In Conversation With: Elise Pioch Balzac

Maison Balzac is a collection of perfumed candles and delicate objects created in Sydney. Each product is developed as an ode to memories from founder, Elise Pioch’s, childhood in the South of France. From her experience working in fashion in Paris and Sydney, Elise sought to create a range that was both beautiful and sentimental.

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[T] Your products are described as “an ode to memories from your childhood in the south of France.” Why is this important to you and your brand and how did your passion for fashion, perfumes and scents turn into a business?

[E] After living nine years in Australia, away from France, I felt the need to reconnect with my family and the memories of them, without moving back to France. So I told my favorites moments through fragrances and turned it into a business, using my background in fashion and everything in between.

To enable exhibitors to experience an immerse multi- sensory experience during the 2016 Venice Biennale of Architecture, you created two peculiarly Australian scents. Sense is such a delicate and sensitive field; how did you know what scents to create?

These two scents were actually created with Lyn & Tony, two outstanding artists who I met as a fashion buyers years before starting Maison Balzac. Lyn & Tony have a fascination and thorough understanding of Australia, the bush, the land, colors, scents and culture. Together we created two fragrances that describe the strangeness and obscurity of this country. It was the perfect olfactive signature for the Australian Biennale and a very proud moment for Lyn, Tony and I.

Are you planning at all to hold your own branded workshops? If so what would be the number one knowledgeable piece of advice for your customers?

This is an excellent idea! If only we had time to stop and share our knowledge of candle making and fragrance creation... our first advice would be to only listen to your own voice when choosing a fragrance. It is so tempting to choose or create scents to please someone else!

What are the most common mistakes you see with people choosing a scent?

I don’t think it’s possible to make a mistake when choosing a scent. It always means something particular to someone at a particular time, there is no right or wrong.

What’s next for Maison Balzac; where do you seen the business and the ethos in 5, 10 years?

The values and strategy for the business have been the same since day one: we focus on creativity, humility, kindness and organic growth.