A Home Fragrance Journey
It is not at all an astonishing genius idea for a young company to make scented candles, with whatever exciting and wonderful fragrance that might vaporise into space…after all, our idea was to make fragrances and candles that make sense. We wanted to make fragrances to which you can say “you love it or hate it” rather than “pleases me” with a headache as a result. The fragrance should become an additional sensory dimension to a room, we wanted to create a series of fragrances that could enhance a particular spatial feeling and a memorable ambience in a contemporary home.
It all started in Munich, Germany, the home of the perfume company Drom. It was the place where we found this passion and understanding, which is what we think most important when truly outstanding and unforgettable fragrances should transform a dream and a vision to reality. Carsten Jörgensens ideas and imagination, written down in a fragrance briefing, inspired and fascinated the perfumers at Drom immediately and fitted perfectly to the creativity-driven philosophy of Drom. The foundation was build up in this perfect matching combination. « Freedom, independence, curiosity, passion, love and fun, a unique mixture that keeps that extraordinary spirit of drom alive.” is how they describe their core beliefs. No more words are needed why they are the perfect partner for our project. After years in the fragrance business, we have simply grown tired of the millions of cheap mustard-glass-candles with or without golden prints. We wanted to make candles and diffusers with a modern and literary approach to scents with a design, which in all its sensitive simplicity would last for decades and become the reminder of extraordinary emotional moments.
Our homescent journey took us to Portugal, where Vista Alegre is situated,a prestigious glassworks which produces luxury glass since 1824 and is keeping a heritage of superb craftsmanship alive. Carsten Jörgensen asked the glassblowers to help him to realize his idea of a glass object named FLAMBEAUX. The result is a 600 g heavy solid flint-glass candleholder providing an excellent optical refraction similar to optical lenses. A candleholder that is made to stay!
Another way of thinking Design, which is made to stay,means in practical terms, to consider an alternative solution to mass market room fragrance candles, that meant to us to develop replacement candles that fit exactly in the luxury Flambeaux candleholder, and prevents you from throwing out your candleholder after the candle extinguished. With an innovative way of casting refill candles, which was a long and bumpy road with hundreds of tests and with blood, sweat and tears, we are finally more than happy to be able to make a small contribution to our shared environment with the FLAMBEAUX REFILL CANDLES.
The majority of our products are made in Europe since it is where we found the right people making that extraordinary quality that is madetostay. But it doesn’t exclude other areas of the world as we want to keep excellent craftsmanship and creativity alive. Carsten found himself standing in the middle of nowhere in a Chinese glass factory, but actually, it is not a nowhere place, it is right in the middle of a region where glassmaking has been done for uncountable generations. This is where madetostay produces the double-walled candle-holder LUMINA SENTIRE simply because there are no other places in the world where excellent double-walled glass can be done better.Therefore, we are proud to say that Lumina Sentire respectfully owes its heritage to a Chinese craftsman, which, beyond being a teacup, has its practical and functional attributes as a candleholder.
But what about the candles for these madetostay handcrafted objects ?
They are made in France outside the city of Metz in the Grand Est region ,where we met the Procado candle makers. They have been making candles in their workshop for years. Finding the right people to blend wax in a way that releases the full potential of a perfumer’s creations,with a formula that balances fragrance, ecology and poetic candlelight comes close to an alchemistic wonder. For our candles we use a composition of natural Sunflower (Helianthus annuus) wax and soy wax, with the main approach to avoid the use of paraffin, except for our Refill candles, where there was no other solution for pouring them out of silicone moulds developped especially for this production process. We had to learn to slow our pace and give the candlemakers the time they need to follow all of the necessary steps so that the candles are blended correctly and ensure an even scent throw, a clean burn and a beautiful presented candle. Creating a perfect scented candle, from wax to wick really is a long jouney.
To establish a real home fragrance collection with not only candles took us back to Portugal, where we explored the Portuguese way of making faience or what they call white clay ceramic as the tradition of faience-making goes a long way back in Portugal. The HOBITAT faience Scent-Vase designed by Carsten Jörgensen is produced by the ceramic workshop Jomazé. The idea was to produce a playful object with an ironic reference to the colourful 1980s Italian design movement Memphis…paying homage to those designers who put a liveable artistic and aesthetic spirit into the design and turned all functionalism.
Hobitat is not only available in colourful faience but also in the wonderful Freixo Negro wood – or translated from Portuguese – Black Ash wood. Carsten had the original idea that Hobitat not only should be made in one material but that it should be possible to combine form – colour – materials such as wood, brass and glass and finally add scent to awaken all our senses. When visiting the Jomazé workshop, Carsten brought up this idea, and it did not take long before the name “Ferreiras e Marcelino” was mentioned, and we were on our way. Already by the entrance we could smell wood and, on our way through the turnery, where the warm wood shavings were spat out from the chisels releasing a pleasant perfume… we knew that we have come to the right place, HOBITAT WOOD was born…
Last but not least, we thought it was time to develop a new, different approach to contemporary scent sticks. We wanted them to release exactly the sensational pleasure created by the perfumers, but without all the practical hazards of traditional rattan reed diffusers. The solution we found, together with the Professionals at Swif in Germany, are the MIKADO SCENT STICKS, already-scented PET fibre sticks. Five fragrant sticks, in an airtight folio bag that retains the original fragrance in the reeds until the day you unpack it and place it in your scent vase. No more spilled liquids on the floor, no unappealing clogged and dusty brownish reeds.
Finally, to pay our highest respect to the careful and compassionate produced madetostay design objects, we decided to pay the same respect to the packages in which they will be presented to the world. It was a long journey itself, the graphic design and the development of the boxes took us to different places until we could find the right partners. All our packages are produced in Germany. The company we work with has a very long tradition in the production of luxury packaging and is today one of the leading European companies in this sector. We try to avoid using plastic or cellophane wrapping whenever possible, in respect of our environment. Our high-quality fragrances are long-lasting and durable, so there is no need to use plastic for preservation.
Quality and timeless design that performs equally well as a center piece of attention or as a reliable friend in the background. madetostay makes companions for life.
Kirsten Henkel June 15, 2020
