Meet the Maker Inspired by Nature... Jojo Collective

North Rothbury massage therapist Jodie Baulch understands how certain scents can evoke particular memories. The rich, alluring smell of lavender, for instance, always takes her back to a childhood trip to a Tasmanian lavender farm, which left her intoxicated by the smell of the flowers and the beauty of the vast paddocks of purple-headed plants swaying in the breeze.

It is this undoubted connection between aroma and memory that Jodie draws upon when concocting her range of natural perfume oils, which she sells at the Handmade in the Hunter markets under the brand Jojo Collective.

“Perfume has a way of telling a story, and I certainly like to draw from a memory or an event when creating a new blend,” she said.

"Jojo Collective is inspired by nature and the things around me. A perfume scent can open our hearts and minds to certain memories, emotions and moods - when a particular aroma fills the air, it instantly connects and awakens our senses."

Jojo Collective perfume oils combine natural blends of pure essential oil, resins and absolutes, diluted with a carrier oil such as sweet almond or fractious coconut oil.

The current range includes the heady lavender-based Indigo Lavandula, and the seductive Close Encounters, which features citrussy top notes of lime and tangerine balanced with the sweeter heart notes of jasmine and geranium.

A new scent she is currently working on - Olive - also features geranium in honour of her mother, with the perfume oil due to be released in time for Mother’s Day.

“I'm working on a beautiful perfume oil on behalf of my mum who passed away ten years ago this December from heart disease,” Jodie said.

“In her memory, I've called it Olive, which is her name, and have combined a range of essential oils with fractured coconut oil to create a perfume oil that reminds me of her. She loved geraniums, so I have used that scent to create it, and I will be donating 10 per cent of each one sold online to the Heart Disease Foundation.”

A seductive and romantic men’s cologne called Shades Black rounds out her current range of products, with plans to release a second cologne, Mountain Wild, around the middle of the year. You can check out Jodie’s range of products at this month’s Handmade in the Hunter markets, which will be held at Kevin Sobels Wines from 9am-3pm on May 11 and 25.

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Images by Maloney Designs