A nod to the dynamic between co-founder Stacia (control) and her husband (chaos), CONTROL + CHAOS celebrates our all-too-common misadventures — and does so with sophisticated flair.
Fresh from a 13-year tenure as Cult Beauty’s Buying Director, Stacia hadn’t planned to embark on a product development venture. Having swapped South East England for the sun-soaked Californian coastline, it was her brother — Spencer, a seasoned investor who wanted to collaborate and blend their sympathetic expertise — who convinced her to make the transition from Buyer to Brand Founder.
Together with their cousin Darren (a multi award-winning designer and sourcing specialist), they decided to carve their own niche in the home fragrance space. “I felt there was room for a line-up of candles that not only smelled really good and looked aesthetically exquisite, but that harnessed our wry British humour without relying on profanities or genitalia to generate attention.”
A nod to the dynamic between Stacia (control) and her husband, Mark (chaos), CONTROL + CHAOS celebrates our all-too-common misadventures — and does so with sophisticated flair. With humour ever-present, the team were keen to show that wit and luxury can mix; style doesn’t have to be stuffy (or sensationalist!).
A family enterprise from start to finish (Stacia’s niece, together with Darren’s daughter, will be handling the social media strategy, while fulfilment will be carried out by Three Crown Logistics — the shared venture of Stacia and her son, Pierce), CONTROL + CHAOS is the centre of their experiential Venn diagram. A melting pot of all their varied strengths — from predicting the ‘next big thing’ in beauty, to profound operational nous and a keen eye for design detail — these are candles with care at the core.
As you’d expect from a co-founder who spent her career spotting trends and uncovering products that worked for their coveted, Cult Beauty real estate, everything about CONTROL & CHAOS feels considered — from the Instagrammable boxes (lovingly illustrated by contemporary artist, Joanna Layla) to the tinted wax and unexpected fragrances.
“I’m thrilled with how the fragrances turned out” says Stacia, “but, it was quite an unusual concept because we weren’t going with the fragrance first and creating a brand around it. We had the idea for the brand first, and then the fragrances had to work.”
Storytelling is at the heart of the brand, and each scenario — a dropped scoop of anticipated ice cream; a traffic jam en route to the seaside — inspired a complex olfactory blend. Whine + Grind’s top notes of baby powder and coffee evoke the sleepless nights of early motherhood, while Paranoia + Peppercorn’s notes of patchouli and black pepper conjure ‘70s-era hedonism.
“These candles are for people with an appetite for something new — who love the unconventional and covet something luxe.” says Stacia. “If you, like me, are delighted by something that feels a bit under-the-radar — like you’ve made an exciting discovery — then CONTROL & CHAOS has the ‘quirk’ to satiate those cravings.”