We recently had a photoshoot that was all about asking the question of “Can cleaning ever be chic?” And having founded a business that does chic cleaning products – I’d be loathe to say I wasn’t biased.
But yes – cleaning can be incredibly chic. And fun.
How does Mella 1809 make cleaning chich? Well for starters we’re breaking away from the traditions of the cleaning industry: those that eschew the customer experience for products based solely on their economic efficiency, through bland and minimalist design that is inoffensive to many, and generic fragrances.
Whereas we’ve taken a completely different approach: a maximalist design, a fine fragrance approach and a superior customer experience.
On the brand
Our brand is whimsical, playful and full of character. It is maximalist in a world that values minimalism (because it makes branding easy), made by humans and for humans.
A lot of the original artwork for Mella 1809 was lovingly designed by Chiara Perano a UK-based illustrator and painter who focuses across multiple artistic mediums including painting, murals and design.
Her ability to convey the emotional and symbolic connection of the natural world one of the many reasons we were happy to collaborate with her.
She was the one who championed the idea of the cherub as a central and common figure in the brand. And she evoked the fragrance elements of our brand succinctly and quite colourfully.
Mella 1809 diffuser in Hemming St (£60.00)
On the fragrance
Our master perfumer worked with us for a period of two years to develop fragrances that are refined and useable across multiple applications.
The challenge was that, as she put it, people have a certain affinity to particular scents that they would categorize as clean. So in developing fragrances, we had to work within certain limitations despite how creative we wanted to be.
So out went the ideas of having strong earthy tones (because no one thinks mushrooms might smell clean), or super Smokey notes (Tabacco we love, but had to make do without for our first fragrances).
We worked on two concepts, one for each of the cities we love (London and Paris). Identifying that woody and floral notes would be our best bet to a successful first launch, we worked throughout the two year period in finding the right fragrance house that could bring these concepts to life.
This process resulted (after 6 different rounds of modifications) in our Hemm1ng St. fragrance which is quite playful and bold in its use of fig and combinations of bergamot, pink casis and jasmine. Whereas our Parisian fragrance (Rue du Dragon) is a lighter and more delicate scent, more like a bouquet of citrus that has lemons and oranges.
Dishwashing liquid in Hemm1ng st (£35)
On the customer experience
This one is quite hard to explain in words as the concept is quite abstract. But we pride ourselves in our customer experience (we’ve never had a request for a refund, yet) – and the superior quality of our products.
We only use the finest ingredients, from trusted sources. All our products are manufactured in the UK, using raw materials sourced from the UK, EU and Europe.
We support local manufacturers and artists. We ensure that our suppliers pay above the minimum living wage.
Our CEO and Chief Cleaning Officer is also always available 24/7 to ensure that your experience with Mella 1809 is what it should be.
And that’s how we’re making cleaning chic.
