#scandispotlight Skandinavisk

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Tucked away in a pretty Copenhagen courtyard, Nicola Capper visits the flagship store and studio of Skandinavisk to find out more from its founder Shaun Russell

Much loved home and beauty brand Skandinavisk has been sharing the story of Scandinavia through light and fragrance since 2012. Its subtle, refined scents perfectly capture the very places people like me adore visiting so much, but how did this journey begin and where is it going next? Over to Shaun to tell us more…

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Can you start by telling us your back story, and how Skandinavisk got started?

I’ve lived in Scandinavia for the past 20 years but was born and raised in London. It was while working in Australia that I fell head-over-heels in love with a beautiful Danish girl, and the rest, as they say, is history. When you live and travel across the Nordic region, you soon realise what a very special place it is. And, as an outsider on the inside, I wanted to share this experience with others. For me, this was through candlelight and fragrance, because I thought if I can connect to people’s senses then I have a greater chance of helping them understand how a Scandinavian approach to living makes life better for everyone.

A B Corp business since 2019, what makes Skandinavisk different?

B Corp Certification really teaches you the difference between how good you think you are, and how well you truly act. That’s why at Skandinavisk we believe our best can always be better and are continuously finding new ways to leave a lighter footprint. From the locally grown rapeseed oil we use in our candle wax and the organic ingredients we use in our skincare, through to the renewable and recyclable materials in our packaging, we want to ensure everything we do is as environmentally responsible as possible.

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You refer to your fragrances as “chapters”, but what inspires their individual scents?

Our scents really define Scandinavia to many people, so we always start by identifying an aspect of the region that is both precious to its inhabitants and exotic to the outside world. Working alongside a Danish gardener (my wife) and a French perfumer, we cycle through the city, swim in the lakes, and trek the forests and fjords to understand what grows there and when, so we can reinterpret these experiences in an authentic way. Currently we have 14 scents, including: NORDLYS (Scandinavian for ‘Northern Lights’), TAKKA (Finnish for ‘fireplace’), REGN (Scandinavian for ‘rain’) and LYKKE (Danish for ‘happiness’).

What can Skandinavisk lovers look forward to seeing next?

We are currently getting ready to launch our next generation of scent diffusers and refills. While they are available in the familiar fragrances everyone knows and loves – SKOG, ØY, FJORD, HAV, HYGGE, RO, LEMPI and KOTO – they are now made from a renewably farmed, plant-based solvent rather than alcohol, making them much simpler and safer to transport. The taller, transparent-coloured glass is also designed to be used as a flower vase once the fragrance is finished.