Caroline Diani shares her latest design project: The DIANI Candle

I am so thrilled to finally announce a secret project that I’ve been working on: the new and exclusive DIANI candle. This project is very close to my heart, and encapsulates all of the beautiful symbols from my family history. I am calling this the “Mazuri” candle which is Swahili for “beautiful”. It pays tribute to my three homes: Kenya, England, and California.

I collaborated with graphic designer and my good friend, Gail Bryson who is also the designer of the screen printed napkins and tea towels we carry at DIANI Living and is the creator of my original DIANI logo and stationary and all subsequent logos for my businesses. With the help of her business partner, Tamsin Loxley, they worked up a vintage feeling floral design featuring three flowers. The Kenyan Orchid, which represents the place of my birth, the English Rose, which I adored while growing up in England, and the California Poppy, which I have come to love living here in California. Each flower has a fragrance that is particularly evocative for me of those places.

Gail and I had one of our meetings in Paris while I was there for fashion week, and we went over the initial concepts to get the ball rolling. The rest of the project development consisted lots of photos, videos, and prototypes being passed back and forth across the Pond, and ultimately lead us to a design that was befitting of the term Mazuri.

For the label we used a hand letter press technique to print our unique floral pattern on recycled paper. For the candle vessel, we chose custom porcelain cups inspired by the old English Marmalade jars that crackled with age, giving it a special texture that reminds me of my past spent in England.

Producing a special piece like this to bring to our store was like being in a time-warp. Past memories flooded as I was picking the right combination of oils to create the aroma. The fragrant notes that I chose were Amyris, Bergamot, Oak Moss, and Patchouli – all pure essential oils that were hand poured with soy wax and a cotton wick.

This has been a beautiful journey getting each detail perfect for this new candle, and I love the way it all turned out. When I light the Mazuri candle, it not only fills the room with a beautiful scent, but brings on a sense of nostalgia for all of the days I have had the good to spend in so many wonderful places. Like a scented snapshot of my life story so far.

To learn more about our custom candle, stop by DIANI Living anytime to see it in person or email customercare@dianiliving.com for inquiries.

Caroline xoxo