Imagine a cosy, atmospheric, welcoming room, and candles are an essential part of the picture. Creating an ambience of warmth and style, these burning pleasures enhance the aesthetics and mood of a space as their mellow glow conjures calm and relaxation. With their unique fragrances, customisable designs and artisanal quality, they usher a level of exclusivity into everyday life.

Bespoke candles are flickering reflections of personal style and sophistication that offer a level of customisation the mass-produced variety simply cannot match. From the choice of fragrance to the colour and shape, every aspect of a handmade candle can be tailored to suit individual tastes.

Here, we highlight some Hong Kong-based artisans known for their use of the finest materials – including high-quality wax, essential oils and natural fragrances – who can craft each candle according to a client’s preferences. Whether you are looking to create a relaxing ambience, evoke a romantic mood, or let your imagination soar by the light of a scented flame, these lovingly crafted candles are sure to impress and de-stress.

Anvi

The brainchild of Jhanvi Panjabi, Anvi is a local leader in soy-wax candles infused with healing crystals. Ideal for homes, workspaces and for gifting, their charged crystals reflect the founder’s belief of sparking energy to begin healing from the inside. Distinctive fragrances evoke emotions and engage the senses, providing a unique and uplifting experience.

Anvi’s 100% soy-wax candles are handmade with healing crystals, pure essential oils, organic dried herbs and flowers, cleansing sage and palo santo for purification. Great choices for housewarming presents, these wellness products bring positive energy into living spaces.

Those seeking a personalised service can benefit from crystals selected according to their birth chart and aura. Essential oils can also reflect the lifestyle preferences of each client. The glass containers, which come with affirmations of peace, joy, love and other positive emotions, may be customised further. When the candle wax is spent, the vessel can be recycled as a bud vase, brush or pencil pot, or tea-light holder.

Featuring black tourmaline, malachite, amethyst and moonstone, Stress Free is one of Anvi’s best-selling candles, perfect for busy people looking to relax during precious moments of downtime. Another popular model, Health and Healing, is packed with selenite, citrine and moonstone to promote emotional and physical wellbeing. anvicandles.com

BeCandle

Founded in 2012, BeCandle is one of Hong Kong’s most successful home-grown artisanal ventures. It boasts its own shop and aroma production factory in Sai Kung, and employs a vibrant international team of craftspeople. Given the lush landscapes of its hometown, the inspiration behind these scented candles is often nature itself.

The BeCandle range is crafted from a mixture of soy and vegetal wax, with lead-free cotton wick, fine fragrances and essential oils. One of their most popular scented options is Green Tea, which combines the subtle, herbal notes of green tea with the sweet, floral aroma of jasmine, as well as citrus, cedarwood and musk. Another favourite is Lychee Rose, which captures the fruit’s sweet, tropical essence and pairs it with the flower’s soft, romantic scent. The Sai Kung soil-scented line is a best-seller. Candles come in an eclectic range of containers, including glass, pottery and stained patina metal; the textural vessels of those made with recycled coffee grounds are particularly outstanding. becandle.com.hk

The Blomstre

Husband-and-wife duo Jerwine Bonafe and Aaron Que of The Blomstre are connoisseurs of eco-soy candles and home fragrances. While tapping into the artisanal heritage of their native Philippines, they chose a Norwegian word for their labour of love – ‘blomstre’ means to bloom, flourish or prosper. This curated selection of handcrafted and hand-poured soy-wax candles is akin to blooming flowers.

Products are made in small batches using non-toxic, natural and organic ingredients in the Ques’ studio in North Point. The bespoke process begins with a consultation, where they work closely with the client to understand their preferences and fragrance tolerance. This may involve discussing favourite perfumes, colours and shapes, as well as the ambience and mood the desired candle should evoke.

Aroma plays a crucial role in each creation. Offering a vast array of fragrances, from classic florals and woody scents to more unique and exotic options, the candles are sure to elevate the mood and serenade the senses with notes of natural scents and stirring reflections of dreams, wishes and light. Each is beautifully presented in a velvet pouch that can be reused to hold personal grooming items or for re-gifting. theblomstre.com

Old HK Lights

Launched in 2023, Old HK Lights satisfies cravings for sustainability and scent. Its founder, French creative Alix Delahaye, portrays the essence of different Hong Kong neighbourhoods through eco-friendly candles poured into pre-loved Chinese bowls and other thrifted household ceramics. Handcrafted from organic soy wax and mostly organic essential oils in her Kwun Tong studio, these non-toxic creations burn with a bright, pure flame.

Delahaye does all the sourcing herself, scouring through the dusty back shelves of crockery shops or salvaging teaware from restaurants that are closing for vessels to fill with her scented wax. The collections inspired by Hong Kong villages and districts are the most popular. Exuding aromas of cedarwood, patchouli, rosemary, lemon and cypress, Stanley is a woody, characterful fragrance, reminiscent of a fragrant walk between the pine trees near the sea. This candle best suits the shared spaces of the house, such as the living room or study. Sai Kung blends wood and spice, with dominant notes of juniper berries, myrrh and frankincense that nod to Hong Kong’s seafaring history, when wooden ships transported fragrant goods from all over the world.

One of Old HK Lights’ most iconic scents, the citrusy, zesty Mui Wo embraces grapefruit, tangerine and lime, with clean lavender and rosemary herbal vibes. It enhances all rooms and occasions, imparting energy and brightness to the space. Happy Valley is the collection’s heritage scent, whose vibrant florals magnified with the freshness of orange and lavender may remind clients of the traditional Chinese perfumes worn by their grandmother. oldhklightscandles.com