The Journal
Behind the Wick
To be honest, I was looking for a way to make a little extra cash. Trouble was, I had no idea what I wanted to do or where to start.
Until one day, after my wife dragged me through yet another gift shoppe, something caught my attention. And it wasn't all the bored husbands waiting outside.
Candles were everywhere.
I've always thought candles weren't for men. But standing there that day, it struck me.
Why couldn't they be?
I mean, I've always enjoyed a good fire. There's something about sitting in front of the fireplace that I've always liked. Why should a candle be any different?
Of course, I knew absolutely nothing about making candles.
So I did a little research, experimented with waxes, wicks, and fragrances, and quickly learned that making a good candle wasn't quite as simple as I'd imagined.
But I didn't want to just make another candle.
I wanted to create something that interested me. Something I'd actually want to own. Something with character that looked good sitting on a shelf, even when it wasn't burning.
Some of the places I've visited like theaters, castles, libraries, and even a hidden speakeasy began to influence the direction of Gentlemen’s Wick.
It's the architecture, the lighting, and even the aroma in the air that you remember long after you've left. By then, the experience exists only in your memory.
Now, if I could somehow capture all that in a candle, that would be something.
I wanted every detail to contribute to the experience. From the cinematic labels and carefully chosen fragrances to the engraved wooden lids and story cards, everything has a purpose.
And if I did my job correctly, I've managed to recreate some of what makes these places memorable and bring a little of that into your living room.
Our candles don't look like all the rest.
They aren't meant to.
What started out as a side hustle has turned into an obsession.
Thanks for being here and supporting Gentlemen’s Wick.
— Walt
Our Mission
To create distinctive candles with an atmosphere in mind, designed to be looked at, not just burned.
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Why Our Labels Matter
Most candle companies start with a fragrance.
We don't.
We start with an idea.
Ideas have a habit of showing up at inconvenient times.
During a drive.
While watching a play.
Sitting by a fire.
In the middle of the night when I should be asleep.
Or simply in the middle of an ordinary day.
When they do, they're immediately written down in my notes.
Most never become candles.
Some evolve into atmospheres worth pursuing.
A forgotten library.
A stone hearth glowing at the end of a long day.
A quiet pour of aged bourbon after the work is done.
A Havana evening where conversation lingers long after sunset.
Once the idea feels worth pursuing, the label begins to take shape.
We spend countless hours on the artwork.
Sometimes a label comes together in a few days.
Sometimes it sits unfinished for months while the idea continues to evolve.
We revise images, adjust typography, experiment with colors, and rethink layouts until the atmosphere feels right.
Much like an art gallery carefully curates its collection, every detail must contribute to the experience we're trying to create.
We don't rush the process.
When something doesn't fit, it doesn't make the cut.
When it finally feels right, we know we've found it.
Then comes the hunt for the scent.
What sounds simple on paper rarely is.
Weeks are often spent researching, testing, and comparing fragrances in an effort to match the atmosphere as closely as possible.
Samples arrive.
Notes are taken.
Opinions change.
More than once I've found myself awake at night wondering if a particular fragrance truly belongs to the atmosphere we're trying to create.
Sometimes the answer is yes.
Often it isn't.
The process continues until the scent feels like it belongs to the label, not the other way around.
Every label is a doorway to a different experience.
It isn't just packaging.
It's more than that.
It's the first chapter.
The scent simply finishes the story.
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The Evolution of Our Wood Lids
A wooden lid may seem like a small detail, but to us, it was an opportunity to create something distinctive.
From the beginning, we believed a wooden lid should be more than just a cover. It should feel like it belongs to the Atmosphere beneath it.
As Gentlemen's Wick evolved, so did our approach.
We refined our engraving process while studying the markings found on whiskey barrels and cigar boxes. Our goal was simple: create lids that feel as authentic as the Atmospheres they represent.
We discovered that authenticity isn't found in perfection.
Grain variation, knots, and natural markings give every piece of wood its own character. Rather than hide those flaws, we chose to embrace them.
Some Atmospheres, including Aged Bourbon and Havana Nights, intentionally celebrate those natural variations. No two lids are exactly alike, just as no two pieces of wood ever are.
Every lid is either hand burnished or laser engraved, and every label is thoughtfully designed to become part of the experience before the candle is ever lit.
Because every detail has a purpose.
