For the Eight Nights
Modern Wooden Menorahs
A menorah comes out for eight nights. A good one earns its place the other 357.
Our handmade Hanukkah menorahs are built one at a time in our Alabama studio, from quiet solid hardwoods to remarkable burls and figured woods. Some disappear into a room. Others were never meant to.
From $175.
Hey Jude - a luxury menorah
Handmade wooden menorahs, many ways
Handmade wooden menorahs in a range of forms, from quiet and minimal to sculptural and mid-century inspired.
Modern Handmade Menorah: East of the Sun
Nine lights stretched across a low, sculptural form. Solid hardwood, clean lines, and a shamash that rises just enough to stand apart.
Ambrosia Maple · Birdseye Maple · Black Limba · Cherry · Dark Oak · Dark Mahogany · Mahogany · Maple · Walnut · White Oak
$189.00
View Modern Handmade Menorah: East of the Sun →
Contemporary Menorah – Stand By Me
Nine lights, three pieces, one clean composition. Warm walnut, pale maple, and solid copper, built to stand apart.
$195.00
View Contemporary Menorah – Stand By Me →
Solid Burl Menorah – I’m Into Something Good
Solid Mappa burl, without the spectacle. Smaller, quieter, and made for someone who wants the wood to do the talking.
$185.00
View Solid Burl Menorah – I’m Into Something Good →
Modern Wood Menorah – Shine a Light | Minimalist Hanukkah Decor
Padauk · Purpleheart · Ambrosia Maple · Walnut
$185.00
View Modern Wood Menorah – Shine a Light | Minimalist Hanukkah Decor →
Farmhouse Menorah | Reclaimed Heart Pine
$215.00
View Farmhouse Menorah | Reclaimed Heart Pine →
Unique Menorah - Piece of My Heart - by Asha
From $175.00
View Unique Menorah - Piece of My Heart - by Asha →
Luxury Menorah Mappa Burl Limited Edition
Solid Mappa burl with chatoyance, signed and numbered. We look at fifty pieces to find one worth this design.
$395.00
View Luxury Menorah Mappa Burl Limited Edition →
Designer Menorah in Burl Wood Veneer – Hey Jude
From $255.00
View Designer Menorah in Burl Wood Veneer – Hey Jude →
The Structure
The Nine Lights of a Hanukkah Menorah
A Hanukkah menorah holds nine lights: eight for the eight nights, plus the shamash, the ninth candle used to light the others.
On ours, generally, the eight sit level and evenly spaced. The shamash sits at the center in a taller cup, standing above them without breaking the line. That structure is where every design starts. Everything else comes after it.
Typical candle cup layout
- Eight lightsOne for each night of Hanukkah. On our pieces they sit level and evenly spaced.
- The shamashThe ninth light, used to kindle the other eight. Ours sits in a taller cup at the centre, so it stands above them.
- Nine light positionsEight nights plus the shamash. Nine in all, on every menorah we make.
- Metal candle cupsBrass, nickel or copper depending on the piece, fitted by hand and sized for standard Hanukkah candles.
The Hanukkah menorah is also called a chanukiah, sometimes written hanukiah. It is a different object from the seven-branch menorah associated with the ancient Temple, which is where the two most often get confused. You will also see nine-branch menorah used as a general term, though many modern designs, ours included, have no branches at all.
Asha shaping a wooden menorah (mahogany) body at the bench in the Dovetails and Stitches studio
The Maker
Handmade by Asha. One at a Time.
Asha designs and makes every menorah you see. Each handmade Hanukkah menorah passes through her hands from the first cut to the final coat of finish, one at a time, in our studio just outside Birmingham, Alabama.
It usually starts with the board.
Asha looks at the grain, the color, the figure, and the imperfections before deciding which design it should become. A quiet, straight-grained board can carry a cleaner design. A wild, heavily figured burl calls for something else entirely. Sometimes the choice is obvious. Sometimes a board sits in the studio for a while before the answer shows up.
Only then does she make the first cut.
From there, making a handmade menorah is a succession of small decisions. Where the grain should run. How much material to take away. Where the nine candle cups should sit. When another pass with the sandpaper will make the surface better, and when it is time to leave it alone.
Then the finish goes on, and the wood changes again. Walnut deepens. Figure comes forward. Grain that was easy to miss in a rough board can suddenly become the thing you notice first.
That is also why two menorahs of the same design will never be quite identical. The dimensions may be the same. The hands making them are the same. The wood never is. In a handmade wood menorah, that variation isn't something to work around. It's part of what makes each one worth making.
Signature Series
Some wood only comes around once.
Most wood that comes into our studio has a future we can already imagine. A table. A knife block. A run of menorahs.
And then there are the boards that stop us in our tracks.
A burl with figure running in every direction. Color or movement we know we may never find again. Wood too unusual to turn into something we plan to make the same way next year. We set those pieces aside.
Eventually, the right one becomes a Signature Series menorah. These are our one-of-a-kind wooden menorahs, made only when the material gives us a reason to make one. Many begin with rare burls or highly figured woods. Each is a unique menorah in the most literal sense: the wood itself cannot be repeated.
Some years we find the right wood. Some years we don't make the Signature Series at all.
Signed and numbered by Asha
Made to Order
Looking for a Custom Menorah?
