Australian Sandalwood
Kurrajong seed pod from my Nanna’s garden
Macadamia shell from my Poppy’s tree
Acorn from a tree on a local walking path
Pumpkin seed shells from seeds that sprouted in my garden this year
Rocks from Shelly and Main Beach back home
Roses from my garden
and incense by me
Hello there. It's not long until this year wraps up! If you'd like to gift my incense to yourself or someone else this holiday season, please keep the below dates in mind x
NSW, ACT, VIC, QLD, SA, TAS: Order by 11 Dec
WA & NT: Order by 6th Dec
NSW, ACT, VIC, QLD, SA, TAS: Order by 18th Dec
WA & NT: Order by 12th Dec
As always, thank you for your interest and support.
Exciting news – there are now two gift sets in the shop to choose from!
These gift sets contain three (or five) boxes of my handmade botanical incense, beautifully wrapped in tissue paper, and bundled inside a reusable cotton bag – ready to present to your loved one.
Oak Moss and Vetiver
Cinnamon and Spruce
and Black Storax and Clove
All the above scents
Plus Ylang Ylang and Orris Root
and the limited edition blend, Chamomile and Agave
If you'd like to customise your own set, you have the option of building your own gift bag too 😊
As always, thank you for your interest and support x
After many months of testing I’m happy to report that I’ve finalised the formula of my next incense blend!
It’s light and calming, and perfect for the sunny, windows-open weather that's coming our way.
It’s the first blend to contain one of the many handcrafted tinctures I was obsessed with making last year.
It’s my favourite of the lot, and I can’t wait to hear what you think!
But I’d like to try something a little different this time around.
Pulling back the curtain: selling items that are slowly, meticulously handmade is becoming more difficult in our current climate, both in person and online.
There are a number of factors at play here, and maybe I’ll talk about that another time; but no matter how you slice it – a girl’s gotta eat, and I’ve only got two hands 👐
I’m opening preorders for this blend so I can accurately gauge how much to make, which will help me assess how to best use those two hands!
So without further ado – here’s what to expect if you jump on board:
A blend of Australian sandalwood, Australian grown chamomile flowers, handcrafted chamomile tincture, fair trade agave, artisan distilled frankincense essential oil, and plant gum.
The estimated shipping date for preorders is the first week of October. All items in the same order will be shipped together.
This is my most labor intensive blend yet, but also my personal favourite!
The way the tinctured chamomile layers over the powdered chamomile is truly lovely. and the agave and frankincense add a touch of sweetness and complexity to round things out.
If you'd like to get your hands on this one (and help keep me working away in the process), pop over to the preorder page!
As always, thank you for your interest and support x
I’ve been trying to work more experimentation-for-experimentations-sake into my craft.
So I made this big cone.
You can watch it burn here.
While I appreciate cones, working with this shape has made me further appreciate the humble joss stick.
Cones need to burn hotter to stay lit, and subtle scents can get lost in the extra heat and smoke. Making joss sticks is not without its difficulties, but it’s definitely my preferred playground.
My Black Storax and Clove blend burns hot enough to stay lit as a cone, but the size and shape of this particular experiment caused a lot of its complexity to be lost. This cone was equivalent to what usually makes up half a box of my incense. And speaking to what’s lost: while the experience of burning it was much smokier – it was not equally stronger.
I’ve made smaller cones with this blend before as a custom request, so I do know I can work with this shape, to a point.
Still, even smaller versions are a touch smokey for my personal preferences. Each to their own, of course – we’re in highly subjective territory here.
Smoke is symbolically important for many —myself included, but creating the opportunity to get swept up in the scent itself is the primary drive for me.
The way delicate smoke can almost smell clean, and changes as the stick burns down, is one of the most fascinating elements of formulating. This is where my creative desires lie.
If you’d like to learn more about my botanical incense blends, head over to the shop, or explore the FAQ page x
When I’m formulating a new incense blend, each test batch of incense goes into a little paper bag. I keep them to refer back to as I move through the process, comparing each one to the last, and recording my impressions and measurements in my journal.
