Our story

Born in the
Alps. Made
for wherever
you call home.

A ritual that began in the Austrian Alps. Carried across countries and years. Turned into something honest, clean, and made by hand in Atlanta.

The beginning

A village in the
Austrian Alps.

I grew up in Leogang — a small village in the Austrian Alps, where the mountains are close enough to feel like walls and the winters are long and genuinely dark. It's extraordinarily beautiful. It's also a place where you learn how to be inside.

The women in my family were good at that. When the light dropped or the cold came in, there was this instinct — candles, blankets, something on the fire. A book, a warm drink. No one made a plan. It just happened, the same way every time.

Being comfortable in your own company. Being good with yourself. I didn't have a word for it then.

Leogang valley from above, Austrian Alps in winter Leogang, Austrian Alps
"That feeling followed me everywhere I went."
Then
Growing up in Austria

Candles lit when the light dropped. Blankets pulled out without a word. Fire made, tea brewed, books opened. Not a ritual — just what you did.

Now
A family in Atlanta

The same instinct. My daughter gets up early to watch the sunrise. She makes the moment happen without being asked. The younger ones are starting to follow.

Dolva
The ritual, made honest

When I learned what most candles are made from, I couldn't go back to buying them. Dolva is what I wanted to find on the shelf — and couldn't.

The ritual

You don't wait for
a good moment. You make one.

My daughter gets up before anyone else to catch the sunrise. Nobody asks her to. She just decided that was something worth doing, and so she does it.

That's the thing I grew up watching without knowing I was watching it. The women in my family didn't wait for a good evening to happen — they made one. Candles, blankets, the fire. A deliberate small act that said: this moment is worth something.

You don't need a reason. You don't need to wait. You just reach for the match.

Why it matters

"When I learned what most candles are made from, I couldn't go back to buying them."

What's in a candle
that nobody tells you.

Most candles use paraffin wax — a petroleum byproduct — and synthetic fragrances formulated with chemicals that don't have to be disclosed on the label. That's not a conspiracy. It's just how the industry works. There are no regulations requiring it.

I found that out and it changed how I thought about the ritual entirely. The thing I'd been doing to feel calm, I'd been doing without knowing what was in it.

Dolva is the answer to that. Coconut-soy wax, phthalate-free fragrance, every ingredient named on every label. Not because it's a selling point — because it should be the standard.

01
Full transparency

Every ingredient listed on every product. No "fragrance" hiding behind labelling loopholes. If it goes into a Dolva candle, we say exactly what it is.

02
Honest materials

Coconut-soy wax. Phthalate-free fragrance oils. Cotton wicks. Plastic-free packaging. No paraffin. No shortcuts. No exceptions.

03
Made to last

Each piece is hand-thrown in our Atlanta studio and designed to be kept for life. When the candle is gone, the piece remains — refillable, beautiful, yours.

Thrown by hand.
Poured with
intention.

Every Dolva piece starts on the wheel in our Atlanta studio. Each one is slightly different — a centimetre wider here, a shade darker there. That's not a flaw. That's the point. You get something no one else has exactly.

The glaze goes on by hand. Before the piece is fired, the scent name is pressed into the wet clay — it becomes part of the piece, not a label on it. The wax is poured in small batches to a recipe we've tested until we were happy with it.

Personalised pieces are stamped to order. A name, a word, a date — pressed in before the first firing. It stays there.

Begin the ritual

A piece made for your home.
A refill made for your life.

Every starter kit includes a hand-thrown ceramic piece and your first refill. Personalised stamping available. Ships plastic-free.

Shop starter kits See the pieces