01 Light Headed Candle
While every piece by Aman Khanna is playful, this one, to us, feels like a very literal rendition of ‘carrying a torch’ for someone or something.
A stoneware tealight holder in the form of a friendly face holding up the light to help manifest all the right energy in any room it occupies. What's not to love? (As Neils Bohr is claimed to have once said, “It works even when one doesn’t believe in it.”)
Some of our favourite pieces from Claymen are the ones that marry sculptural, playful decor with everyday functionality. Hand-sculpted in stoneware clay with naturally occurring imperfections and irregularities, these sculptures are instant conversation starters and make the perfect gift for anyone who loves their art with a unique, unmistakable voice.
02 Floral Urli Set
Hand-poured soy-wax redolent with the fragrance of nagchampa, the traditional temple scent, makes this set of four metal candle-diyas shaped like eight-petalled flowers an almost mandatory addition to festive decor.
The pure cotton wick dipped in plant-based wax burns clean and slow, lending warmth, light and aroma that last longer—perfect for hosts who like to entertain after hours.
We think these urlis can still be used with water, flowers and floating tealights once the wax burns out. We'd even consider repurposing them into trinket trays for knicknacks—just wash away the residual wax a little warm water and soap!
03 Short Glass Diya
It’s rare to find festive decor and essentials that retain tradition while still feeling contemporary yet classic in design.
Handcrafted with five niches for five wicks, and an oil well that’s deep enough to hold fuel to keep them burning for a long while, this glass diya is as functional as it is fetching.
The dark amber variant looks elegant and festive, but it’s also available in a translucent cobalt blue, a rose pink, and a frosted white version.
04 Dipa Oil Lamp
“Space-age spartan, but make it ceremonial.” At least that’s what we think the brief for this cyclindrical oil lamp hand-finished in solid brass was. The machined precision followed by the smooth finish (done by hand) and the muted sheen of the brass indicate that the creators understood the assignment.
(We especially love the design detail of a hidden oil reservoir for the cotton wick at its centre.)
The Dipa is conceptualised and crafted by London and Bangalore-based studio, Tiipoi, known for their unique materials and manufacturing methods that often combine form and function.
05 Sutli Candle Holder
A metal tealight holder that brings all the nostalgic joy of a classic patakha without any of the noise? Yes, please!
This one takes you straight back to childhood Diwalis, only this time without the noise or smoke. Inspired by the classic sutli bomb, these candle holders are handmade from metal and painted in vibrant colours that bring instant cheer. They make any corner feel more festive and are guaranteed conversation starters. A playful twist on nostalgia, they’re perfect for lighting up your space or gifting someone a spark without the bang. We also like that the green tealight is available to purchase seperately on their website, which makes it convenient to replace when used up.
Notice is a design studio that builds objects to challenge the status quo. Born out of a desire to empower individuals to live more expressively and bring art into the everyday, their pieces are not mass-manufactured or trend-driven. They’re small-batch, thoughtfully made, and deeply personal—crafted to demand attention and invite the world to take notice.
06 Brass Star Diya
We think this handmade brass diya in an eight-pointed star design that’s an elegant nod to the Star of Lakshmi—where the eight points represent eight kinds of wealth—is perfect for lighting up on Diwali!
But also, we love holiday decor that can cut across cultures and geographies, to cross over to different festive seasons. Picture the traditional marigolds and toran around this oil lamp replaced with mistletoe and you’ll see what we see!
07 Glass Puja Diya Set
This rare take on the classic earthen lamp is as much art as lamp considering the glass is intricately hand-blown by skilled artisans using 16th-century glassmaking methods. While it's available in a nuch of different colours, we think the sage green (mehendi, as per its makers, Rustic Horse) shade is the right balance of contemporarily cool and traditionally warm tones.
This particular listing is for a set of two and Rustic Horse offers this with a festive box at a nominal charge, making it perfect for gifting.
08 Lift Top Lau Diya
The unique design of this double-walled brass and copper lamp by designer Ayush Kasliwal, consisting of a detachable brass top, copper fuel reservoir and fiberglass wick have earned it the UNESCO Seal of Excellence.
Turns out, this construction makes it a sustainable alternative to the oil lamp (the fiberglass wick doesn’t need to be replaced like a regular cotton-braided wick which burns away), and we do like the hammered texture on the lid, which has been made concave, to hold flower petals for ceremonial uses.
Handcrafted by Thathera artisans of Jaipur, and available in three different sizes, this lamp feels like a minimally elegant addition to festive decor, an altar, mantlepiece or shelf.
09 Ceramic and Channapatna Oil Lamp
We think this lamp is a very Diwali-esque alternative to the tall white twine candle on your dining table spread—a cross between the conical anaar (fountain fireworks) and diya (oil lamp), if you will. While the ceramic oil bowl on top feels muted and minimal, the pièce de résistance of this UT Oil Lamp is the Channapatna cone base it sits on.
Usually associated with the iconic toys from the eponymous Karnataka city, Channapatna is a centuries-old wood carving and painting technique. We like how these signature colours and shapes of this woodwork adapt themselves to this more contemporary design.
Besides this brightly eye-catching red and purple variant, Urban Tweeter (or UT) also comes in a striped orange and red, and a more sombre lime and deep green.
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