They say one of the best ways to discover your calling is to think about everything you truly love — and everything you are capable of bringing into the world. Sometimes, all of those things can become a single story.
I began by thinking about the objects I loved. My grandfather's paintings. Candles. Stories. Fragrances.
Then I thought about what I loved doing. Reading and writing. Sculpting small figures from clay and leftover wax. Watching fire. Painting. Writing by hand.
That evening, I thought about all of it and simply shrugged.
The next morning, I woke up with a complete vision. A candle. Four sides of a glass cube: the artist's painting, the artist's portrait, a carefully chosen quotation, and my brand's logo. I knew the logo had to be in Latin. I couldn't explain why — it simply had to be.
I started searching for Latin expressions about art. The moment I came across In Arte Libertas, I knew I had found its name.
The desire to create this project was so overwhelming that it felt too large to fit inside me.
I called my grandfather. As always, he believed in me. He said he would design the logo himself. A few hours later, he sent me several sketches.
In the end, we chose the third design — a heart with a flame burning inside it.
It was March 2024.
A month later, I received the news that I had been accepted as a cabin crew member in the United Arab Emirates. I had only one month before leaving.
I spent those weeks painting, making candles, and preparing to move from the Czech Republic to the UAE. I took my first seven hand-painted glass cubes with me.
Then came the intensive training, and life became a constant cycle of flights.
The candles travelled with me everywhere — back to the Czech Republic during my holidays, then to the Emirates again, then back to the Czech Republic, and back once more to the Emirates, where I continued experimenting whenever I had the chance.
Different waxes. Different wicks. Different paints. Different fragrances. Every candle had to have its own personality.
Two years later, I returned home. Everything had changed. What remained were the memories, my grandfather's paintings, and the flame he had once lit in the heart of a little girl.
