Finding Your Flame: How Abhishree Vairagade Turned Art, Emotion and Ritual into Aethearia

Abhishree Vairagade’s journey into entrepreneurship began with art, which taught her to notice what sits beneath the surface: emotion, detail and the story behind an object. Over time, that habit grew into a curiosity about how surroundings can shape the way people feel. Candle making became where art, sensory experience and emotional wellbeing came together, eventually giving birth to Aethearia and its central philosophy, “Find Your Flame.”

The idea came from noticing how wellness was becoming something people scheduled and tracked, rather than something they actually experienced. Abhishree wanted to bring it back into ordinary moments through something intuitive and beautiful. A small sensory ritual, repeated each day, could create space to pause, reconnect and become more present.

Aethearia is a sensory wellness and luxury lifestyle brand built around fragrance, design, craftsmanship and the timeless symbolism of fire. Its philosophy begins with one question: “How do I want to feel today?” Calm, clarity, creativity, energy or simply a sense of self can each become a different kind of flame. Every product begins with an emotion rather than a scent.

Fire carries deep symbolism across human civilisation and Indian culture, associated with energy, transformation, consciousness and connection. Abhishree wanted to bring that symbolism into contemporary life through experiences that feel personal rather than prescriptive. For her, mental wellness can exist in small moments when people slow down and become present. A fragrance can bring back a memory, a flame can create stillness, and a familiar ritual can shift the mind from one state to another.

This also changes the way Aethearia sees the candle itself. It is not simply an object for fragrance or décor, but a sensory trigger and a small ritual of intention. The brand works with 100% essential oils and natural soy wax, with the scent, form, visual language and experience shaped around the feeling it is meant to create.

Building a product around an intangible idea like emotional wellbeing has been one of Abhishree’s biggest challenges. It requires thought across fragrance, materials, design and storytelling, while keeping the larger idea intact. Her ambition is now to take Aethearia beyond candles into personal rituals, luxury spaces, hospitality, wellness environments and corporate experiences.

At its core, Aethearia is being created for people who have access to almost everything but increasingly care about how those things make them feel. Abhishree’s belief is simple: “Find what you believe in, find your flame, and have the patience to build it well.”