Meet The Maker: SOH
This week we got to chat to Kristine - one half of the talented couple behind Melbourne based fragrance house Scent of Home (SOH).
Founded by Kristine and her husband Nathan in 2013, their scented candles are carefully crafted to allow the center piece of each fragrance to shine through. Less is more.
“Our focus has always been on creating fragrances that are clean & fresh and not overloaded with hundreds of ingredients. If we used a hero in a fragrance like orange blossom, we want it to be defined and thus give an amazing scent throw.”
Kristine was brought up with candles being part of her everyday life and an early introduction to perfume sparked what was to be her true passion.
“Since I can remember I have always loved Candles, its in my blood. My mother always had a candle burning - whether to relax or on the dinner table, and my Grandmother was making candles back in Denmark.”
“My Dad bought me my first perfume back when I was 11 and I can still remember the exact moment I smelt the fragrance and was instantly hooked. I loved the way it made me feel and how the light floral fragrance seemed to float around in me while I wore it. From then on I would save my pocket money to buy candles or a perfume and what began as a past time soon took over me and became all I ever researched and searched for. Even our holidays would be near fragrance houses or fields of flowers just to learn that little bit more.”
The origins of SOH started, as the name would suggest, when Kristine’s love of fragrances and candles led the couple to begin making scented candles in their kitchen.
“Our home forever smelt of Fig, Berries, Anise, Gardenia, Tuberose. When our friends would request a candle they would ask for the candle that smelt like our house. By default, we ended up being ‘Scent of Home’.”
Inspired by the celebration of Australian ingredients and places and the use of age old methods to produce world-class fragrances, the couple have come a long way from experimenting in their kitchen. However, the importance of artisanal techniques and maintaining the craft of hand-made products is still at the core of their candle making.
“Nathan & I started our Journey in 2012 when we began to research not only the technical side of our industry, but also how to create a vessel and packaging that stood out from the crowd. We wanted a product that no one else had. What we came up with was all hand-made.”
“In the age of machinery and mass production, we battle against production time lines and the cost to produce such a beautiful candle, but every bit of it is worth it. When you receive a SOH candle, the glass has been made and polished by hand, the wick has been secured by hand and the wax is poured to the top of the curve in the glass before being hand-picked, polished and secured in a box that is then hand wrapped with care.”
For Kristine and Nathan, it is all about a personal touch and ensuring quality right down to the slightest detail.
What started as a passion for fragrances and candle making has led Kristine into an industry where she has had the opportunity to travel the world and rub shoulders with some truly inspiring individuals.
“To sit down and create fragrances with a 5th generation perfumer born in Grasse and to meet farmers growing soy beans is consistently invigorating as we are all passionate about what we do. It’s a contagious energy that inspires you to keep current and fresh. I truly love what I do and an added bonus is that I get to share this with my husband who I love working with, and whom without I would be lost!”
We are all influenced by our surroundings and the place we call home, and for Kristine and Nathan, their love of Melbourne is reflected in their fragrances and designs.
“Melbourne is a melting pot of design and creation. With so many weather variants in Melbourne our collections represent the best parts - Autumn - the season where it’s still possible to eat outside but at the same time rug up in front of a fire with a bottle of Red.”
The term power couple is on the verge of becoming clichéd but in the case of Kristine and Nathan, they are the real thing. Not only are they running a successful candle business but they are expecting baby number four!!
“Our down time at the moment is definitely enjoying the calm before the storm- not that having three kids is calm! My 1-year-old is currently next to me watching Fireman Sam on our iPad, thank god for ABC kids!!”
As with every Meet the Maker blog post, we want to know the makers favourite scent, so here it is…
“This is a hard one! My favourite scent presently is Verdant. It’s burning in nearly every room in our house, clearly obsessed.”
Thanks so much for your time Kristine. Shop the full SOH range here
