Carrie Hadley is the innovative Owner and Creative Director of Indiehouse Fragrances. Her early love of all things perfume led her on a journey that took her out of the country where she learned to perfect perfume building. After launching her brand focused on creating a unique customer experience in customizing perfume for the individual consumer as well as businesses, she created a lane previously left untapped. Let’s meet her.
There is an art to perfume building. How did you discover and develop your love of perfume and take action to gain the knowledge needed to start a successful brand? Where did you receive your training? How long did it take?
My parents both wore fine fragrances when I was growing up, my mom for “special” evenings out and for my dad it was part of his everyday routine as a business professional. A gorgeous fragrance just has a way of elevating both your mood and your confidence. One day I got brave and decided to take some classes to become a perfumer with the hope of bringing that feeling to other people. I learned about scents, oils, and aroma chemicals in Grasse, France.
What was the perfume world missing and how did you apply that to your business concept and brand?
A personal perfume experience. Asking appropriate questions when it comes to the customers’ needs perfumes to fit each person’s desire of scents and communicate with different moods.
Did you encounter any early hurdles in establishing INDIEHOUSE?
Yes, finding places to rent and lenders to start with the business was hard. no one believed that starting a perfume business would be successful
Tell our readers what services and products they can encounter at an INDIEHOUSE experience.
You can encounter a personal experience when you come into INDIEHOUSE. Shopping for the right scent for you can become overwhelming. That’s one of the reasons why I opened INDIEHOUSE to create a one-on-one experience with my customers to discover their likes and dislikes when it comes to scents. I have workshops available to create the perfect scent for you and to teach you the building blocks when it comes to creating perfumes
Your brick-and-mortar locations are beautiful. How much input did you give in terms of design and appearance?
I gave 100% into the design and experience. I want my customers to feel welcomed. Your business has to look good in order to attract customers.
Why is selling brands that are compliant with European Union (EU) laws important to you?
Europe’s precautionary approach to evaluating all ingredients used in their cosmetics and beauty products in the right way to ensure the safety of our products. At this time there are more than 1300 banned ingredients with another 250 restricted in the EU database. The European union will either ban or restrict the amount of compound in a fragrance if independent studies confirm that the substance could be harmful or cause a significant group of people to have a negative experience. All cosmetic products are required or sold in EU are required to follow the restrictions and comply with EU laws
Tell us about family life.
Family life is great. I Enjoy spending time with my family. They are super supportive of my business and goal.
How do you see INDIEHOUSE evolving in 10 years?
In 10 years, I see INDIEHOUSE expanding to other states. In 2023 we are introducing a Personal Concierge appointment-based service and a custom bespoke scent creation experience in our Westside Provisions location. At least once a week one of our guests will ask if we can put one of these in the house concept studios in the town where they live such as Nashville Birmingham, Boca Raton, Charleston and I think there’s a good chance of that happening someday in the near future.
Tell our readers how they can find out more information and where they can find your retail locations.
You can find more information on my website under the about tab and click on contact us there has my location addresses, telephone number, email and store hours.
