 2020
The first blog of 2020 shines a little light on an interesting conversation that I had while doing an event in December. It was a Saturday afternoon, crowds were swarming, chaotically choosing Christmas gifts (not necessarily based on careful choices). I struck a conversation with a girl and as I guided her through the fragrances, […]
A Disposable Ending.
December 8th 2019
I was reaching back in the memory bank and carousing memory lane. It was 1993, I had just received an acceptance to Kingston University and my life was about to change in quite significant ways. Readying myself to leave Newcastle for my University years in London, it was a time of excitement, anticipation and exhilaration. […]
It’s official. Candle Season Begins…
September 6th 2019
There’s a chill in the air. There’s a notion in my mind, that the wardrobe will need to be changed quite soon to easily access knitwear, long sleeves and jackets. During the recent heat-wave in the UK, admittedly we didn’t light too many candles as the diffusers had just launched. We made them, but we […]
Arial Art (Part One)
July 21st 2019
It’s hardly a revolutionary statement to note that art can be displayed across multiple mediums. Our chosen vehicle for our artistic statement is aroma. Carried by molecule(s) in an arial expression the statements sail into their designated space by flame, by stick, by spray and by touch. In the middle of a particularly quiet June […]
Skin Deep.
July 18th 2019
I called this post, skin deep as we are at an interesting juncture in the cosmetics, fragrance, clothing world. I don’t think a day goes by where the people I subscribe to on my social media channels, don’t post something related to the gargantuan rate that we are consuming clothes and cosmetics, (let alone the […]
Votes are In. The Independent Newspaper’s Best Non Toxic Candles
July 18th 2019
What a treat. At the end of a busy work day I glanced at my phone and twitter was demanding my attention. The Independent Lifestyle supplement @IndyBest had called in a Jonathan Ward candle a few months ago and naturally we had forgotten it had ever been requested. I read the article diligently and it […]
July News
July 15th 2019
July is always an interesting month in the fragrance world. Its the beginning of the new, the start of the end and the art of silence. Let me explain. Always the quietest month of the year for candle brands. The heat typically sees a disinclination to bring MORE heat into the home. I have to […]
Halcyonic, the collaboration aroma for Victoria Baker-Harber & The Space Miami
July 14th 2019
It was a strange modern meet cute on social media that led to a meet in real time for myself and Victoria (star of Made in Chelsea and swimwear designer and soon to be concept store owner) as she ventured east to visit the Jonathan Ward studio. Bonding over our love of all things art […]
Make Do (Part 1)
June 9th 2019
June 5th, location: Regent Studios, Hackney. We decided to extend our a little candlelight hospitality to Hackney’s local bloggers and writers. Just to reach out and say, you know, we are here. Not much has changed in the journalist and blogging world as quite a few invitations went unanswered. Anyway, fuss aside, the invites pricked […]
Changes
June 1st 2019
I think thus far in the new chapter, I have been asked at least ten times “how has the industry changed since the first time round”? The changes are infinite. I believe that there is one guarantee in life and this is change. So you adopt adeptly or move on to something that feels right for […]
I’m frilled.
May 23rd 2019
Its always rather lovely to receive feedback from the press and doubly so when the writer hails from a city close to my roots, up north. The press and brand relationship has changed exponentially since we first started creating our scented diamonds many years ago. Welcome the influencer and the selfie. Not to date myself, […]
Renascence & Wick
May 22nd 2019
Ever the perfectionist. We concluded our soft launch from November in February. Since then we have reworked the Jonathan Ward packaging. Instead of printing solid colour on white stock we opted for a pre flooded pulp by GF Smith. This prevents cracking at the corner of each box (for any budding packaging designer this is […]
An Inexplicable Bond
May 22nd 2019
Fragrance design is quite a different discipline and design process to fashion. Fashion is the quest for the new and change. Fragrance can be a longer development process but when you get it right, it stays. It transcends season and trend. It bypasses fickle and fleeting and traverses its own line. Quite often I am […]
Fortune Favours (the Brave)
April 13th 2019
I arrived in New York City in 1997 with a suitcase and determination and in 2007 I arrived back in the United Kingdom after 10 illustrious years in the United States. In that year I started the first Jonathan Ward vision and two weeks after we launched the stock market crashed. So there I was […]