Nicole Eckels of Glasshouse Fragrances on building Australasia’s scent empire from her kitchen counter
CEO & Founder, Glasshouse Fragrances
It’s a rarity we get to catch up for a chat with such an established CEO – so, when we do, you can count on us digging deep.
Nicole Eckels, the founder and CEO of preeminent scent house GLASSHOUSE FRAGRANCES, divulged how the brand came to be the scent for antipodean households over the last decade and her bootstrap beginnings from her kitchen counter to launching in the USA in 2021.
And just in time for the holiday season fast approaching, Nicole shares a selection of her sentimental favourites from her brand for the perfect gifting inspiration.
Hi Nicole, what was your first moment of scent?
As a child, I remember my mother loving fragrances and cosmetics. She had a busy role raising a family of four, and sometimes she would disappear into her bedroom and come out completely transformed – with fresh lipstick and perfume, like a butterfly emerging from a cocoon. It was magic.
What were your origins in the beauty industry?
I always loved beauty products and played with them from a young age. I love being creative. My career started with CHANEL, where I was a makeup artist.
Did you ever work at a beauty counter?
Yes, as a makeup artist, I worked the beauty counter at CHANEL. And I loved it! I loved meeting all the customers and learning about them and what they loved.
Did you aspire to become a CEO, or was it a natural progression?
I don’t think I aspired to the job title; that is something that evolved. But I always aspired to be creative and to think big. I never wanted to feel like I hadn’t fulfilled my full potential. Ending up as a CEO is incredible, but as everyone who owns a business knows, you are literally every role in your company long before the big title ever appears.
What was the lightbulb moment that spurred the launch of GLASSHOUSE FRAGRANCES?
I had just moved to Sydney with my young son and was looking to replace a candle for our new apartment. There were either luxury brands with huge price tags or poor-quality candles that had little to no scent. That’s when I realised there was a huge gap in the fragrance category here in Australia. I decided I would create a candle with a moderate price point but truly delivered on the experience and the transportive power of fragrance.
The first range started in my kitchen, where I worked tirelessly on formulas and fragrances. After six months of testing and trials, I was ready to launch. Looking back, I was not only creating a fragrance brand. I was indeed creating an entirely new category in this market. It meant that I was often faced with uncertainty about the concept and was dealt with more than my fair share of ‘nos’. But once people started burning the candles and discovering our fragrances, they were quickly swayed.
Why did you decide to launch your brand in Australia? Wouldn’t it have been easier to start a business from your home turf in the US?
At that time in my life, Sydney was my home turf. I had no intention of moving back to the US, so it made sense to launch here where I was based. We launched GLASSHOUSE FRAGRANCES in the US earlier this year, and it’s been incredible to go full circle.
How on Earth did you manage to launch a brand in 12 months?
Hard work and tenacity, with a hint of naivety thrown in.
Are you currently exploring refillable vessels for your products?
Yes, we are. We are launching refills for key fragrances in our core offering– stay tuned!
When do you feel most empowered?
When I’m being true to myself. Both at work and in my personal life.
Ride or die skincare product?
[Nicole with her son Greg]
We know you shouldn’t play favourites, but we have to ask anyway – what product is it?
I don’t have favourites as such, but I do have fragrances that are more sentimental for me than others. For example, I created A Night Before Christmas to celebrate my first Australian Christmas. Rather than the traditional cool climate fragrances I grew up with in New York at Christmas, it’s full of fresh berries and moss, perfect for Summer. It became a success from its first year and has continued to be a best seller for nearly 15 years now; it’s beautiful that GLASSHOUSE FRAGRANCES is a part of people’s Christmas memories.
The other fragrance I’m truly proud of is A Tahaa Affair Devotion, Eau de Parfum. I worked for over a year on this fragrance, as I wanted it to reflect our number one selling candle, A Tahaa Affair, but also be a classic fragrance in its own right. Creating this juice came with a lot of pressure as it’s so well known and has its own cult following, but I couldn’t be happier with the result, it’s a beautiful ode to the original gourmand.
Interview — Liam Sharma
Photography — Supplied