Forty-two brand guides to candles and home fragrance — heritage houses, design ateliers and small studios.
Candles are a packaging-led category: the vessel and label do most of the work. These guides look at how candle and home-fragrance brands present themselves, with honest caveats where the record is thin.
Heritage houses
Some names are old. Cire Trudon is known for its green-glass, crested candles, and Carrière Frères is its single-botanical sister brand; Granado began as an apothecary in Rio in 1870; and Cerería Mollá 1899 is a Spanish heritage candle house. Design houses have candles too: Fornasetti, the Milan atelier of Piero and Barnaba Fornasetti, and Loewe, whose home scents come in glazed terracotta.
The vessel is the brand
Newer brands lead with the vessel: Joya’s cast porcelain, Baobab Collection’s hand-blown decorative glass, Nette’s colourful reusable glass, Otherland’s artist collaborations, P.F. Candle Co’s amber jars with kraft labels, and Brooklyn Candle Studio’s minimalist typography.
How to use these guides
Each guide covers a brand’s visual identity — its vessel, palette and voice — as design commentary, and notes where facts could not be fully confirmed. The table at the end gathers the essentials.
Candle houses, part 1
Cire Trudon, Earl of East, Skandinavisk, Maison Balzac, Ortigia, Loewe and P.F. Candle Co.
- Cire Trudon — The French house’s green-glass, crested candle, with honest caveats.
- Earl of East — The London studio’s muted apothecary candles, with honest caveats.
- Skandinavisk — The Copenhagen brand’s Nordic-named scents, with honest caveats.
- Maison Balzac — The Sydney house’s candles and coloured glass, with honest caveats.
- Ortigia — The Sicily-inspired house’s decorative packaging, with honest caveats.
- Loewe Home Scents — The Spanish house’s glazed-terracotta candle line, with honest caveats.
- P.F. Candle Co — The LA brand’s amber-jar, kraft-label candles, with honest caveats.
Candle houses, part 2
Dr. Vranjes, St. Eval, Ester & Erik, Glasshouse, retaW, Otherland and Marie-Stella-Maris.
- Dr. Vranjes Firenze — The Florentine house’s faceted diffuser bottle, with honest caveats.
- St. Eval — The Cornwall candle maker’s tin-pot candle, with honest caveats.
- Ester & Erik — The Danish maker’s taper-candle colour range, with honest caveats.
- Glasshouse Fragrances — The Sydney house’s glamorous destination candles, with honest caveats.
- retaW — The Tokyo brand’s clinical monochrome fragrance, with honest caveats.
- Otherland — The New York brand’s artist-collab collectible candles, with honest caveats.
- Marie-Stella-Maris — The Amsterdam brand’s numbered minimalist fragrance, with honest caveats.
Candle houses, part 3
Keap, True Grace, Compagnie de Provence, Baobab Collection, Klinta, Ecoya and Broste.
- Keap — The Brooklyn-born maker’s minimalist coconut-wax candle, with honest caveats.
- True Grace — The English maker’s botanical home fragrance, with honest caveats.
- Compagnie de Provence — The Marseille house’s modern soap pump bottle, with honest caveats.
- Baobab Collection — The Belgian house’s hand-blown decorative glass candle, with honest caveats.
- Klinta — The Swedish maker’s natural massage candle, with honest caveats.
- Ecoya — The Australasian house’s Deco-jar soy candle, with honest caveats.
- Broste Copenhagen — The Danish homeware house’s candles, with honest caveats.
Candle houses, part 4
Joya, Max Benjamin, Cerería Mollá 1899, Apotheke Fragrance, Coal & Canary, Aery and Castelbel.
- Joya — The Brooklyn studio’s cast-porcelain candle vessel, with honest caveats.
- Max Benjamin — The Wicklow family brand’s home fragrance, with honest caveats.
- Cerería Mollá 1899 — The Spanish heritage house’s decorative candle, with honest caveats.
- Apotheke Fragrance — The Chiba maker’s apothecary minimalism, with honest caveats.
- Coal & Canary — The Winnipeg maker’s witty-named candle, with honest caveats.
- Aery — The Bristol wellness house’s design-led candle, with honest caveats.
- Castelbel — The Porto house’s decorative soaps and Portus Cale line, with honest caveats.
Candle houses, part 5
Brooklyn Candle Studio, Durance, Ipuro, Nonfiction, Granado, Evermore and Vancouver Candle Co.
- Brooklyn Candle Studio — The Sunset Park studio’s minimalist typographic candle, with honest caveats.
- Durance — The Provence house’s reed diffuser and candle, with honest caveats.