The lid.
The label.
The vessel.
Together, they begin creating the Atmosphere long before the flame.
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Castle Inspiration
What Fonthill reminded me about rooms, craftsmanship and the things we leave behind.
For nearly twenty five years, I’ve referred to our home as our castle.
There’s nothing particularly grand about that statement. It comes from the old idea that a man’s home is his castle. Although after twenty five years of sharing mine with Sharon, I should probably acknowledge that every castle needs its queen.
Recently, the two of us visited Fonthill Castle in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, the former home of Henry Chapman Mercer.
I expected an interesting old building.
I wasn't expecting it to stay with me.
Fonthill is unconventional, imperfect and deeply personal. Mercer built a home filled with the things that interested him. Books line the walls. Art occupies unexpected places. Handmade tiles cover fireplaces, ceilings and floors. Stairways lead in unusual directions. Rooms seem to reveal themselves rather than simply connect to one another.
Nothing feels as though it was selected because someone decided it was fashionable.
It feels collected.
And lived in.
Mercer reportedly surrounded himself with more than 6,000 books. Standing among those shelves was particularly interesting to me. I've been slowly building my own library at home, collecting books not because they match one another, but because something about each one interests me.
History. Travel. Literature. Aviation. Whiskey. Watches. Adventure.
Books that have something to say and, increasingly, books that have already lived a life before reaching my shelves.
Fonthill reinforced something I've been thinking about while rebuilding my study.
The best rooms tell you something about the people who inhabit them.A worn book. An old photograph. A chair that's become your chair. Something brought home from a trip. A piece of art that makes sense to you even if nobody else understands why you bought it.
Individually, they're just objects.
Over time, they become a room.
And eventually, that room becomes part of your story.
That idea has a great deal to do with Gentlemen's Wick.
When I started making candles, I was interested in fragrance. Somewhere along the way, I became much more interested in what fragrance could help create.
An atmosphere.
Hidden Library isn't simply about leather, herbs and aged books. Stone Hearth isn't simply about chestnut, maple and cedarwood. They're attempts to capture the feeling of being somewhere you want to remain awhile.
Fonthill does that without trying.
You want to look around the next corner. Pull a book from a shelf. Study the tiles surrounding a fireplace. Sit down and wonder about the person who assembled all of it.
Mercer created something unmistakably his own.
I think there's a lesson in that.
Our homes don't need to look like castles. They don't need thousands of books, enormous fireplaces or walls covered in handmade tile.
They simply need to become ours.
Fill a room with things that mean something. Keep the book with the worn cover. Frame the photograph. Use the good chair. Close the door occasionally. Pour a drink. Open a book. Light a candle.
Sit somewhere you want to be.
Maybe that's what creating an atmosphere has been about all along.
Every atmosphere begins somewhere.
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Night at the Opera
The story behind the atmosphere.
My wife and I have always enjoyed going to the theater and have seen some wonderful productions over the years. But one has always captivated and inspired me more than the others, The Phantom of the Opera.
Way back in 2017, we had the opportunity to see it at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia.
We had enjoyed many nights at the theater before, and many since, but there was something about that particular experience that stayed with me. The combination of Phantom, the history and character of the old theater, its ornate architecture, warm lighting, and the anticipation before the curtain rose created an atmosphere I never quite forgot.
I remember thinking how incredible it would be to somehow capture that feeling and bring a little piece of it home.
The idea remained quietly in the back of my mind for years.
At the time, Gentlemen's Wick didn't exist. There was no fragrance to develop, label to design, or candle to pour. Just an idea waiting for the right opportunity.
Years later, as Gentlemen's Wick began taking shape, I found myself returning to some of my favorite places and moments that had stayed with me over the years.
In many ways, that's what Gentlemen's Wick is built upon: memories I've tried to bring back to life and use to transform your living room into another place and time.
Hopefully, Night at the Opera is one of them.
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Returning to Yourself
The world pulls at a man all day long.
The noise, the demands and the motion.
The right atmosphere should return a man to himself when the day has pulled him elsewhere.
When the noise fades, the man remains.
Gentlemen’s Wick candles weren't built to sit quietly in a room. They were built to define it.
Crafted to be seen. Built to start conversations. Made to leave a mark before it’s ever lit.
Your space deserves more than ordinary.
A candle made to be looked at, not just burned.
