Sabaah Sheikh’s store Illuminatii has handcrafted candles in innovative shapes and designs

Would you like to have a customised candle to match that Mexican theme of your next party? Or how about adorning your coffee table with a candle sculpted like a Ganesha idol? Or perhaps you’d like to gift your loved one a candle decorated with his or her photograph.

In the world of designer candles you’ve got to be innovative. Sculpted candles are being turned out in extraordinary new shapes and you can even get customised ones made.

Step inside Ashok Bajaj’s Limelight store in Delhi’s Hauz Khas Village. Limelight is almost like Ali Baba’s cave with over 1,000 candles in over 150 designs. A riot of colours and scents greets you from the crammed shelves. Bajaj has even hired two designers in Germany and London to light up his range. “We need to keep reinventing ourselves,” he says. For instance, there are candles shaped like flowers or fruits. So, you’ll see roses, tulip and grapes made of wax. Prices go up to Rs 3,000 or more.

Or take a look at Divya Burman and Vernaz Mittal, who set up Wax Works four years ago, after completing a candle design course in London. The duo specialises in customising their creations.

Wax Works creates sculpted candles shaped like deities in bronze, silver and gold colours, which are retailed from Oma, a high-end home store in Delhi. The duo has created a niche by customising candles for private theme parties, and for homes and offices. In fact, they do research on their clients so that the candles suit their personalities.

Ashok Bajaj’s store Limelight has over 1,000 colourful candles

For instance, they once created candles based around a Mexican theme. “We made colourful candles and used small hats to decorate the candles to depict the liveliness of Mexican culture,” says Burman. And when they did the coral theme, they produced candles studded with real corals that they picked up from beaches abroad.

More recently, they’ve experimented with a technique called decoupage, which is the art of decorating an object by gluing coloured paper cutouts or photographs on it and combining it with special paint effects. “These are hugely popular for anniversary or birthday gifts,” says Burman. Their candles don’t come cheap obviously and are priced from Rs 750 to Rs 3,000.

There’s no end to innovation in the candle-making game. Candle-makers like Kashif Ali Mirza are embellishing their candles with glass, beads, wood and even lace. The 30-year-old exporter makes perfumed and exotic coloured candles and he even goes one step further and makes matching stands, in glass, wood or brass. His aromatic candles, for instance, are placed on a stand made of crackled glass with a touch of gold-leaf work. “Customers love them as they add colour to the house,” he says. Mirza has a wide range of candles starting from your regular tea lights priced at Rs 5 to more decorative candles priced up to Rs 1,500.

(From top) Kuldip Arora’s candle hampers make for perfect gifts; Wax Works’ signature designs include this sculpted lady with a gold finish; Kashif Ali Mirza embellishes his candles with glass, lace, wood and beads

If handcrafted candles are your favourites, look no further than Sabaah Sheikh. This candle-maker turned to the pretty lights as she got tired of painting. Working from her store Illuminatii, she avoids using moulds and turns out candles that are painstakingly handmade. “The rugged look adds to the design,” she says.

Sheikh has candles in more than 2,000 designs and she has even patented some of them. You’ll find pearl- or crystal-crusted candles in her collection. A favourite is, what she calls, her bed-of-roses candle, which is a big slab of wax at the base with carefully made rose-shaped candles on top.

She even has huge 30-in floor candles, priced at Rs 25,000, though you can get a small tea light made by her for as little as Rs 3 too. Sheikh retails her creations through stores like FMCL and Home Store in Delhi.

Now, if you’re looking to buy a gift for someone, forget about that chocolate hamper. Pick a candle platter or hamper instead. Yes, that’s exactly what Kuldip Arora, a former army officer, is busy making these days. His hampers, in fact, are a big hit with trousseau packers and even corporate houses.

The hampers come in different sizes and offer an assortment of candles. They’re priced from Rs 200 to Rs 3,000 depending on the size of candles. “It’s purely custom made,” he says.

It’s not just the designs that the candle-makers are focusing on though. “Presentation and packaging also matter,” says Bajaj.

The candle-makers are also sourcing the best ingredients for their creations. For instance, Bajaj relies only on German dyes and wicks though he uses Indian perfumes. Illuminatii owner Sheikh uses wax from Germany, Japan and China in her creations.

Everything said and done, there’s really only one rule in the high-end candle business — let your imagination run free.