A beeswax candle hand-shaped in the form of Garumon — the beloved 1960s Japanese kaiju from the original Ultra Q series, a monster that became one of the most affectionately remembered creatures in Japanese tokusatsu history. The original Garumon was lumpy, knobby, and quietly unsettling in a way that read as more confused than menacing. Photerian's version captures all of it.
The "Softy" edition is a textural variant — pillowy and irregular where the standard Garumon is more defined, with the same craggy carbuncled silhouette translated into something softer, almost gummy. Every Softy Garumon arrives in its own colorway — hand-applied, never repeated, never planned. No two pieces share the same combination of color, mottling, or shading. The candle is made entirely from 100% beeswax, hand-shaped in the Lower East Side by Keetja Allard, who has built Photerian into one of the most singular sculptural candle practices in New York.
Each piece is one of a kind. The piece you receive will not look exactly like the one pictured.
WHY IT'S SPECIAL
- A piece by Keetja Allard, the artist behind Photerian — handmade in her Lower East Side studio, where she has been sculpting beeswax candles into kaiju, owls, lions, poodles, and other increasingly devoted obsessions for years.
- Garumon as subject: a deep cut from Japanese pop culture — the original Ultra Q monster from 1966, beloved for being more peculiar than scary. Recognizable on sight to anyone who grew up with Showa-era tokusatsu, mysterious and wonderful to anyone who didn't.
- 100% beeswax: hand-poured and hand-shaped, with the natural honeyed scent of pure beeswax that comes through faintly when burned. No synthetic fragrance, no dyes hidden in the wax.
- The "Softy" edition: a textural variant of the standard Garumon — softer, more pillowy, almost edible-looking.
- Each one is unique in color: every Softy Garumon is hand-painted in its own palette. No two are the same.
- A piece that can be burned or kept as sculpture — most collectors choose the latter.
DETAILS
- Material: 100% beeswax
- Approx. 6" tall - 2.5" large
- Hand-shaped, hand-painted; each piece one-of-a-kind in color and finish
- Unscented (natural honey notes from the beeswax itself)
- Made in New York City by Photerian / Keetja Allard
- Fragile — handle with care
- The piece you receive will vary in color from the example shown
THE BRAND
Photerian is the candle practice of Keetja Allard, working from a studio in the Lower East Side of New York. The work began with a candlemaker's eye and a collector's obsession — Allard collects odd vintage candles alongside making her own — and has grown into a body of sculptural beeswax pieces shaped around recurring characters: kaiju, owls, lions, poodles. Each piece is hand-shaped, hand-finished, and one-of-a-kind. Photerian has been one of Takamichi Beauty Room's most beloved artists for years.