Most people find theirs in the collection above. Some don't. That's usually where a custom piece begins.
A custom menorah usually starts with something specific: a wood we don't normally stock, a size that has to fit a particular sill or shelf, proportions that sit better in your room, or an idea nobody has asked us for yet.
It's also how a personalized menorah gets made for an occasion — a wedding, a new home, a first Hanukkah together. Tell us what it's for and we'll design around it.
The nine light positions stay as they are. Everything around them is open.
A custom menorah in progress. Walnut on the bench, nine cups waiting, and the design still taking shape.
The Dovetails Standard
What leaves our shop carries our name.
We build in small numbers, answer our own email, and put our hands on every piece before it leaves. These are the standards we hold ourselves to, no matter what we're making.
The wood is what we say it is.
Most of our menorahs begin with solid hardwood or solid burl. Occasionally, the right material is a remarkable figured veneer over a solid hardwood core. When it is, we say so.
Nine lights, every time
Eight lights level and evenly spaced, and a shamash that sits above them in a taller cup. That structure doesn't change, whatever the design does.
Finished to last
Sanded past the point of looking done, then a hand-applied finish you can refresh at home.
Repairable, not disposable
Solid wood can be sanded and refinished for decades, which is most of what makes an heirloom menorah possible. If a piece ever needs attention, send it back and we'll refresh it.
BEFORE THE FIRST NIGHT
A few things worth knowing before you choose yours.
A menorah is a simple object until you start choosing one. Then come the questions. What size candles does it take? Will the wood look exactly like the photograph? What happens when wax gets on it? Can we make one in a different wood?
Those are good questions, especially for something you may bring out every Hanukkah for decades. Here is what we would want to know before choosing one ourselves.
What's the difference between a menorah, a Hanukkah menorah and a chanukiah?
In everyday English, “menorah” is commonly used for the one lit during Hanukkah. More precisely, it is a Hanukkah menorah, or chanukiah in Hebrew. You may also see it spelled hanukiah, or called a Chanukah menorah. Whatever the spelling, the Hanukkah version has nine lights.
The seven-branched menorah associated with the ancient Temple is a different object, which is where some of the confusion comes from. You'll also see nine-branch menorah used to describe the Hanukkah form, although many modern menorahs, including ours, don't have branches at all.
How many candles does a Hanukkah menorah hold?
Nine: one for each of the eight nights, plus the shamash, the ninth candle used to light the others.
On the first night, one Hanukkah candle is lit, using the shamash. Another is added each night until all eight are lit on the final night. Every menorah we make has nine candle positions, sized for standard Hanukkah candles. Candles are not included.
Are wooden menorahs safe to light?
Our wooden menorahs are designed to be used with real Hanukkah candles. Every candle sits in a metal cup - brass, nickel or copper depending on the design, rather than directly against the wood.
As with any burning candle, place your menorah on a stable, heat-resistant surface away from curtains and other flammable materials, and never leave it burning unattended.
How do you get candle wax off a wooden menorah?
Let it harden completely first. Most of it lifts straight out of the cup in one piece, and anything left comes away with warm water and a soft cloth. Avoid metal scrapers and anything abrasive on the wood itself.
Are your menorahs one of a kind?
No two are identical, because no two boards are. Two menorahs of the same design share their dimensions, not their grain.
Our Signature Series goes further. Those are made only when a rare burl or unusually figured wood turns up. A unique menorah from that series isn't something we could repeat even if we wanted to.
How do I choose the right menorah?
Start with where it will live. A mantel, windowsill and dining table each give you a different amount of room. Every product page lists the dimensions, so check the space first.
After that, choose the one you want to look at. Quiet walnut, lighter maple or oak, reclaimed wood with a history, or a burl that was never going to disappear into the room.
If you want the longer version, we wrote one: How to Choose a Menorah →
Will it arrive in time for Hanukkah?
Each fall, Asha starts building our Hanukkah inventory, one menorah at a time. If a piece shows in stock and you order a couple of weeks before Hanukkah, it should arrive in plenty of time.
Most orders ship by UPS, which publishes its holiday shipping cutoffs each year. As Hanukkah gets closer, those dates matter more, so we recommend ordering earlier when you can.
We also generally sell out of menorahs each year. If you have your eye on a particular piece, it is worth keeping that in mind rather than waiting until the last week or two.
If the menorah you want is sold out, or you're thinking about a custom piece, email us before ordering. We'll tell you what Asha has on the bench, what she can realistically finish, and whether we can get it to you in time.
Does a menorah make a good gift?
Yes. Roughly 40% of the menorahs we sell are gifts. We know because customers often ask us to ship them directly to the person receiving them, usually with a card tucked inside. We're happy to do that.
It makes sense. A menorah is one of the few gifts that comes back out every year, which is why people tend to remember who gave it. A wedding. A new home. A first Hanukkah together. Or simply a piece someone may one day pass along to somebody else.
If you're not sure which one to choose, our Menorah Gift Guide walks through the collection by occasion, style and budget.
Complimentary shipping
Included on every order.
Built in Alabama
Made in our studio, not sent out to a factory.
Made one at a time
The hands that build it are the hands that pack it.
Questions? Ask us
You'll hear back from the people who make the piece.