The Story of Our Incense

   It took us quite a long time to figure out what was to be considered our cup of tea. After many

years of two friends meandering about from campground to state park, music festival to tea

house, we finally landed on the ancient art of incense. This journey has been a long one, but not

one which we don't reflect on everyday. Our quest for honing in on the importance of the

senses began early. Soon after beginning college, we attended our first music festival; The

Peach in Scranton, Pa. That opened our eyes to the beauty of music. A psychedelic and spiritual

wanderlust began. Throughout the ensuing years, we attended many festivals and camping

trips both here in the US and abroad. Somewhere along the way, a third member joined the mix.

The three of us; Brady, Steve, and Wade decided to create something to help ourselves first and foremost.

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   Incense was always a mainstay at our campsite and soon thereafter in our everyday lives. There wasn't a day when at least a cluster of sticks wasn't burned. Our travels began to be focused around incense. Traveling to the deserts for indigenous incense, the Pacific Northwest for the classics, and Kyoto, Japan for the ancient types are only a few. Despite our travels, we still lacked a daily burning incense that was cost-effective, natural, and foremost; kind to the senses! After years of searching for this "goldilocks" incense, we finally found it. The maker of said incense is now a friend and mentor of ours. Karen of Holland Candle in Holland, Michigan had mastered the art of an affordable, clean burning incense for everyone. We supported her as customers for several years before she decided to enjoy a life of retirement. Before trailing off to that journey though, she bestowed upon us her tenured knowledge of the craft. After some training and advice, we were out on our own to produce our own incense.

    This wasn't a business venture in the slightest, but rather a quest to have our own supply. Even more importantly, we knew where it was coming from and how it was made! After months of experimenting with oil blends and scents, we found the ratios that worked for us. Our friends and family loved the smooth nature of our newfound incense, and asked to patronize it. We began to supply it for them and others. That began a journey into a business we never planned on starting. Our incense spread faster than the smoke it emitted. Friends led to others, and others led to music festivals and craft festivals. The word continues to spread! 

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    Perhaps you'd like to know a bit about the hands that are making the incense you burn? If so, read onward! Two best friends, Brady and Steve, are the two folks spearheading this journey together with their friends and families. Steve is a former funeral home director turned medicinal marijuana growing technician who has a deep passion for music and sensory depth. Steve has a profound mindset of efficiency and production, which has guided him through his career path thus far. With that experience, Steve is able to develop and employ the processes required to dip, coat, and process our incense. Brady is a physicist and entrepreneur who has always has an inherent interest in chemistry and nature.  More specifically, the blending of the two. Brady is responsible for oil extraction and blending. Once he finds what he believes to be the golden mix for a desired scent, he embarks on a quest to test-dip many iterations of that blend until the exact result is reached. The research and perfection of each scent is an act of effort and pride for both of them. This effort is recorded in a vast series of hand written field books that contain the blending chemistry, extraction process, and testing of each specific blend.

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    The two work out of a former blacksmith studio turned art studio turned pottery studio turned incense studio on Brady's homestead in central Pennsylvania's Appalachian mountains. This building has a magic that shrouds it very heavily. It is evident when you step into it. Built in the mid 1740's, it has always been a haven for creative freedom. Something has always been "made" here. More specifically, made by hand. Vestigial ruminants of the past are alive here. The door hardware and metal trim had been hand forged in the very room they serve. The sliding wall/doors have paintings upon them from the turn of the last century. The wood beams that were repurposed from a previous structure have faint spatters of ceramic and clay upon them from the throwing wheels of the studio's past life. Now, the building is saturated with a scent of oils and aroma that mesh so smoothly with its already culture-rich past. Adorning the studio are memories of our past, and relics of a world of incense.

    Our minds are racing to new frontiers in incense that we are yet to fully understand. Continued travel around the world is key for our deeper understanding of incense and how it impacts people. Expanding our skills, products, and methods is a never-ending process that we take a great deal of pride in. Do keep an eye open for different types of incense, burners, and oils that are swiftly moving across our lab benches. You never know what we might perfect next for you to enjoy. Keep on allowing that smoke to rise.

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-Brady & Steve