- Ipuro — The German house’s reed-diffuser bottle, with honest caveats.
- Nonfiction — The Seoul brand’s gallery-minimal fragrance, with honest caveats.
- Granado — The 1870 Rio apothecary’s vintage home fragrance, with honest caveats.
- Evermore London — The East London maker’s sustainable candle, with honest caveats.
- Vancouver Candle Co — The BC studio’s neighbourhood-named candle, with honest caveats.
Candle houses, part 6
Carrière Frères, Fornasetti, Maison Louis Marie, Overose, Nette, Apotheke and La Montaña.
- Carrière Frères — The French single-botanical candle house, a sister brand of Cire Trudon since 1884.
- Fornasetti — The Milan design atelier of Piero and Barnaba Fornasetti, and its scented candles.
- Maison Louis Marie — The LA botanical fragrance house behind the No.04 Bois de Balincourt candle.
- Overose — The Paris fragrance house known for monochromatic-pink, holographic candles.
- Nette — Carol Han Pyle’s New York brand of clean-burning candles in colorful, reusable glass.
- Apotheke — Chrissy Fichtl’s Brooklyn candle house, hand-poured, led by its Charcoal candle.
- La Montaña — The home-fragrance brand of a British couple’s life in a Spanish mountain village.
American and British candle makers
Yankee Candle, NEOM, Homesick, Paddywax, Voluspa, NEST New York and LAFCO.
- Yankee Candle — The Massachusetts candle maker Michael Kittredge II started in South Hadley in 1969, owned by Forstmann Little, Madison Dearborn and Jarden, part of Newell Brands since 2016, and relaunched in July 2025 with a new logo and larger labels on its jars.
- NEOM — The British home-fragrance brand Nicola Elliott and Oliver Mennell founded in 2005 and named after their initials, first sold as NEOM Organics, backed by Piper since 2017, run from Harrogate and opened in New York’s West Village in 2024.
- Homesick — The US candle brand founded in 2016 that began with home-state scents poured in a kitchen, partnered with Dunkin’ in 2019, was owned by New York’s WIN Brands Group, and in February 2026 passed to K. Hall Studio of St. Louis.
- Paddywax — The candle maker that says it has made candles since 1996, which began as “Paddywax Candles of Atlanta” in a basement, moved to Nashville, designs reusable vessels there, and runs pour-your-own Candle Bar workshops in several US cities.
- Voluspa — The candle and home-fragrance brand Troy and Traci Arntsen began in their Costa Mesa kitchen in 1999, sold first as Flame & Wax, and now made, the company says, at its own facility in Irvine, California, in decorative glass and tin vessels.
- NEST New York — The home and fine-fragrance brand Laura Slatkin launched in 2008 after selling Slatkin & Co., controlled by Tengram from 2012 and Eurazeo from 2017, and owned since 2022 by an investor group led by North Castle Partners, with Bamboo and Grapefruit among its candles.
- LAFCO — The Luxury Articles & Fragrance Co., founded in New York City in 1992 by Jon Bresler, which imported European apothecary brands before building its own home-fragrance line of room-by-room candles in coloured, hand-blown glass with no visible branding.
American and French candle houses
Capri Blue, Colonial Candle, Village Candle, Maison Berger Paris, Root Candles, Thymes and Bridgewater.
- Capri Blue — The Starkville, Mississippi, home-fragrance brand made by DPM Fragrance, known for its Volcano scent and cobalt Signature Blue Jar, sold at Anthropologie since 2001, and part of Minneapolis-based Curio since DPM merged with Thymes in 2016.
- Colonial Candle — The Cape Cod candle brand that dates itself to Mabel Baker’s bayberry tapers of 1909, bought by Blyth in 1990 with its PartyLite unit, owned since 2011 by MVP Group International, and known for its oval two-wick jars and hand-dipped tapers.
- Village Candle — The Maine candle brand Paul Aldrich began at a two-burner stove in his Topsham kitchen in 1993, which grew through mills in Yarmouth and Brunswick to Wells, joined Stonewall Kitchen of York in February 2020, and in October 2025 announced a move of production to Alene Candles.
- Maison Berger Paris — The French home-fragrance house built on the catalytic lamp Maurice Berger patented in 1898, made at Grand Bourgtheroulde in Normandy, renamed from Lampe Berger in 2018, part of the Emosia group, backed by Argos since 2017, with lamps by Starck and other designers.
- Root Candles — The candle business of the A.I. Root Company of Medina, Ohio, founded in 1869 by the jeweller-turned-beekeeper Amos Ives Root, which began making liturgical beeswax candles for churches and is still owned and run by the Root family in its fifth generation.
