The Quick Burn | TL;DR
- My candle shop is house of RANNI, an independent, South Asian and LGBTQIA+ owned brand based in Los Angeles.
- I hand pour my candles in small batches using coconut-soy wax and fragrance oils.
- RANNI is about more than fragrance. It's rooted in alchemy, transformation, bringing light into dark spaces, and creating something with purpose.
- Every part of RANNI, from the scents to the visual identity, is shaped by the person behind the brand: me.
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SHOP NOWWhat Is My Candle Shop?
A good candle shop should be more than a place to discover and buy candles.
It should give you a reason to stay awhile.
A fragrance you didn't expect. A scent that reminds you of something. A candle that makes you rethink what home fragrance can be.
That's what I wanted to create with house of RANNI.
Welcome to My Candle Shop
house of RANNI is my independent candle shop, based in Los Angeles.
I hand pour my candles in small batches, develop the fragrance ideas, build the website, create the photography, write the copy, plan the marketing, pack the orders, and generally involve myself in far too many things at once.
That's one of the things I love about being independent.
RANNI isn't a faceless candle company where I simply put my name on a product.
I'm building the whole world around it.
What Can You Find in my Candle Shop?
Every candle shop has its own point of view.
Some focus on classic home fragrance. Some specialize in seasonal scents. Some are built around particular ingredients, aesthetics, or traditions.
For me, fragrance is where I start.
My collection moves between bright and playful, dark and moody, floral, fruity, spicy, creamy, fresh, and unexpected.
I don't want every candle to smell like it belongs in the same room.
I want each one to have its own personality.
That's why you'll find fragrances inspired by things like tea, fruit, florals, spices, and South Asian ingredients alongside combinations that came from a completely different place.
A candle shop should give you options.
I just happen to like my options with a little personality.
What Makes My Candle Shop Different?
I'm not interested in making RANNI feel like every other candle brand on the internet.
Part of that comes down to how I make the candles.
I hand pour RANNI candles in small batches in Los Angeles using only coconut-soy wax and fragrance oils. I keep the formulation intentionally simple, without added dyes or fillers.
But the difference isn't only in the candle itself.
It's also in the perspective behind it.
RANNI is South Asian. RANNI is LGBTQIA+ owned. My heritage and my queerness both influence how I think about fragrance, design, storytelling, marketing, and the kind of space I want this brand to create.
Those things aren't separate from RANNI.
They're part of it.
A Candle Shop Rooted in South Asian Culture
South Asian culture has always given me an incredible amount of inspiration to work with.
Food. Tea. Spices. Flowers. Fruit. Ritual. Memory.
Sometimes that inspiration is obvious. Sometimes it's much more subtle.
I might start with an ingredient I've grown up around or a memory I want to translate into fragrance. Other times, it's simply the feeling something gives me.
That's one reason I don't think South Asian inspired fragrance has to mean recreating a traditional scent exactly.
It can be nostalgic.
It can be modern.
It can be unexpected.
It can be a little weird.
That's much more interesting to me.
A Candle Shop That Happens to Be Queer, Too
RANNI is also a queer-owned business.
And I don't mean that as a line I put on an About page and then forget about.
My identity influences the brand itself.
It shows up in the colors, the humor, the visual world, the fragrance names, the storytelling, the marketing, and the weird little ideas that somehow become actual candles.
I like the fact that RANNI doesn't have to choose between being South Asian and being queer.
Those parts of me coexist.
So does everything else here.
Tradition and irreverence.
Darkness and light.
Stillness and exuberance.
Sacred and a little unhinged.
Why “My House”?
There's a reason I call it house of RANNI.
I wanted the brand to feel less like a storefront and more like entering someone's world.
My world.
The fragrance. The photography. The website. The packaging. The writing. The colors. The ideas.
They all belong in the same house.
And I want there to be a seat for you in it.
That's also why I think about RANNI as more than a candle business.
It's a place to create atmosphere, tell stories, celebrate identity, and hopefully make someone's day feel a little different.
The Alchemy of a Candle
There's something about making candles that feels like alchemy to me.
You start with wax and fragrance.
You combine them.
You pour.
You wait.
Then you light a wick and suddenly an entire room can feel different.
That's transformation.
It's also a big part of what RANNI represents.
I've always been drawn to the idea of turning darkness into light. Of taking something apart and building it again differently.
I've burned my life to ashes and started again more than once.
Reinventing. Rebuilding. Rising into whatever comes next.
So what better medium than flame?
What better ritual than lighting it up?
A Candle Shop With a Purpose
I also want RANNI to have an impact beyond selling candles.
That means thinking about the kind of business I want to build, the communities I want to support, and the organizations doing work that matters to me.
A portion of my work through RANNI supports causes and organizations aligned with that purpose.
I'm still building this house, and that part of the story will continue to evolve.
But I know I don't want success to be measured only by how many candles I sell.
I want the business to contribute something beyond the transaction.
So, What Is RANNI?
RANNI is an independent candle shop.
I make hand poured, small batch candles in Los Angeles. I build fragrances around memories, ingredients, moods, culture, and whatever strange idea happens to spark something.
I'm South Asian.
I'm gay.
I'm obsessed with fragrance.
I'm interested in transformation.
And I'm building a brand where all of those things get to exist in the same room.
So yes, you can come here to buy a candle.
But I hope you find something else, too.
A scent that reminds you of somewhere.
A fragrance that changes the mood of your room.
A little moment of ritual.
A little bit of light.
Welcome to My House. This is a glimpse into my mind. South Asian heritage draped in glitter. Tradition with a whisper of sass. A place where culture and queerness do not compete, they coexist. Loudly. Beautifully. Abundantly.
Come on in and shop my Best Smellers!
