Fall is Coming. Here Are 36 Sculptural Candles to Make Working From Home a Bit Cozier.

What is happening in the candle world? It seems like only a few years ago that everyone got on board again with tapers, which were once relegated only to formal dining rooms and Victorian-era cosplay. Now, not only are tapers available in every color of the rainbow, but you can also find candles in nearly any form you can imagine, from a female torso, to waxed Italian fruit, to ropes, yin-yangs, and Romanesco broccoli — all imbued with a sophistication and color palette that lifts them beyond their mall gift-store origins.

The trend towards sculptural candles — the kind you might prefer never to light at all — probably began back in 2014, when Brooklyn designer Andrej Unam began selling his Milk Candles, their signature nubby form made from pouring wax into a 3D-printed mold; it’s also the year Grain released their Totem candles, which evolved from the Seattle-based duo’s experiments on the lathe. But while those candles were rooted in an exploration of process, the recent spate of sculptural candles seems more interested in eliciting pure delight by virtue of on-trend color combinations and heretofore unexplored patterns and forms (snake squash, anyone?) They’re also an extremely cost-effective way to add visual interest to the rooms your friends and coworkers have become quite familiar with on Zoom, and to provide a bit of cozy comfort in the months ahead. Here are 36 of our favorite recent examples.