Inside Kandl Artistique, a super-swanky custom candle shop in Yorkville

After 40 years of making candles for the likes of Tom Ford and Estée Lauder, Mississauga company Premier Candle Corp decided to create a luxury brand of their own. Kandl Artistique set up shop earlier this summer in a Victorian townhouse in Yorkville, and their flagship is heaven-sent for anyone with a thing for scented candles.

The space, which was designed by Quintessential Design with ash herringbone floors and marble backsplashes, is meant to feel homey and inviting. And it smells fantastic, of course. Customers can buy ready-made candles (the brand’s largest is $595 and burns for 600 hours) or create their own custom candle from scratch in the store’s back workshop space. They can blend their own fragrance using the oils provided (there are 1,500 options), choose their own vessel and pour the wax themselves. (Both Dwyane Wade and Cory Joseph are now amateur candle-makers.) There’s also a café and bar, which serves super-Instagrammable desserts and cocktails that were designed to complement Kandl’s fragrances.

The candles come in three different sizes (ranging from $95 to $595), and the glass is all sourced from Poland. The 88 Avenue is the brand’s signature scent:

The shop also carries a curated selection of high-end candle brands from around the world. These are by Cire Trudon, a French candle-making company that was founded in 1643. They sell for $135 each:

Fornasetti candles are decorated in surrealist depictions of Italian opera singer Lina Cavalieri ($268):

Shoppers will also find Jonathan Adler’s ceramic creations. They glow from the inside once the wick is lit:

Here’s the café, where shoppers can grab a midday cappuccino or an 88 Avenue cocktail, made with Lot 40 rye, Tio Pepe fino sherry and blueberry-balsam cordial ($17):

There’s even a plush dining area:

The gourmet desserts on offer have surprising fillings:

Here’s the lab. A pull-down screen and projector can be set up for film screenings or presentations:

Here’s what the candle-making stations look like. The whole process takes about an hour and a half. The test tubes are filled with a mix of top notes (for instance, citrus or fruity), middle notes (spice, floral) and base notes (musk, wood):

The wax, made with a vegetable base, is actually edible:

Aprons are appropriately branded:

88 Avenue Rd., 416-215-2150, kandl-artistique.com, @kandlartistique