Oct. 23: Corporate houses are lighting up the Diwali market by placing bulk orders for designer candles.

A Pre-Diwali exhibition, which aims at providing a platform to the candle-makers to market their produce mostly through orders from corporate houses, was inaugurated by painter and sculptor Biren Singha at NEDFi Haat here today.

“Many companies had placed their orders last year. This year, the number of participants has increased and we are expecting more such orders from corporate houses and shopping malls,” Chandrani Sarmah, a city-based candle designer, said.

Chandrani, under her brand name, Earth Songs, had been supplying designer candles to a departmental store for the past seven years.

“I make a variety of candles, the price of which ranges from Rs 20 to Rs 8,000. The market currently is growing in the city and decorative candles, be it for home décor or any other purpose, are in very much in vogue,” she said.

The candle designer said paraffin wax from Digboi refinery was used in making these candles.

Avou Yeptho, who has come all the way from Nagaland to participate in the fair, said, “People in Nagaland now know me as a candle designer. I get orders mostly during marriages and Christmas. This is really a good platform to exhibit and display our products.”

The designers are offering candles in various shapes ranging from conical to rectangular. Also on offer are gel candles, floating candles, scented candles, tattoo candles, dry flower candles, chips candles and designer lanterns.

“Application of different colours on wax and embellishing it with various material can really make a simple candle look classy. Of late, it is used not only during a festive occasion but also for home décor,” Shaila Kamat, a first-time participant, said. The homemaker incidentally has made candle designing her hobby.

Assistant general manager of NEDFi A.K. Das said Guwahati has a good market for decorative candles given the presence of an increasing number of corporate houses.

NEDFi, on its part, has been a catalyst in promoting entrepreneurship in the region.

“Two years back, NEDFi had started a training programme on candle-making in all the states of the Northeast. We plan to organise such fairs in Shillong and Dimapur as well,” Das said.