- Thymes — The Minneapolis bath, body and home-fragrance brand founded in 1982, known for its Goldleaf and Frasier Fir collections, which merged with Capri Blue’s parent DPM Fragrance in 2016 to form CURiO and has been part of CURiO Brands since.
- Bridgewater Candle Company — The Spartanburg, South Carolina candle brand established in 1998, part of the Caldwell family’s Grace Management Group, known for its Sweet Grace fragrance and its Light a Candle · Feed a Child partnership with Rice Bowls.
Air care, chains and heritage chandlers
Glade, Bath & Body Works, Chesapeake Bay Candle, Bolsius, ILLUME, Mrs. Meyer’s and Price’s Candles.
- Glade — The household air-freshener and candle brand of the family-owned S. C. Johnson & Son of Racine, Wisconsin, introduced in 1956, sold as Brise in parts of Europe until the 2010s, and behind the Museum of Feelings pop-up in New York in 2015.
- Bath & Body Works — The Ohio body-care and home-fragrance retailer founded in 1990 as a beauty line of Express, known for its three-wick candles and White Barn name, and an independent listed company since its former parent L Brands spun off Victoria’s Secret in August 2021.
- Chesapeake Bay Candle — The candle brand Mei Xu and David Wang started in Annapolis, Maryland, in 1994, made first in China and later in Glen Burnie, and owned by Newell Brands since 2017 alongside Yankee Candle and WoodWick.
- Bolsius — The Dutch candle maker that began in 1870 as Antonius Bolsius’s wax bleachery in Schijndel, North Brabant, made church candles, passed to Anton Kristen in 1978, bought Verkade’s Waxine business in 1991 and today produces mainly in Kobylin, Poland.
- ILLUME — The candle brand Lynette Reed began in her Los Angeles garage in the mid-1990s, which Regent Holding, parent of Creative Co-Op, has owned since 2016, and which moved its candle-making to outside partners after closing its Maple Grove, Minnesota plant.
- Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day — The garden-scented cleaners and soy candles Monica Nassif named after her Iowa mother, Thelma Meyer, launched from Minneapolis in the early 2000s with text-heavy packaging by Sharon Werner’s studio, and owned by S.C. Johnson since its 2008 purchase of Caldrea.
- Price’s Candles — The candle maker founded in London in 1830 as Edward Price & Co., which became Price’s Patent Candle Company in 1847, passed to Lever Brothers in 1919, moved its head office to Bedford in 2001 and has belonged to Italy’s SER since 2003.
At a glance: founding, base and signature
Taken from each guide’s fact panel. Follow the link for detail and caveats.
| Brand | Founded | Based | Signature |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aery | 2018–19 (Bristol) | Bristol, UK | Wellness candle |
| Apotheke | 2011 (Brooklyn) | See guide | Candles, home |
| Apotheke Fragrance | 2011 (Chiba) | Chiba, JP | Apothecary object |
| Baobab Collection | 2002 / 2004 (BE) | Wavre, BE | Sculptural vessel |
| Bath & Body Works | New Albany, Ohio, as a beauty line of Express (1990) | See guide | See guide |
| Bolsius | Schijndel, North Brabant, Netherlands (1870) | See guide | See guide |
| Bridgewater Candle Company | See guide | See guide | Sweet Grace fragrance |
| Brooklyn Candle Studio | 2013 (Brooklyn) | Brooklyn, US | Typographic candle |
| Broste Copenhagen | 1955 (Copenhagen) | Copenhagen, DK | Twist candle |
| Capri Blue | See guide | See guide | Volcano scent, Signature Blue Jar |
| Carrière Frères | 1884 (France) | See guide | Botanical candles |
| Castelbel | 1999 (Porto) | Porto, PT | Decorative candle |
| Cerería Mollá 1899 | 1899 (Spain) | Albaida, ES | Boutique candle |
| Chesapeake Bay Candle | Annapolis, Maryland (1994) | See guide | See guide |
| Cire Trudon | 1643 (heritage) | Paris / Normandy, FR | Green-glass candle |
| Coal & Canary | 2014 (Winnipeg) | Winnipeg, CA | Named candle |
| Colonial Candle | Hyannis, Cape Cod, Massachusetts (1909, the company says) | See guide | Bayberry tapers, oval two-wick jar candles |
