Our Story
GLŌAM Candles was created by Sigal, a designer with a background in cultural anthropology, interior design, and psychology. She has brought the essence of her Mediterranean roots to Santa Barbara California where she now hand-dips candles out of her backyard studio, surrounded by fruit trees and jasmine, and where she receives frequent visits from her fluffy chickens and two rescue pups. Sigal draws inspiration from breaking bread with loved ones over candlelit dinners at her home, and the way candles can so effortlessly bring coziness to any situation.
Sigal became curious about the process of creating hand dipped candles, and quickly got lost in the beauty of the alchemy of creating. It’s a very satisfying thing to her, to create these candles knowing that people can use them to bring warmth and pleasure to their life.
At her home candles are often being lit whether a meal is being cooked, or gathering around the table with loved ones, sipping a cup of coffee in the morning or even just reading a book. She loves how the simple act of lighting a candle can change the ambiance and create intimacy and coziness, adding to the air a nostalgic scent of honeycomb. Creativity to Sigal is the ultimate form of self expression. It’s like searching for a more vivid existence, it’s taking an object, a situation, a moment that is status quo and transforming it into something memorable that sparks joy.
Inspiration
At GLŌAM, we are motivated by the excitement of creating objects that enhances and enrich our life experiences.
One of Sigal's earliest influences was her grandfather, who was a painter and kept his many containers of pigment in an old chicken coop. She spent warm Mediterranean summers collecting wildflowers from a nearby field and mixing these pigments with flowers, leaves, sand, and water, exposing her to a deeper understanding of color, a curiosity for nature, and an appreciation for art and experimentation.
While living in a farmhouse in Southern France, Sigal would experiment in the kitchen with color dyes mixing and playing with an assortment of plants, herbs, flowers, and fruit peels — all foraged from the garden and the nearby hills. She would heat them on the stove using different combinations to try to extract distinctive pigments. Evenings unfolded with family gatherings after trips to the marché, preparing elaborate meals as the scent of burning wood from the fireplace wafted through the air. They would often gather under an oak tree outside, wrapped in wool blankets, enveloped by the flickering shadows of candles.
These unassuming moments, amplified by the gentle glow of the candles, held an enchanting place in their countryside experiences. It was amidst these serene moments that Sigal's passion for creating candles from raw, natural elements was ignited, crafting candles that illuminate spaces and tell stories.