As you can imagine, I accumulate quite a lot of these bags.
Once I’ve finalised the blend I’m working on, it’s time to move them on. So here I am, doing a little cleaning house.
Though these bags represent hours of effort – and sometimes a few tears – I do quite like this part.
There’s a reason they’re not the final form, but they do make a nicely fragrant outdoor fire.
These are from a previous blend. But good news for me – and for you – I was in the mood to burn these because I needed space to house all the *new* test batches I’ve been making.
We’re getting close x
Slow burn ♡
Another test batch, working towards the new blend I’ve been tinkering with. I mentioned in my Instagram stories that the incense I’ve been making with my handmade tinctures has needed extra curing time, the scent becoming more anchored in the stick a week or so after drying.
It’s not something I’ve experienced with my other blends. I noticed it after giving an initial lacklustre test batch another go, some weeks after creating it.
It’s a subtle shift, but one that definitely impacts my assessment of how it’s developing.
This is the formulation process. Lots of back and forth and waiting time, testing and changing, until it clicks.
You can check out the natural incense I make in my shop.
Everything I offer is handmade by me in my home studio – including this sweet little burner x
A little mixing process video for you ✨
Featuring my Cinnamon and Spruce blend.
Jenna Sten, Fawkner Marketplace December 5th 2021
Big thanks to those of you who came along to Fawkner Marketplace last Sunday!
It was my first time as a stall holder, and I had a great time meeting you all. I look forward to seeing you again in the future.
I've been experimenting with new ways to infuse scent into my incense. I've previously used powdered whole materials, essential oils and water infusions in my blends; at the moment I'm exploring tinctures.
A tincture is an alcohol extraction; typically done in perfumery with the highest alcohol percentage possible.
Right now I'm tincturing chamomile flowers, elemi, black copal and bushman's candle – and honestly I'll tincture anything else I can get my hands on (I'm thinking some pine resin from my local trees, rose petals, we'll see!).
I find it especially interesting that this process can bring fragrance notes to the front that weren't detectable before.
Tincturing can take anywhere from several weeks to several months, depending on the material; much like most things I'm doing these days, it's an exercise in patience. But I'm excited to see the results!
I've made a short slow motion video of my daily jar shaking over on Instagram if you'd like to check it out. It's pretty relaxing.
I've also been tinkering away for many months now, working on my next blend. I went in several different directions before deciding on this combination. It's floral, soft and earthy.
If you're a fan of ylang ylang, I think it'll be right up your alley. Keep an eye out for it in the store in the coming weeks.
Botanic: Australian Sandalwood
Binomial name: Santalum spicatum (native to Western Australia)
Scent: Woody, floral, soft, balsamic
Function: sandalwood functions as both a base material and an aromatic in incense making; base materials allow the incense to continue to smoulder after you blow the flame out.
Something you might not know: sandalwood trees require a host tree to grow; they tap the roots of their chosen tree for additional water and nutrients. They also produce edible nuts!
I use sustainably harvested Western Australian sandalwood as the base material in all my incense blends. You can find more information about my sourcing process here.
When I was in the early stages of formulating, this was an important ingredient to decide on. I knew I wanted to make incense with the most ethical materials available to me as a small producer, and that meant starting with the botanic I’d need the most of.
Western Australia has a sandalwood regeneration plan in place that ensures the species ongoing survival, and harvesting is strictly monitored by The Forest Products Commission.
Due to commercial demand, Indian sandalwood (Santalum album) is classed as a vulnerable species, and exports from India are prohibited.
I make incense at my kitchen table in Melbourne from sustainably harvested Australian sandalwood, as well as tree resins, plants and essential oils.
Ever wondered how botanical incense sticks are made? Here’s a short process video for you. When I’m in full production mode I go through this whole process about three times a day, working in batches 🥣
I make incense at my kitchen table in Melbourne from sustainably harvested Australian sandalwood, as well as tree resins, plants and essential oils.
Psyching myself up to film.
You can watch the full process video here!
I make incense at my kitchen table in Melbourne from sustainably harvested Australian sandalwood, as well as tree resins, plants and essential oils.
