The Source Adage brand is a product of both careful consideration and intention, and complete serendipity. The niche fragrance company is founded by creatives Chris, originally from Connecticut, and Robert, a Budapest native. The two met in Brighton, before making Brooklyn and Florence their respective American and European home bases. Fast forward a few years, on a weekend trip to the Catskills to escape the buzz of the city, when Chris and Robert made an unexpected stop in the town of Hudson for a quick lunch; only to immediately fall in love with the vibrant upstate destination. In 2015, shortly after their very first visit to the town, they purchased a circa 1800s Greek Revival on Hudson’s central Warren Street, where they envisioned creating a home for both themselves and their brand of luxe fragrances.
The historic building Chris and Robert purchased and renovated originally featured a general store downstairs and a family home upstairs. After a summer of renovations, the duo was able to return the building to a modern version of its original mixed-use; an elegant and warm retail location & workshop for their business on the first floor, and their home on the second floor.
Earlier this year, these two creative directors shared with us their brand’s Hudson Valley story and the process that results in their uniquely composed products.
What were some of the main driving factors behind your move to Hudson, and the launch of Source Adage?
Robert and I are both creatives, with a strong point of view, passionate about fragrance. The idea to start our own brand stemmed from that passion and seeing an empty space in the home fragrance market that was design and quality-driven, with a more masculine appeal. Hudson was happenstance. It all clicked once we visited and realized that the products we were about to launch could enjoy an amazing “window” in a sophisticated retail environment as well as what seemed a great place to live.
Your fragrances are largely inspired by various American landscapes, evocative of specific atmospheric experiences. Was there a particular trip you took within the US that played a significant role in the inspiration for your fragrances?
Many. Everyone has their own, unique experience and memories attached to place. Since the US is a grand palate to work from and to be inspired by, it seemed like a logical place to start–and to anchor our brand story.
Our love of Central Coast California (Big Sur and Monterey Pennisula) is clearly seen in our Pacific Coast home fragrance, just as our North Atlantic is a love letter to autumn in New England. Being a New Englander, myself, this scent represents a personal memory of growing up among autumn leaves, excursions to the Mohawk Trail, and visiting the rugged Maine shorelines off-season.
We would love some insight into your process. How do you go from inspiration to the final product?
Our fragrances are mostly regionally inspired. Most of our home scents and all of our perfumes follow this theme. First, we choose the region, decide on what angle we want to take (this usually comes from our own experiences and memories there), and then start blending. Being quite a few years in the field, a lot of the designing happens in our heads before we reach for raw ingredients from our own library
From there, we work with the fragrance house to replicate and edit and deliver back to us versions to test on our skin (perfumes) or in wax (home scents), after which we make our final edits. We love the process of working directly with the fragrance house who produces the final batch of our fragrances. It makes us better fragrance designers. The science behind fragrances is exacting, and ever-shifting. Editing and testing fragrances to meet regulatory compliance and quality standards is the “heavy lifting” and can only be done effectively by professional labs.
I tell our clients that, “We do the fun part of designing the scents and telling their stories.”
Source Adage’s home, an impressive almost-black Greek Revival, screams luxury. What does luxury mean to you? And what do you envision for the future of the boutique luxury fragrance market?
“Luxury” is another one of those words that I sometimes hesitate to use because of its overuse but, yes, our brand is a luxury brand. We don’t look to chase trends or “easy sells” but to create a unique, superior quality product at a justified price tag. Luxury fragrances, for me, are those that have gone the extra mile, or ten, investing the time and resources to create complex, balanced scents that use quality ingredients, are refined and tested properly, and don’t rely on gimmickry to attract attention. It’s a smaller market for sure, but much more gratifying.
And, a note on our paint choices for the exterior of our building: the “almost black” color does exude luxury, intentionally. Ours is an American luxury brand but it also speaks to our personal aesthetic. Black, and “almost black”, homes have certainly become more trendy, but, for us, it’s timeless. A timeless elegance that speaks to our fragrance as well; from scent, to the packaging, to the staging of the store itself.
Which are your scents at Source Adage? Mine, after some assistance from Chris and time with the scents, is most definitely c'i'aan.
We honestly wear them all but I’ll wear different ones for different reasons. As daily scents, I wear monto’ac (inspired by the Carolinas) the most perhaps. It’s intense but wears closer to the skin, like soft suede, so I don’t feel self-conscious about wearing a fragrance as I am out doing errands.
Aka’ula (inspired by volcanic Hawaii), on the other hand, is dark, mysterious, and sexy. For me, I love to wear this at night when going out. The smoke and spice notes are intoxicating. It evokes mystery and sensuality. Not for everyone, but those who go for it come back for more.
How has living in the Hudson Valley affected your relationship with work and creativity (and their intersection)?
It’s funny. When we decided to move up to Hudson– to the “country”– we thought we’d be taking it down a few notches from living in the hustle and bustle of NYC. That was the opposite of what actually happened. We arrived and immediately saw the quality and intention that other shop keepers and creatives in town displayed and were inspired to keep pace. There is such a wealth of talent upstate that it keeps us on our toes in terms of our store and products, in a very positive way.
What can we expect to see from Source Adage in the next year?
Perhaps too much! We’ve been busy creatively with several new fragrances on deck for the coming months. There are a few additions to the home fragrances, to our apothecary (aka botanical) collection, and we’re working on the next perfume. With the level of sophistication that differentiates Hudson from most anywhere else outside a major metropolitan area, we also do our best to update our store and window displays. Robert is the master of building our displays so keep an eye out as they change periodically.
And, lastly, a fast five of your top go-to’s in Hudson, including shops, cafes, and restaurants.
So much great talent and creativity in Hudson but here are just a few that we think make Hudson like no other: Geoffrey Good jewelry, The Gilded Owl Art and Interior Design, The Maker cafe, lounge, and restaurant, the Stair Gallery Auction House, and the Hudson Hall live performance venue.
You can visit Source Adage at 314 Warren Street, or view their online shop here.
