COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHT - Meet Juliette from Hart + Hedi

In this month’s Community Highlight, we have interviewed Juliette Fournier, St Peters local and regular Scout member who has recently launched an independent Australian Fragrance House with her partner, Hart + Hedi. Our perfume and scents enthusiasts will absolutely love to read about what brought them on the journey to perfume-making, and we absolutely recommend you to try their sampler of 6 delicious signature scents if you are after a niche perfume.

Hi Juliette, can you share a little bit of your background and what brought you to this passion for fragrances?

In 2019 I completed a Bachelor (Honours) of Design in Fashion & Textiles. My plan was to launch a bespoke knitwear label but with the world in lockdown in by May 2020 I realised I needed to put this idea to the side. My partner asked if I’d like to work on a perfume together that would complement my brand and without hesitation I said “yes!”. We had little idea how difficult that actually was but we were determined and our hard work saw us take 4 years to develop our six signature scents. We’ve loved every minute of it and it’s pushed us creatively which we love.

Can you tell us more about the story of Hart + Hedi, what inspired you to create the brand and what makes it different from other perfume brands?

Hart + Hedi is a little play on “heart and head”. Scent has the ability to evoke memories as thoughts or feelings, some we may not have visited for a long time. Hedi is also my grandmother’s name who ran a flower shop in the 1940s in a medieval town in Switzerland. She was a big influence on me creatively and we shared a lot of joys including knitting, crochet and sewing. A Hart is a male deer and a part of perfume history concerning how musk was originally derived. At Hart + Hedi we have made certain that our ingredients are cruelty-free, vegan, contain no phthalates or parabens and no artificial colours. It’s very important to us. We also make and fill our perfume right here in Australia and feature native Australian flora as well as consciously selected ingredients from around the world. I guess what sets us apart is that we, as the co- founders of our brand are also the perfumers. It’s actually quite rare.

What does a typical weekday (or week) look like for you, working for Hart + Hedi?

A lot has changed since our product has all come together. For 4 years it was more around working on our perfumes, doing the many iterations that it takes to find “the one”, finding the perfect bottle, cap, and designing the boxes with our favourite Artist, Glenn Smith. These days I’m packing up orders and liasing with other business’ to find ways to bring Hart + Hedi out into the world for people to share. I am also a Textile Design Tutor at ACU which I am really enjoying and keeps me working with fabric and young people.

What do you most love about your job? I love the variety and the fact that I get to work with my partner who is so very inspirational to me. As a Co-Founder of Young Henrys, he has built a brand very dear to the Inner West and he is brilliant with scent and ingredients. We’ve learned so much from each other.

I love that it has challenged me and also shown me that it’s never too late to learn and there are always ways to make things better. I feel like I’m really getting to use all my skills/talents/ideas and work on them within this brand. I’m also still designing and have some little tricks my sleeve. We intend to do a few collaborations in the near future and so it will be great to get back to the ingredients and play again.

You have created a diverse range of Hart + Hedi fragrances, do you have any tips on how one can find the signature scent that best suits them?

Time. You need to devote time to finding your new favourite scent. You may instantly fall in love with a fragrance, but spending time to see how it works with your skin is the key. In my past I would choose based on how it smelled on the card from the department store. That is only a hint of what that fragrance will be like on you. It’s the reason I had so many full bottles in my bathroom vanity. When I actually wore them, they just weren’t me. Finally, when I took the time to really wear a scent and understand that it will change from first spray, through to the dry down, then I really understood that there is so much more to this.

Is there such a thing about wearing different scents for different occasions, and how do we match them? I’m lucky enough to have all six scents at my disposal and since I’ve tested them all quite extensively, I also know how they make me feel. In the same way that I never know what I’m going to wear until I get dressed, I also don’t know which scent I’m going to feel like wearing until the moment. Sometimes I’m feeling adventurous, introverted, need to be my own boss, romantic etc. Whatever my mood, I find myself drawn to a different scent. That being said I do have my favourites. Our Sampler is great because you get all six to try and with 100 sprays of each little bottle, there is plenty to experiment with. We designed the packaging so you can take it with you on the go and have all six right there whenever you need.

What is your personal favourite scent from the range, and why?

I fell in love with Some Velvet Morning right from the start and it’s always going to be my sultry scent. Right now I’m loving House of Hart and I’m a little addicted to it of late. I wore Rock + Roll Circus out the other night to Bloodwood Restaurant and loved how it made me feel.

What goal do you hope to achieve for Hart + Hedi this year and/or any exciting things to look forward to this year?

Because we are so new our goal is to let people know about us and hope they will try out our sample packs. As well as getting all six scents to try, we’ve included a special $30 code so you can use it on a full-sized bottle once you’ve found your new favourite. We’re talking to lots of great people about exciting things and we will unveil them all at the right time.

When you’re not working, what are you up to / how do you like to spend your free time?

My social self loves to go out, see live music and eat amazing food (particularly on Enmore Road). My quiet self loves to dream up complex knitting/crochet projects and sit in front of a good movie and work away. I also love visiting SCOUT twice a week and keeping my body moving because it’s honestly the key to all of this. During my final year of uni I was working 16 hours a day on my projects and I couldn’t have done it without keeping my body and mind fit. Pilates was how I achieved that. It feels totally natural to me and I get a great workout every time. I’ve just made it to 200 classes at SCOUT so I’m pretty much a regular now.