Context

It takes a bit of travel to visit a bunch of lavender farms. I’ve learned something new on this trip: if you haven’t tried using AirBnB to travel, you might want to consider it. My first AirBnB experience was in this Australian community north of Launceston, Tasmania. The hostess was super friendly and I was included in an evening of watching my first World Cup cricket match in which Australia won. I don’t want to cause a team loyalty ruckus here, but it was fun to watch the last two hours of the game with a gathering of her friends.

The Perfumery

On my way to this lovely AirBnB I went looking for The Lavender House in Rowella, northwest of Launceston, Tasmania. Once there, I found a large building housing a lot of products, a lab, and a couple who have developed their business with a slightly different focus than most lavender growers.

In 1987 Louis and Frances Mamo started selling their first lavender products at various local markets. they have grown lavender over the years, but increasingly had put their talents and energy into the development of products.

In order to formulate and manufacture the products they built a production lab. It is cleverly designed to allow for the adaptation of their space by putting wheels on the racks and tables. It has many kinds of equipment that someone like me can only imagine being able to have available. My father was a bio-physicist with his own lab, and even blew his own glassware early in his career, so a complex lab is something I’ve seen before. The Mamo’s production facility isn’t an academic scientific lab like my father’s, but it is the closest to it that I’ve seen so far in the lavender world.

Awards

A few years after they started creating lavender products they began wholesaling, and by 2001 they had opened a tourism venue. They have been recognized by their tourism colleagues as a Tasmanian Tourism Award winner, as well as by their customers when they won the Tasmanian Tourism Council People’s Choice Award.

Humor

Making lotions and other skin care products as well as perfumes requires both an artistic side and a scientific side. While Louis is clearly most interested in the challenges of formulating unique products, he and Frances have a great sense of humor which shows in how they name these products. For instance, one line is called Tasmanian Tiger (balms) with names such as Bushies All-Purpose Bee-Balm, Jackaroos Working Hands, Crook Back Bee-Balm… or my favorite Dragon Lady Balm for that time in life. The names crack me up, they are funny and charming and I like having that energy.

I will leave you with their motto: 

By listening, we learn
By learning, we understand
By understanding, we blossom.