6 Favorites: Sculptural Self-Standing Taper Candles

Skinny, shapely, and a touch surreal, these tapers are candles and candlesticks in one. Years ago, we fell in love with Ontwerpduo’s all-wax chambersticks, perfect for lighting the way through dark hallways (see featured image). Of late, a number of other self-supporting tapers have cropped up. Here are our favorites. Note that several are scented; all make great presents.

Above: Diptyque’s French-made Baies (Berries) taper, $110, is from the Paris company’s trio of molded candles, each scented with one of the brand’s signature fragrances. Above: Discovered at Shoppe Object’s recent NYC show: House of Good’s Bubble Taper Candle, $50, hand-poured in Connecticut. It comes in seven scents, such as palo santo with ginger, and we’re happy to report there’s also an unscented version. Above: From Spanish fashion house Loewe, the Honeysuckle Wax Candleholder, $160, “reveals delicate, honeyed notes once lit.” Above: Anthèse makes scented candles out of its workshop in Hauts-de-France. This one is the Baie Sauvage; €39. Merci in Paris sells Anthèse’s ivory-colored Gobi Desert candle; €39. Above: An all-wax rendition of Baccarat’s classic French crystal candlesticks, the Harcourt Candlestick Candle is $130 from Baccarat. Shown here in ivory, it also comes in blue, black, and red and is unscented. Above: Ontwerpduo introduced their matte-finished Tallow Candle in 2004 to great acclaim. The Dutch firm recently announced that for now it’s ceasing production to clear space for making other things. In the meantime, Tallow Candles are still available in 12 colors, all unscented, for £24 each from 54 Celsius. Tallow Candles, $25, are also in stock at Gessato.

More notable candles and candleholders:

• Trend Alert: Short and Stout Beeswax Candles for Long Winter Nights
• 12 Favorite Home Fragrance Picks from Our Finicky Editors
• Trend Alert: Tall Skinny Candles and Candleholders