Noblesse Luxe Publication
Feature Article
Christi Meshell of the House of Matriarch
EXCLUSIVE Valentine's Day Interview!
I remember my first email to Christi Meshell, Award-winning natural perfumer. That was several years ago. Since that time, Christi, the owner of House of Matriarch is reaching the pedestal of success with expansion of perfume collections and being the only natural perfumery in a major retail like Nordstrom speaks volume for the niche perfumery category.
Christi Meshell's response to perfume and life when I speak with her is always on her own merits...non-confrontation, always positive and always with a loving spirit.
I can see why success follows Christi and why I am so blessed to have known her. The House of Matriarch is going worldwide. I just know it and I felt on Valentine's Day, Christi is the perfect example of love, peace, persistent and what it takes to be successful in the fragrance industry.
The House of Matriarch collections are a true work of art from a divine goddess with no formal training! How is this possible? Christi says it comes from within and it all started with sacred candle making.
Meet Christi Meshell, the creator of the magical House of Matriarch!
How did you get started in perfumery?
It’s difficult to pinpoint an actual “start” point. Seven years ago, I made my debut as a Perfumer and established House of Matriarch with the release of MATRIARCH, but that was far from the beginning. Sacred candle making was my specialty in those days, and I composed the blends for my candles according to the energetic correspondences for the candle’s purpose. My candles were popular and I was starting to get a lot of special orders Then the wax started getting in my way – it was the natural essences and blending them to synergize their properties that I was passionate about.
Sometimes I feel as if I “snuck in through the back door” because I have zero training –no classical training or study with any other Perfumers, and no previous experience in the beauty industry. The essences themselves brought me to this place and have been my teachers. I’m not beholden to the ideologies of the industry, I’m “doing it wrong” and from a creative perspective, that seems to be working.
Why do you like about
natural perfumery?
What I cherish are the personal relationships I have built with each individual essence. There is an intimacy that I enjoy with each extract in and of itself. Many of these relationships began early in my life, as I learned a lot about plants and herbs from my mother who owned a health food store and created her own tinctures. This appreciation of what each essence can uniquely offer to a blend inspires my ability to predict how they will effect a composition, and what amount is just right to produce the desired effect without drawing too much attention to the individual note.
How would you describe The House of Matriarch?
Magical – mysterious and relevant.
Christi, how do you stay
competitive with so many perfumes being launched yearly in the Fragrance
industry?
Every advantage that HoM enjoys stems from our small size an artisan nature. HoM is not competing with anyone - I don’t even “sniff out” the competition. When you view fragrance making as an art form, then any competitiveness dissolves. I’m all about nontraditional fragrance composition, using my own perfume organ that I have built myself over the years. Inspirations can be brought to fruition quickly and since we are small batch, we can afford to take bigger risks with unordinary notes that have outstanding effects. For instance, Forbidden’s wonderful top note of wormwood, and the accord of bitter herbs like dong quai and henna found in Bittersweet Symphony.
5.
How did the partnership
with you and Nordstrom come about?
The relationship with Nordstrom began when I created a bespoke perfume for one of the executives. She was passionate about natural fragrances and she suggested our brand to the Nordstrom beauty team. They requested a meeting and from there we began the year long process of becoming “retail ready”.
6.
House of Matriarch is an online perfumery. Do you have the desire to open a
brick and mortar?
Not just yet, but it could happen in the future. We just invested in a pop-up store setup, this year I hope to do a few pop up’s across the US.
The packaging for House of Matriarch products is
exquisite! What inspires you to come up
with such beautiful ideas?
Everything is created in layers - sacred geometry, symbology, and the alchemical properties of the materials we create our perfumes with are an endless source of inspiration and are all equally represented in the layering. I worked closely with Tim Girvin and Michael Kennedy at Girvin Design in Seattle to bring the vision I held for the packaging into manifestation. They have been with me every step of the way, from our early “BrandQuest” sessions I have been blessed to have their influence and magic touch on the House of Matriarch brand.
Lastly, what are your
hopes and dreams for the House of Matriarch in the near future?
I try not to “project” too much onto the future, and don’t pretend to know where this is all going If I had done that in the beginning, I would have seriously limited the potential of my ability to create and the brand. I’ll just keep taking risk after risk to create things that make my heart sing and hope to enjoy the ride, savoring each moment of this incredible journey. In 2017 I hope to find a good business manager so that I can devote more time to the creative side - as the business has grown, executive duties have been encroaching on the time and energy I have available for "dabbling" at my organ and diving into concepts that I want to explore for future releases.
Many thanks to Christi for this valuable interview. It comes straight from the heart and it shows in every bottle created.
Christi ended the interview with a red heart. This wasn't just for Valentine's Day. I always get my email responses with Christi ending with a symbol of love. See for Christi it just comes naturally.
-Felicia M. Hazzard
Publisher & Editor-in-Chief
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