How the Summer Collection Got Built

The summer collection gets planned about a year out. Sometimes longer. By the time June arrives and the scents are poured and labelled and live on the site, I have been living with them for months.

This year I wanted a tomato vine. I tested it repeatedly and it kept coming out too citrusy. Bright and sharp when what I wanted was green and warm and exactly like putting your face into a tomato plant on a hot afternoon. I could not get it there. I ended up with cucumber vine, mint, and fresh turned soil instead. Garden Centre is amazing and earthy and fresh, but I still think about the tomato.

Swirls was never in question. I have been looking for the right soft serve and waffle cone blend for a few years. Something that smells like actual ice cream and not like a candle trying to smell like ice cream. This year it finally came together.

Storm Clouds surprised me completely. I don't usually work with florals. They tend to get heady and overwhelming and make me want to get out of a room, and I don't have much patience for that. Hyacinth is different. It smells like cold air and rain coming in. Green and cool and slightly ominous in a way I didn't expect to love as much as I do.

That is how my summer collection got built. Slowly, with a lot of testing, a good decision a near miss and one thing that caught me off guard.