OUR STORY
Our Why
Some moments ask for more than words.
A loss. A beginning. A memory that returns without warning. A gift chosen because the occasion deserves something more considered.
A candle cannot change what has happened. But it can mark a moment, hold our attention, and give us a reason to pause before moving on.
That is the space Set Forth NY® was made for.
We create candles for reflection, remembrance, meaningful gifting, and the moments that stay with us long after they have passed.
A candle is not the light.
You are.
We simply light it with you.
FOUNDER
Karen Arcilla
Before Set Forth NY had a name, there was a candle lit for my mother.
After I lost her in 2021, everything felt dark. I would light a candle for her, even in daylight, and stare at the flame. For a time, it was the only light I could see.
Later, a friend sent me candles for my mother. Receiving them brought one thought clearly into view: I wanted to make the candles I lit for her myself.
That thought became the first pour.
Set Forth NY grew from there, carrying the meaning of that first candle into everything we create.
My mother will always be where this story begins.
CO-FOUNDER
Renata Rads
I have started over more than once.
I have lived through loss and illness. I moved to a new country and rebuilt my life without knowing what would come next. None of those beginnings felt brave while I was living them. They felt necessary.
That is why the meaning of Set Forth NY is personal to me. Life does not always wait until we feel ready. Sometimes we are standing between what has ended and what has not yet taken shape, and the only thing we can do is take the next step.
Set Forth NY gives that moment a place. Not the polished version of starting over, but the real one: uncertain, unfinished, and still worth beginning.
