Candlestick Comeback: Tapered Candles at Every Price

With the pandemic prompting home renovations large and small, many are looking to the past to set the stage for a revival of candles and candlesticks.
Between 400,000 and 1 million years ago, our ancestors started a fire.According to the National Candle Association in Washington, D.C., the creation changed the course of everyday life, and it would take hundreds of thousands of years for candles to appear.Candles and candlesticks have since become fixtures in religious ceremonies, decorations in homes and restaurants, and lighting them has become a soothing personal ritual for many.
As home improvement is on the rise, candles (and candlesticks) have seen a resurgence as people are investing in these rather small but impactful additions.
Candle sellers have noticed.”Cones are definitely the best-selling gift,” said Sandeep Salter, owner of Salter House, a Brooklyn home improvement store, referring to the candles that come to mind when you imagine candlesticks.
Ms Salter said the 7-inch-tall Twisted Beeswax Taper candles ($14 for two) were especially popular at her store.”I think people have incorporated the ritual of candle-lighting at mealtimes into more of a day-to-day event, and like so many other parts of the world, it’s no longer dedicated to large holiday tables.”
For those in the market, there are several types of candles to choose from.In addition to thin, cylindrical, tapered ones that taper toward one end, there are column candles, which are heavier and larger in circumference and require more space for candle holders to insert or support them.Votive candles are smaller than posts and cones, and tea lights are smaller.Both aren’t usually worth looking at alone, but their stands are as delicate as any other candlestick.
While you can spend a lot of money on candles, you don’t have to: thrift stores and resale sites like eBay can be a treasure trove of finding them at discounted prices and in bulk.Candlesticks can also be cheap.There’s a classic beatnik method of inserting a cone in an old bottle of Chianti, or even carving a hole in a potato (or apple) – anything that keeps the candle upright and grabs the melted wax will do in a pinch. critical work.
Pairing candles and candlesticks benefits from experimentation and unlikely coupling, regardless of budget.
The adjacent Murano Candy Glass Short Candle Holders ($135 for two) are 4 inches tall and are available in four candy store-inspired colorways.Areaware’s 2.5-inch-tall Terrace candle holder ($35), sold in three shades, is also made of glass and is dual-purpose: it can hold a votive candle on one side and a tapered candle on the other.
The glass and crystal Harcourt Firestick ($1,220) by Philippe Starck for Baccarat is a Kathy Hilton favorite.With RW Guild Reed candlesticks (from $210), options abound.It’s sold in 8 heights, ranging from 2.5 to 16.25 inches, in three finishes, including silver and two brass finishes—reminiscent of the variety of Biedermeier candlesticks Ted Muehling designed for ER Butler & Co. ($250 ), available in 19 sizes, starting with 3″ high and five metallic finishes.
Technically, Virginia Sin’s Dual Arm Duo Candlestick ($58) is a candlestick that comes in four colors and is 2.5 inches tall.Technically not a candle holder, Tracy Ren’s Blue and White Candle Holder ($88) is 3.5 inches tall and only has a cone, inspired by Chinese blue and white porcelain.
Like its namesake coastal town, Astier de Villatte’s ceramic Positano candlesticks ($385) are a sight to behold.It is only 17 inches tall and can support a post or cone.Also designed for display are a pair of 4.5″ and 2″ tall terracotta stands from x Lea & Nicolas ($70 for two).
A finer material is Georg Jensen’s approximately six-inch high grape candle holder in sterling silver ($5,500).A supplier to the Queen of Denmark, the manufacturer introduced this design in 1930 and was decorated with small fruits.If you want to buy silver: In his illustrative out-of-print cookbook “Life and Eat,” architect John Pawson recommends older styles, including Georgian and Victorian candlesticks.”This is perhaps a surprising choice, considering that their curves could undoubtedly be simplified, although the subtraction did not improve,” Mr. Pawson wrote.
The 3-inch-tall Small Leaf Candelabra ($66 for two) is adorned with carefully crafted leaves from Giacomo Alessi, a Sicilian artisan who has been designated a UNESCO Human Treasure.Another timeless style: Tiffany & Co.’s 10″ Tall Classic Candelabra in Lead Crystal ($100).
Farmhouse Pottery of Woodstock, Vermont designed the Essex Candle Holder (from $55) for West Elm.It’s made of wood and is sold in three sizes, from 5.5 to 9.5 inches tall, and in four colors.Also colorful is Geraldine Gonzalez’s lamp base ($35), which is lined with painted tissue paper that comes to life when a votive or tea candle is lit inside.
Rich and affordable, IKEA’s white Jubla tapers start at 7.5 inches (from $8.99 for 20 pieces) and are made from stearin, which retailers say is derived from animal fat.The three-foot cone ($42 a piece) from Creative Candles is an eye-catching option and can be purchased in four colors.According to the brand, their wax blends include beeswax, paraffin and carnauba.
Sister Moons’ Light-the-Night Beeswax cones (from $30 for two) are available in five shades and two sizes, an 11-inch tall curved and a 14-inch angular.
The Blush Floral Taper Candle ($45), made from beeswax from Oaxaca, Mexico, is a style in the city used to celebrate marriage proposals.House of Saku’s Round Pillar Candle (from $39) looks like it’s been cut from rock, but it’s made from palm wax and is available in five sizes from 5.9 to 15 inches tall.Lex Pott’s Colored Pillar Candles for Hay (from $45) are made from paraffin and are also available in five heights, from 5.5 inches to 13.75 inches tall.
The elegant Graziani Lacquer Twist Tapers ($28 for two) are 11 inches tall, made from paraffin, and available in 22 colors.Even more elegant is Dadante’s Double Helix ($20 for two).Available in 12 colors, the beeswax cone looks like it’s wrapped in ribbon.
While many beeswax candles have a light, sweet, and pleasant scent, this doesn’t count as a “scent.”If you’re looking for something distinctly stimulating, consider Diptyque’s Berry-Scented Tapered Candle ($25).Like the French maker’s popular Baies fragrance, it smells of berries and roses and is made from a blend of vegetable and mineral waxes.
Also scented, the Loewe Honeysuckle Candle Holder ($107) is a pleasing optical illusion.Made from a paraffin-hydrocarbon wax mixture, it’s both a tapered candle and a candle holder that looks almost too good to burn in a sculpted piece.