McKinley & Paget started with friendship and a shared passion for art & design in 2010.
2015 - Mckinley & Paget was born on a sofa one evening in late 2015 with a glass of wine in one hand and yet another disappointing candle in the other.
It all started because our founders Jake Paget and Daniel McKinley was at a loss. A gift for a good friend's birthday. She likes candles, good design and natural things and they couldn't find one that fit the brief. So a plant-based candle that didn't look and smell terrible would have been ideal. The trouble was that just didn't seem to exist. Anywhere.
Thus began their fragrance journey. Putting the wine down (momentarily) and putting their design backgrounds to good use, Daniel and Jake took it upon themselves to just make one. It went down a treat, and soon they were being asked to make more, and more.
2016 - We expanded from the two scents we created and started trading at Greenwich Market & Old Spitalfields Market. We ran our first candle making workshops with Hole & Corner Magazine and Port Eliot Festival. Res-Res became our first stockist outside the UK (Denmark).
2017 - We moved from using glass jars with soy wax to British steel tins and coconut wax. Start running candle making workshops with Carousel London. Collaborated with Printed Goods. This year we were featured in World of Interiors, Wallpaper Magazine.
2018 - Started the year with a feature in GQ Magazine & House of Coco Magazine. Running workshops with WeWork and other corporate clients. Collaborated with IYA Studio on a collection and pop–up in Coal Drops Yard. Ended the year with being featured in Square Mile Magazine’s Christmas gift guide.
2019 - Ran our first promotion with Virgin Red. Started running more corporate workshops and pop-ups across London including Facebook, Google and Canary Wharf. We introduce our first personal fragrances. Collaborated with Lara Jackson Designs. We had a month-long pop-up by Battersea power station.
2020 - We moved our studio from Deptford to a new studio and showroom on Hackney Road. Worked with Frances Knee Designs to create a mural in our new showroom. Collaborated with Bansheeplum Ceramics to create a new range of candles. Had a pop-up in Jerome Vintage Copenhagen. We wrote for House Beautiful Magazine on “How to look after your wellbeing if you're spending Christmas alone”.
2021 - The big rebrand happened and the logo you see today was created. We worked with Drop 24 to deliver candles to our customers across London in 1 hour. We were commissioned to make 11k candles for Gorillas and commissioned by the royal collection trust to create the official Buckingham Palace winter candle.
2022 - Mckinley & Paget became truly international. Daniel (the McKinley) moved to Tokyo. Jake (the Paget) moved to Devon. We continued to do pop-ups in London with Hemingway Designs at Coal Drops yard. Creating more co-labeling candles with clients including Soho Grit. Launching our scent branding arm. Archie, our Chief Morale Officer, joined the team (Jake’s dog).
2023 - Our first collaborative pop-up with Made Being Studios at Studio Nine in Totnes. We have refreshed our website and overall look. We now have a focus of popping up in other locations across the UK and creating content on the platforms you use most. Keep your eyes peeled for more exciting stuff, the year has only started.