Thórunn is the head designer and co-founder of 54 Celsius, together with product developer Dan Koval. 54 Celsius is a design brand with a focus on the unexpected. More information and shop here: www.54celsius.com.
The idea of the Pyropet candles came about when Thórunn was studying at Royal College of Art in London in 2010.
“I was thinking about the way we use candles today. The shape of a tea light or a candlestick makes sense because its form follows function to provide light. But the purpose of candles in different shapes really puzzled me. Why make them into elaborate shapes when they are going to be all deformed and creepy when they are in use? I saw potential in there to make something more out of this experience. To make a theatre of macabre in wax. Lighting a Pyropet Candle is like a romantic film that turns into a horror satire.”
After Thorunn exhibited the cat candles (called “The Devil’s Pet” back then) in Milan and at her graduation show in London, they quickly gained a lot of attention on the internet. She joined forces with Dan Koval and they launched a Kickstarter campaign to finance their little startup. The campaign was a great success and in only 4 days they reached their funding goal. At the end of the campaign they had reached 250% of their initial goal. Thorunn and Dan founded PyroPet Candle Company and are now selling Kisa in shops and galleries all around the world.
The Pyropet collection now has 7 animals, who all have an Icelandic name: Kisa the cat, Bíbí the bird, Hoppa the bunny, Dýri the reindeer, Ugla the owl, Dreki the dragon and Einar the unicorn.
In addition to Pyropets expanding, so has the overall business with other new innovative candle collections in addition to Pyropets. All are marketed under the 54Celsius brand. (www.54celsius.com).
Send a secret message to a special someone.
Reveal the secret message in the bottom of the cup as the wax melts and becomes translucent. Allow 1-2 hours (Or a nice dinner).
Note: The packaging comes with a sticker which has the secret message written on it. Make sure you remove this sticker before giving the candle as a gift.
Materials: Vegetable wax, cotton wick, porcelain cup.
Product dimensions: 2.5" diameter x 1.5" high.
Available here: www.54celsius.com
It's all smoke and mirrors! The infinity Candle holder will trick you into believing the candle is extending into the 5th dimension! The Infinity Candle holder holds a standard taper candle with diameter of 0.86" (22mm).
Materials: mirror and aluminium.
An elegant little candle holder, made of solid brass. Tiny but heavy and sturdy. Fits any standard taper candle.
Graphic Design for packaging of a candle care set.
The symmetrical elegance of these candles results from each geometric shape having equal lengths and angles on all sides. The ancient Greek philosopher Plato aligned these unique forms with the elemental building blocks that make up our material world—Earth, Air, Fire and Water.
Each ELEMENTS candle is imbued with scent and colour to reflect its poetry and power.
Inspired by the late mathematician Einar Thorsteinn.
Available winter 2021.
From times of old, New Englanders have been lighting bayberry candles on Christmas and New Year’s Eve. According to folk custom, burn the candles completely to the bottom to ensure prosperity and good health for the coming year.
Packaging design.