Bongazi pillar candle

A multicoloured pillar candle, mostly brown and orange, painted by hand in bands of triangles, zigzags, diamonds, spirals and dots, with details in yellow and blue. It’s 7.5 cm across and 11.5 cm tall.

The candle is unscented and burns for about 64 hours, and its warm colours suit an evening with friends round the table. Each candle is painted by hand, so yours will have the same colours and theme as the photo, but the pattern may differ slightly.

These candles are made by hand at a small workshop in South Africa, where most of the painters are women.

Fully refined paraffin is poured into a pillar mould and left to set. The candle is then painted by hand on the outside with non-toxic paint. The painters use the same colours and motifs on every candle in a design.

Stand the candle on a plate or in a holder before you light it, away from draughts, and trim the wick to about 1 cm. On the first burn, let the wax melt all the way to the edge. Put it out when about 2 cm of wax is left, and never leave a burning candle unattended or near anything that can catch fire.