Natural matter, raw forms champion candles by Palomba Serafini studio

For the launch of its new reference, In Aéras, a lifestyle and experimental skincare brand Made in Sardinia, trusts the architectural design of the Palomba Serafini studio, celebrating through this collaboration the union between wellness and design. This is a search between ancient raw materials, form and natural matter, a return to the mother island, Sardinia, to create an object whose use conveys a profound and ritualistic experience.

Conceived by Roberto Palomba and Ludovica Serafini as an artefact with pure and ancestral forms, as if it could have been found next to a Nuragic civilization excavation, the candle is contained in a terracotta vase worked exclusively from waste clays which are thus reused to support the circularity of materials and worked by hand to guarantee maximum strength to the shapes of these objects. The skilled hands of Walter Usai, fifth generation ceramic artist of a characteristic art of the island, meet the intention of the form conceived by Palomba Serafini, in a dialogue of unique possibilities where the sacredness of the object is enhanced by the purity of the design and results in a ritual of lighting the fire, waiting for the wax to melt, spreading the scent it carries in a harsh nature that welcomes, like that of the island. And then slowly leaning the candle so that wax can touch the skin and soak in it. Like a gesture of intimate care, a gesture as pure as love.

The In Aéras massage candle represents the Ancient Herbal Rituals from Sardinia for Contemporary Care, condensing the virtues of deep nourishment with the powerful olfactory notes of wild and uncontaminated nature, opening the dance of a new contemporary ritual. A precious blend of butter, waxes, and essential oils from the island's indigenous plants, such as Thyme, Lavender and Myrtle, which have always been used for care and well-being on the island, is formulated to be heated by the main element: fire. Once melted, the blend is ready to be caressed into our skin and senses in an ancestral and erotic act of care, an olfactory and tactile, resulting in an intimate and sensual journey.

 4 ALTARS – a homage to the elements, a homage to Emilia Palomba

To celebrate the launch of the In Aéras candle, Roberto Palomba returns to his native land, Sardinia. Born and raised on the island, with a thirst for the world that only those with a view limited by sea horizons know, it is there that he meets one of his first inspirations: granddaughter of the Sardinian ceramist Emilia Palomba, a determined, courageous woman, independent and modern, it is with her that Roberto grows following the art of form, the formation guided by the material, small or large-sized artefacts cooked on the fire in gold and platinum. Emilia Palomba represents a turning point for the island, creating objects closer to contemporary art and sculpture than to the applied arts.

“I was born in Sardinia in the 60s. The TV was black and white. There were no social media networks or cell phones. Nature still spoke to us through the millenary stones that breathed that scented wind of daffodils and myrtle through the fissures dug by the force of the elements. The terrain died and was reborn together with the seasons. Every moment was led by nature. Fragments of memories: the smell of wet earth in the first heavy rains at the end of August; the grass that grew in the following days; the September air, clear and cruel, reminded us of the end of the summer. I could go on and on…Sardinia, its forms, its craftsmanship, the people, whose hands have the eagerness to create ink on the wheel and the women who knead white sweets with sugary icing. Everything mixes in my head, in my memories, in the emotion of a sunset inflamed with red and orange. For In Aéras, I dedicated four ritual altars celebrating our nature and its elements. Four symbolic moments of ancient, pagan, hidden and eternal magic. In the hands of the craftsman using pure strength to mould them perfectly in clay. On them, like a Phoenician lantern, a candle that contains a magical oil mixed with enchanted waxes and butter.”

The approach of Roberto Palomba and Ludovica Serafini is intuitive: it is a pure calling. It is the return journey to memory as a tribute to the terrain that is baked by the fire, entrusted with the power of design. These four altar vases of extensive size are inspired by the four natural elements: earth, air, fire and water. A tribute to the craft they know well, to the elements that shape. Four altars (in a limited edition of 5 pieces each) host, guard and present the In Aéras massage candle: a tribute, an invitation to contemplation, an initiatory ritual in communion with Mother Nature that nourishes.

The In Aéras massage candle and the limited edition “4 Altars” vases by Roberto Palomba and Ludovica Serafini will be presented during the Salone del Mobile – Milano Design Week 2023 and available for sale in the iconic Rossani Orlandi gallery - a temple of design. 

STIR’s coverage of Milan Design Week 2023 showcases the best exhibitions, studios, designers, installations, brands, and special projects to look out for. Explore Euroluce 2023 and all the design districts—5Vie Art and Design, Brera Design District, Fuorisalone, Isola Design District, Tortona District, and Milano Design District—with us.