| Compagnie de Provence | 1990 (Marseille) | Provence, FR | Pump bottle |
| Dr. Vranjes Firenze | 1983 (Florence) | Florence, IT | Diffuser bottle |
| Durance | 1997 (Grignan) | Grignan, FR | Reed diffuser |
| Earl of East | 2014 (London) | London, UK | Soy candles |
| Ecoya | 2004 (Australasia) | New Zealand | Soy candle |
| Ester & Erik | 1987 (Denmark) | Silkeborg, DK | Colour range |
| Evermore London | 2014 (London) | London, UK | Sustainable candle |
| Fornasetti | ~2010 (Milan) | See guide | Scented candles |
| Glade | See guide | See guide | See guide |
| Glasshouse Fragrances | 2005–06 (Sydney) | Sydney, AU | Destination candle |
| Granado | 1870 (Rio) | Rio, BR | Vintage apothecary |
| Homesick | United States (2016) | See guide | Scents for home states, cities and memories |
| ILLUME | Los Angeles, California, USA (Mid-1990s (company says)) | See guide | Boxed glass candles, tins, reed diffusers, artist collaborations |
| Ipuro | 2004 (Bavaria) | Bavaria, DE | Glass diffuser |
| Joya | 2006 (Brooklyn) | Brooklyn, US | Porcelain vessel |
| Keap | 2015 (Brooklyn) | Kingston, NY, US | Coconut-wax candle |
| Klinta | ~2006 (Sweden) | Skåne, SE | Massage candle |
| La Montaña | 2010s (Spain) | See guide | Home fragrance |
| LAFCO | New York City (1992) | See guide | House and Home room candles, hand-blown glass |
| Loewe Home Scents | 2020 (the line) | Madrid / Spain, ES | Glazed vessel |
| Maison Balzac | 2012 (Sydney) | Sydney, AU | Candles & glass |
| Maison Berger Paris | See guide | See guide | See guide |
| Maison Louis Marie | 2010s (Los Angeles) | See guide | Candles, fragrance |
| Marie-Stella-Maris | 2011 (Amsterdam) | Amsterdam, NL | Numbered bottle |
| Max Benjamin | 1990s (Wicklow) | Wicklow, IE | Irish candle |
| Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day | Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA (1999–2002 (sources differ)) | See guide | Garden-scented household cleaners, soy candles |
| NEOM | United Kingdom (2005 (as NEOM Organics)) | See guide | Candles, reed diffusers, Wellbeing Pods |
| NEST New York | New York (2008) | See guide | Bamboo and Grapefruit candles, Holiday candle, fine fragrance |
| Nette | 2020 (New York) | See guide | Candles, fragrance |
| Nonfiction | 2019 (Seoul) | Seoul, KR | Pared-back candle |
| Ortigia | 2006 (Florence) | Florence, IT | Decorative packaging |
| Otherland | ~2017 (New York) | New York, US | Collectible candle |
| Overose | 2016 (Paris) | See guide | Candles, fragrance |
| P.F. Candle Co | 2008 (Texas) | Los Angeles, US | No. XX candles |
| Paddywax | Atlanta, Georgia (1996 (company date)) | See guide | Reusable vessels, Candle Bar workshops |
| Price’s Candles | Vauxhall, London (1830 (as Edward Price & Co.)) | See guide | Dinner, altar and pillar candles; nightlights |
| retaW | ~2009 (Tokyo) | Tokyo, JP | Fragrance object |
| Root Candles | Medina, Ohio (1869 (as the A.I. Root Company)) | See guide | Liturgical beeswax candles, votives, tapers |
| Skandinavisk | 2012 (Copenhagen) | Copenhagen, DK | Nordic-named scents |
| St. Eval | 1993 (Cornwall) | Cornwall, UK | Tin candle |
| Thymes | Minneapolis, Minnesota (1982) | See guide | Frasier Fir, Goldleaf, Lemon Leaf |
| True Grace | 2003 (England) | West Country, UK | Scented candle |
| Vancouver Candle Co | 2014 (Vancouver) | Vancouver, CA | Neighbourhood candle |
| Village Candle | Topsham, Maine (1993) | See guide | Apothecary jars; Balsam Fir, Creamy Vanilla, Pure Linen |
| Voluspa | Costa Mesa, California (1999) | See guide | Candles in decorated glass and tins, diffusers |
| Yankee Candle | South Hadley, Massachusetts (1969) | See guide | Jar candles, Housewarmer, the Apothecary Jar |
Frequently asked questions
Is Carrière Frères related to Cire Trudon?
Yes; our guide describes Carrière Frères as a sister brand of Cire Trudon.
Does Fornasetti make candles?
Yes; our guide covers the Milan design atelier’s scented candles.
See also our perfume house brand guidelines.
Part of our Home & Kitchen brand guidelines. See also all collections.