Kapula Candles and Ceramics is located in Bredasdorp, a small community in the southernmost region of South Africa. Here, this family business trains their artisans to make these wonderful handcrafted candles and ceramics.

Started by Ilse Appelgryn in 1993, the business began to help employ the local women of the community, many of whom are single mothers. Ilse taught these women how to make and paint candles in her kitchen!  While today 90% of their employees are women, now they hire men and women alike and train them to be the crafters of these beautiful products, which in turn provides them with sustainable employment to help them to take care of themselves and their families. Kapula is a proud guaranteed member of the WFTO. read more



Using traditional methods, these handcrafted candles are hand poured, hand painted, and hand packaged. Only non-toxic pigment and fully refined wax are used for candle production creating a long burn time. The beauty of the candle only gets better as the flame lowers and glows from within. This shows off the delicate artistry and colors of the candle.  We import a selection of the sizes that are available; tapers, pillars, cubes and votives. The many designs and extensive display of colors used on these candles are all influenced by the warmth and deep richness of the African landscape and heritage.

In addition to the candles, Kapula artisans also handcraft a beautiful line of ceramics. The ceramics are hand poured into molds and hand painted.  The product is fired three times creating a glossy finish that is elegant, yet chip resistant and dishwasher & microwave safe.

No patterns or stencils are used in painting these beautiful products, so each is a special piece of art!  The candles and ceramics make not only a unique gift idea but a bright, cheerful addition to any home decor.