When I went to India for the first time, I did not exactly know what I was going to create. My aim was to create practical serving products and make them as natural as possible, without compromise.

I selected bamboo, organic cotton & clay as potential ingredients & booked a ticket to Delhi. To ease my mind, I connected with a virtual assistant in Bangalore to make me a list of potential suppliers.

And so my journey began…

I left the comfort of my usual surroundings and started with my exploration. I designed plates & cups, bathrobes & towels but each time I encountered some form of dishonesty and couldn’t finish what I had started. I wanted the products to be as pure & natural as possible & traced all ingredients down to their origin.

As I thought about the “practical and daily serving”-aspect of my intentions, I touched upon my needs as a human being and transformed them into the design guidelines for the collection.

Several trips and “failures” later, I came across the perfect ingredient that reflects one of the most precious characteristics of our human being; “we are all incomparably unique.”

This most unique element is “antique” teak wood. Of the highest quality, it was reclaimed out of old houses in India and already went through the test of time. Reclaiming & incarnating this wood, in line with the Indian culture, was a technical adventure on its own.

Each creation is wrapped in an organic cotton bag, herbally dyed with medicinal flowers.

I was fortunate to stumble upon a company in Ahmedabad, founded by Mr. Gandhi. They make paper out of recycled cotton and flower petals. To represent and remember my need to give and receive from my heart, I created a beautiful giftbox, out of this beautiful “paper”.

The whole collection is created around a set of specific design guidelines, representing our human needs, including our need for meaning in the form of engraved mantra’s.

” May each creation of this collection serve as a practical reminder, a reminder to truly take care of our needs and our nature” . 

Steven Pauwels, founder of Scent&Sense.

The first leaf on a tree represents the advent of change, a new beginning. It is the first sign of what kind of tree is about to become. It is an early sign of the trees’ fullest expression of its being.

The becoming of a tree is neither driven by any need nor want. It is not a matter of choice, nor its upbringing. All the information needed to make it to its full potential is already present in its seed. All the tree needs are fertile soil and nature’s care.

The tree becomes by rooting into the ground. The growing as we call it is a result of that. The stronger the roots, the better the tree withstands the turbulences of its surroundings. But the tree only reaches its full potential by one principle: its most natural capacity to let go.

As reflected by nature, every human being can manifest the most authentic expression of their being. We call it our potential.

But unlike a tree, we are over-informed, and what manifests isn’t always our potential. We focus on the outside, whereas nature shows us that becoming requires our attention inside. The ground in which the tree roots reflects the unknown or our unconsciousness.

This First Leaf collection stands for a new choice. A choice to inform ourselves about the fundamental understanding of human nature. A decision to shift our attention & re-acquaint ourselves with our natural ability to let go.

The first leaf represents the advent of change, a new beginning. The beginning to see life as an adventure to manifest the most authentic expression of our being, aka our potential. Isn’t that what we wish upon the ones we love? Don’t we forget ourselves too often in this equation?

Steven Pauwels
Founder of Scent&Sense