For those who usually light a candle

Candles have always been at the center of Light Provisions. They ask you to slow down for an evening, while incense asks for a little less. Ten minutes while the coffee brews, twenty while you’re reading. Long enough to reset a room, or convince yourself you’re about to become someone who meditates every morning (no promises.)

If your first thought is, "I don’t like incense", there’s a decent chance you’re remembering the cloud of Nag Champa from someone’s college apartment.

The incense we’ve brought into the shop is a different experience, made in Japan with aromatic woods, plant materials, resins, and essential oils that stay remarkably true to the materials themselves.

A candle fills a room gradually, while incense is shorter and more direct, offering a clearer sense of sandalwood, hinoki, cedar, or camphor.

The Japanese call this monkō, or listening to fragrance. A few minutes of attention, long enough to notice what’s burning, how it changes, and what it leaves behind.

To help you give it a try, enjoy 15% off all full-size incense and incense holders with code FIRSTBURN15 through Tuesday 7/7.

minimum $10

Start with the length of the pause:

About 10 Minutes

HIBI incense matches are the simplest introduction. Strike one against the side of the box, let the flame settle, and place it on the included felt mat.

No separate lighter or holder is needed. Use one before guests arrive, after cooking, or whenever you want to reset a room without lighting a full candle.

Available in Japanese Cypress or Cedarwood

Place the incense match on its included felt mat, then set it inside one of our reclaimed bottle-glass dishes to catch the ash as it burns.

About 20 to 30 minutes

Kousaido’s Japanese wood incense offers a longer, more traditional burn.

Waboku is available in soft Hinoki cypress and cooler, greener Kusunoki. The Natural Premium series moves deeper, with Japanese Red Pine and smoky, resinous Guaiac Wood (my personal favorite)

These are wood-centered fragrances rather than perfume-heavy blends, making them a comfortable starting point for many LP customers.

Give the ash somewhere good to land

Our incense holders and dishes are made from materials with a previous life.

The IYÉ Square Holder is handmade in Japan from recycled glass recovered from old televisions and monitors. Reclaimed bottle-glass dishes are made here in Colorado Springs from wine and liquor bottles saved by local restaurants, bars, and neighbors.

Together, they create a stable, simple setup that can remain on a shelf or tray between burns.