The studio
One maker, a pot of beeswax, a lot of petals
Hilal-Ay Studio is one person in the Netherlands, shaping flower candles by hand. This is the whole story, which is shorter than most about pages and truer than some.
How it started
A love of flowers, and of soft rooms
Hilal-Ay Studio came out of a love of flowers, soft interiors and things made by hand. I wanted to keep a flower past the week it usually lasts, and wax turned out to be the way to do it.
So I started shaping petals. One at a time, until a petal became a flower and a flower became something I was willing to put my name on. That is still how every candle here is made: petal by petal, from simple material, turned into something delicate.
I am inspired by nature and by cosy living. What I want a candle to do is bring some warmth and calm into a room, and then stay there quietly. I believe small details make the most beautiful moments, and this whole studio is really just that belief applied to wax.
The name
Hilal means crescent. Ay means moon.
Together they read as crescent moon, which is what the logo draws. It was not chosen to be clever. It just happens to describe what these are for: a small light in a dark room, held in a shape worth looking at.
The work
Everything here passes through one pair of hands
I make each candle from one hundred per cent pure beeswax with a cotton wick, in a small studio in the Netherlands. Nothing is scented, because beeswax already smells faintly of honey and that is enough.
Nothing is made in advance either. When an order comes in, I make that flower, check it, pack it and post it. Every candle is individually handcrafted. Slight variations in colour and shape make each piece one of a kind.
- 100% pure natural beeswax
- Cotton wick
- Unscented — natural honey aroma of the beeswax itself
- Eco-friendly, plastic-free and biodegradable
- Sculpted by hand, petal by petal
- Handmade in the Netherlands
Where this is up to
A new studio, and no pretending otherwise
This shop is new. There are five flowers, no reviews yet, and no wall of five-star ratings, because none of that would be real. Buying something from a studio this young is a small act of trust and I would rather earn it than decorate around it.
What I can promise is narrow and true: the wax is pure beeswax, every petal is shaped by hand, the photographs are of the actual candles, and if something arrives wrong I will make it right.
More flowers are coming. So are the things people keep asking for. If you want one that is not here yet, tell me. 🤍
Follow along
The flowers that have not made it here yet
New shapes, half-finished petals and whatever is on the table that week go to Instagram first. It is the closest thing to standing in the studio.