THE ATELIER
A candle house of
places.
Luminaura began with a very small question — what if the thing that nobody could take from me became the thing I built a life around? It took us a hospital bed, a termination letter, and Rs 40,000 to begin answering. We are still answering.
FOUNDERS · WORKSHOP · STILL
FOUNDER
Arshi
We are not perfumers. Arshi is an MBA student from Haldwani who once worked four years at a government office, then walked away to study, then lost a finance job after an accident she was too injured to text her manager about. Satyam is a school batchmate who showed up out of nowhere in August 2025 and offered to build the website for free.
On 31st July 2025, in a small rented room in Delhi — because hostels don't allow inductions — Arshi poured her first batch. Two fragrances: rose and vanilla. Rs 30,000 from her father, Rs 10,000 from her own savings, and ChatGPT as a teacher.
The first order came within a week. The Diwali laddu candle came in October — 500 pieces overnight, no sleep till the festival ended. The snowmen came after. The signature fragrance, made with a scientist and now in copyright, came after that.
Luminaura is what creativity looks like when you refuse to let anyone take it from you.
Luminaura is a quiet attempt to bottle the India we miss when we're not in it.
OUR PROMISE
Four things we won't do.
We will not use paraffin.
Pure soy wax. Every pour, every time.
We will not pour at scale.
Every candle is hand-poured by Arshi. A wooden candle takes three to four hours. We'd rather you wait than we cut a corner.
We will not fake the scent story.
Non-toxic scents only — including a signature fragrance we developed with a scientist and filed for copyright. If we can't stand behind the smell, we won't pour it.
We will not copy a trend without making it ours.
Laddus at Diwali. Snowmen at Christmas. Hearts in February. We show up to the season, but the shape, the scent, the styling — that part has to be original, or we don't make it.
