Isle De Nature: Luxury Candles From The Caribbean To The Berkshires
How do you capture the scent of an island?
That was my leading question to Lynn Power, the Sheffield, Massachusetts resident and creator of Isle de Nature, a line of luxury home fragrance products inspired by the indigenous scents of Dominica, an island in the West Indies.
The answer is both simpler and more involved than you might think. It’s certainly hands on.
“I have a partner, a scent engineer, who has made this into a science,” Power says. “She actually went down to Dominica for an exploratory visit, where she collected samples of flowers, plants and scents from the island. She then crafted eight different versions for us try.”
That was phase one. Power continues, “Then we took another trip and brought those eight scents and did a whole scent ‘exploratory.’ It was literally, does this smell like the island?” If the fragrance, called Pagua Bay, does – and I believe her — I’d like to go there someday.
Isle de Nature launched its first product, a luxury candle in that signature scent. Essence of bay tree oil is combined with native spices, florals and woods. The scent is blended into beeswax from the company’s own hives in Dominica, created by bees that that nurture and are nurtured by the island’s flowering plants. Because the bees haven’t been introduced to any pesticides, the wax is as pure as you can get, Power says. The slow-burning candle is presented in a translucent ceramic vessel — handmade in Brooklyn — that reveals a delicate honeycomb pattern when lit.
The second fragrance, just released, is Marigot Honey, also inspired by Dominica. While it has that signature bay oil base, this fragrance offers a honey scent. Less woodsy than Pagua Bay, it smells, Power says, “like you’re in our hive with the beeswax.”
But written descriptions can only go so far, right? Isle de Nature knows this, and brilliantly offers a scent coin in each of the fragrances, allowing customers to sample the scents and use the discs as a room, car, or drawer sachet.
Power was inspired to create these fragrances when visiting friends in Dominica. Struck by the untouched natural beauty of the island, she wanted to create a product that would celebrate nature and create a luxury product that gives back. Isle de Nature’s mission is one of sustainability. To that end, it has pledged to support the bee population in Dominica, which was decimated by Hurricane Maria. Each purchase of Isle de Nature helps the company build more hives on the island.
Familiarity with the beauty industry and creating pure, sustainable products isn't anything new for Power. Formerly CEO of J. Walter Thompson in New York, she’s worked on global beauty brands including Clinique, L’Oreal, Nexxus and St. Ives. She also CEO of Masami, a line of botanical hair products. The launch of Isle de Nature, though, coincided with her decision to sell her New York apartment and move with her husband and two kids to their house in Sheffield, where they’d been weekenders for 18 years. When COVID hit, both of her young-adult children were attending Bard College at Simon’s Rock in Great Barrington.
“It was a combination of lifestyle choice and our kids’ situations,” Power says. It was the perfect time and place to headquarter the business here. The Berkshires offer the right environment (Isle de Nature will also start beekeeping in the Berkshires) and with the kids at home right now, it’s become somewhat of a family industry. Power has put her son and daughter to work pouring candles and packaging.
As its website states, Isle de Nature was born out of the recognition that today, unspoiled nature is a luxury, and so are its products. The candles, with their double cotton wicks and 40-hour burn time, are $125, the scent coins $20. They are nontoxic, burn cleaner than lesser brands, and profits from their sales go to help build the ecosystem in Dominica. It’s a goal of Power’s to get the cost of goods down, but in the meantime, she has plans to launch a multipack of votives to offer more accessible price points. Currently the candles are available at several boutiques across the country, but most of their sales come through the Isle de Nature website.
“Once we get the honey scent out there, we may explore a different Caribbean island and extend our product line that way,” says Power. “But for now, we want people to enjoy the scents, relax, and let them transport you to Dominica.”
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