Behind the Scenes with I/TEMS

The scented candles bringing Bulgaria back on the coolness-track

Some countries like Italy and France built up their brand image for years to be considered as producers of high-quality, chic and elegant products. But what might be true for some of the "Made in France" or "Made in Italy" products does not necessarily have to concern the whole pallet. In return, not every product that is considered to come from a rather poor or Non-EU country is a product of lower quality. While Bulgaria falls into the perception of the latter category, a lot of its products are luxury ones – but the image hasn't caught up, yet. Zornitsa, Natalia and Sara of I/TEMS want to change this misconception by making beautiful candles every wellness-lover, bookworm, fashionista and interior-pro wants to have.

The Sofia-based label crafts scented candles for fine gifting and fine living. Each and every scent is evoked by memories that liven up emotions and nostalgias: Do you remember the smell of spring in your hometown? The feeling of comfort and safety you got when lying on your grandma's couch while she was baking your favourite cookies and a storm was passing by? The smell of summer rain when you had your very first kiss? The girls of I/TEMS are drawing from their own experiences in order to create scents that let them travel back in time. The scent number 07 is called "Neroli" and made with verbena, orange blossom and musk and "makes you feel like breathing sunlight". While "Underwood" is "the smell that accompanies the first rain after a long time of dryness". Each candle tells a magical story when lighted.

But the I/TEMS scents do not only revive old memories and new experience, they cater to the ideas of tradition, family and quality. What smells like nostalgia, is created in the capital of perfume, in the French Grasse. And behind every recipe, we find one of the oldest family-run fragrance houses in the world, Jean Niel. The scents are exclusively created for I/TEMS and take shape in Bulgaria, when combined with vegetable wax, poured into their recyclable can-containers, embellished with the beautiful illustrations of I/TEMS friend Rozalina Burkova and lit with the specially designed matches. I/TEMS uses clean ingredients, is cruelty-, paraffin- and toxic-free, it tells a story, makes you think of your childhood and therefore heralds a start of a new high-quality and sustainable "Made in Bulgaria"-image. The cute, cool and conscious candle you want next to your bathtub!