About Ukiyo
There's more to notice.
Some evenings disappear into the things we have to do. Others seem to stretch out, filled with conversation, music, laughter, or simply the pleasure of being exactly where we are.
The best ones aren't necessarily the most extraordinary.
Sometimes it's a dinner that goes on longer than anyone expected. A favourite song. The light changing in a room. Or an hour spent doing something you love, without once thinking about the time.
That's the feeling behind Ukiyo.
Candles and simple rituals for the evenings that are already yours.
How Ukiyo began
I've always loved making things.
There's something deeply satisfying about starting with raw materials and seeing something beautiful take shape. The experimenting, the small adjustments, the concentration it takes to get something just right.
Candle-making became one of those things I could completely lose myself in.
I'd spend hours exploring fragrances, testing different combinations and refining the details. It was something I did simply because I enjoyed doing it. A way of becoming absorbed in something creative, where everything else could wait.
Eventually, there were candles everywhere.
My husband wondered whether I might actually sell some of them. Friends and family were enjoying them too, and what began as a personal pleasure gradually became something I wanted to share.
That's how Ukiyo began.
Not with a grand plan to create a lifestyle brand, but with the simple pleasure of making something beautiful — and discovering that other people found pleasure in it too.
Made with intention
Today, I still make Ukiyo candles myself, in small batches.
I use a coconut and rapeseed wax blend, carefully chosen fragrance oils free from parabens and phthalates, and simple amber glass vessels finished with black wooden lids.
But the materials are only part of the story.
I spend time choosing fragrances for the atmosphere they create, testing how they perform when burning, and refining the details until I'm happy with the result.
A candle has to smell beautiful when it's lit, not just when you first open the lid. It needs to burn well, feel considered and become something you'll genuinely enjoy using.
Alongside the candles are tactile pieces such as Still, a softly weighted linen lavender eye pillow, chosen with the same attention to materials, simplicity and everyday pleasure.
Small-batch making allows me to stay close to every part of the process.
Because the details matter. Not for their own sake, but for the difference they make to the experience.
Choose a mood.
Discover the scent.
Fragrance is personal. And choosing a candle online, without being able to smell it, isn't always straightforward.
That's why Ukiyo begins with how you'd like an evening to feel, rather than expecting you to know which fragrance notes to look for.
There's the peaceful, softly floral atmosphere of Dusk.
The creamy, comforting warmth of Quiet.
The rich, enveloping character of Ember.
And the grounding, softly spiced fragrance of Exhale, created for that space between finishing the day and finally feeling finished with it.
Each candle has its own character. Different moods, different evenings, different reasons to light one.
The collection is deliberately considered, with room for new fragrances as the seasons change.
The meaning behind Ukiyo
Ukiyo is a Japanese word often associated with the idea of living in the moment, appreciating the fleeting pleasures of life and finding enjoyment in the world around us.
It's a meaning I've always loved.
Because some of the most memorable experiences aren't the ones we've carefully planned.
They're the ones we become completely absorbed in.
A conversation that wanders from one subject to another. Music that takes over the room. The quiet satisfaction of making something with your hands. An ordinary evening that somehow becomes one you remember.
Ukiyo is my way of bringing a little of that thinking into the things I make.
A candle can't create those experiences for us. But scent, light and atmosphere can become part of them.
A familiar fragrance that marks the beginning of an evening. Candlelight around a table. A small ritual that becomes something to look forward to.
Not a different life.
A little more of the one we're already living.
A little more to notice
The thinking behind Ukiyo continues beyond the products.
The Ukiyo Journal is a collection of letters on scent, atmosphere, rituals and the quieter part of the day.
Observations about the ordinary things we experience, but don't always quite notice. Alongside ideas for creating atmosphere at home, understanding fragrance and finding simple rituals that feel like your own.
Because sometimes the thing that changes an evening isn't something you buy.
It might simply be noticing something that was there all along.
Lyz
Founder & maker, Ukiyo