Let there be light
Editor’s note: Our sister site, Souk, has the best shopping guides and recommendations for every moment and occasion. This one is for those of you looking to light up your homes (quite literally) this festive season.
Over to Souk...
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We’ll be honest, dear reader, the news cycle lately has felt like one giant avalanche of doom and gloom. Between crackdowns on dissent, fascism, genocide, data centers, and water shortages, our group chats and social media grids have been relentlessly heavy.
But look closer, and there are cracks where the light shines through—whether it’s brave individuals fiercely standing up for what’s right and communities coming together across ideologies and barricades to unite for a just cause, or just the sheer comfort of being able to look forward to a new season of Girls.
So we’re actively choosing to lean into the light, and light up our homes. After all, there’s no better antidote to darkness than a literal, flickering flame to remind us of persevering toward brighter days ahead.
From contemporary stoneware and delicate glass to traditional brass, we've put together 12 oil lamps, candles and tea-light holders to decorate and light up your homes this festive season.
(A quick note on links: We independently select and love every item featured on Souk. When you use our direct links to shop from a brand's website, we may earn a small affiliate commission that keeps our platform running, at zero extra cost to you—but our opinions are always entirely our own. Thank you for supporting what we do!)
Sculptural, playful decor marries everyday functionality—a stoneware tealight holder in the form of a friendly face holding up the light. What's not to love?
A set of 4 metal candle-diyas shaped like eight-petalled flowers that come with a rich nagchampa fragrance.
A skillfully handcrafted minimal take on an oil lamp that you'll want to leave out long after the festivities are over.
Modern minimalism meets ritual in this cylindrical oil lamp hand-finished in solid brass, with a hidden oil reservoir for the cotton wick at its centre.
A metal tealight holder that brings all the nostalgic joy of a classic patakha without any of the noise? Yes, please!
Drink your tea and light it too with this chai glass that turns into a tealight with the addition of a chimta-inspired holder.
An intricate glass diya handcrafted by skilled artisans using 16th-century glassmaking methods.
An award-winning double-walled brass and copper lamp with a durable fibreglass wick and a clever detachable lift-top by designer Ayush Kasliwal, handcrafted by Thathera artisans of Jaipur.
Ceramic and Channapatna Oil Lamp
We love the mix of materials in this handcrafted, modern take on the traditional oil lamp that pairs matte white ceramics with an earthy red & blue Channapatna wooden base.
A 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. Perfect for lighting up on Diwali!
A contemporary, two-tiered stone oil lamp based on the traditional Kal Vilakku of South India, handmade by master sculptors in Mahabalipuram. (We love that the base can hold flowers.)
This one's a sure-shot mood-lifter. We love the elegant silhouette and the way the hammered copper surface reflects and amplifies the light.
souk picks