Our Story | The Journey of Candle Wise

Welcome to Our World

People often think I am Italian. The name Isabella, the dark hair, the hands that never stop moving when I talk. Some guess Spanish. But I am Brazilian, born and raised, and proud of it. Please call me Bella. Isabella if I have done something wrong.

I did not come to England by accident either; life brought us here. Somewhere between falling in love with this country and building a life here in Benenden, Kent, something unexpected happened. I discovered I had a hidden talent I never knew existed.

The Accidental Beginning

Nobody plans to start a candle brand. I certainly did not. It started the way the best things often do, by accident, in 2022, with a wine bottle and curiosity. I made my first candle and something clicked. Not just the craft, but the feeling. The idea that a scent could carry you somewhere. That a fragrance could hold a memory.

I grew up around candles. My grandfather had this purple candle. I can still picture it clearly. My mother always had red candles at Christmas. Scent and memory have always been connected for me. I just did not know it would one day become everything.

A Hidden Talent Nobody Saw Coming

I had no idea I could do this. That is the honest truth. I have always worked with my hands. I love interior design, I dance, I create. But candle making? That was new. When I made my first ones and saw people’s reactions, something told me: maybe there is something here.

So I sold my first candle from my driveway. And a few weeks later, that same customer came back. That was the moment. That returning customer told me more than any compliment ever could. It told me this was real. It told me to keep going.

My family believed in me from the start. My husband, my daughter, my friends, they encouraged me before I had the courage to fully encourage myself. Candle Wise grew organically, one candle at a time, reinvesting every penny back into the brand, building something real without a roadmap.

Why Destinations?

I studied Tourism. Travel is not just something I do; it is part of who I am. I have stood at the edge of Iguazu Falls and felt the mist on my face. I have felt the heat rise off the ancient streets of Luxor. I have watched the sun disappear over the rooftops of Sevilla. These places do not just live in my memory, they live in me.

When people ask me "have you actually been to all these places?" Yes. Most of them. And the ones still to come are already calling. That is why I can invite you there through scent. That is why it feels authentic. Because it is.

There are collections I have not created yet. Destinations still waiting. The world is full of incredible places and I intend to bring every one of them home.

Little Pieces of the World

That is what Candle Wise creates. Little pieces of the world to bring into your home. A candle that takes you to Rio. A wax melt that carries the warmth of Luxor. A reed diffuser that fills your room with the cool elegance of Kensington.

You do not need a passport. You just need a moment.

Every fragrance starts with a real place and a real feeling. I spend months developing each scent until it captures not just the destination, but the mood of being there, the atmosphere, the air, that feeling when you arrive somewhere and think: yes. This is somewhere special.

Made With My Hands

Everything we create, candles, wax melts, reed diffusers, is made in Benenden, Kent. My family is involved at every stage. My daughter is learning and growing alongside the business. My husband is there behind the scenes. Friends and family believed in this from the very beginning.

I wear all the hats. But I never do it alone.

I make every product thinking about the person who will use it. I pack every order thinking about the moment it will be opened. I design every scent thinking about the journey it will take you on. That is not something I will ever outsource, because it is the whole point.

What This Is Really About

I love what I do. I really do. I cannot imagine doing anything else. This is my world, built from travel, from memory, from passion, from a wine bottle on a kitchen table that started something nobody planned and nobody could have predicted.

When you bring a Candle Wise product into your home, you are stepping into that world with me. You are taking a little piece of the world home. You are inviting that journey, that memory, that feeling into your space.

Welcome. We are so glad you are here and I invite you to discover the world. 

Bella
Founder of Candle Wise