Blog
Fragrance, refills and what we’re making in Brooklyn.
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News
A Few Nice Things People Have Said About Us Lately
Mandarin Crush in TODAY, a candle refill in House Beautiful, the refill model in Forbes — a summer of coverage, and what it got right. -
Visit
The Gallery of Scent Is Staying Through December
Jasmine wins, vetiver loses, and a Fragrance Studio opens next door — what 196,000 visitor scores taught us at 192 Front Street. -
Visit
Introducing Fragrance-Making Workshops at the Gallery of Scent
Score thirty raw materials, get a starting formula, then rework it on a 65-note palette — $65 for an hour and a full-size bottle. -
Perspectives
Why Does Everything Suddenly Smell Like a Tomato Plant?
What tomato leaf really smells like, from Ellena’s 1974 Eau de Campagne to Jardín Azteca — and why green notes divide a room. -
Launches
Introducing Scent Society
Every refill earns Impact Points — roughly one per gram of plastic avoided. Reach 500 in a year and member-only fragrances unlock. -
Perspectives
Why You Keep Seeing Element Brooklyn in Restaurant Bathrooms
Why 800-plus restaurants, hotels and gyms now choose our soap — and how closed-loop bulk refills keep the packaging out of the trash. -
Visit
Introducing the Gallery of Scent
Thirty raw perfumery ingredients, a Scent Portrait studio, a soap refillery and $45 candle workshops, all at the South Street Seaport. -
Visit
BYOV Candle Pouring Now Every Friday
Bring any heat-safe jar, tin or ceramic to Warehouse Fridays and we’ll pour it with our production wax and that week’s fragrance. -
Launches
Introducing Whispering Pine
Siberian pine, guaiac wood, myrrh and incense in a refillable jar illustrated with Grand Army Plaza — a winter candle built on restraint. -
Perspectives
Up to 30% Off Starts Now: Why We Only Do This Once a Year
The 2025 tiers ran from 15% to 30% off by basket size. The reasoning: a discount baked into the margin isn’t really a discount. -
Perspectives
Beyond the Blue Bin: Why Reuse Beats Recycling
From the plastics industry’s 1980s PR campaign to Germany’s 98% deposit-return rate — the case for refilling over recycling. -
Perspectives
What “The House of Beauty” Teaches Us About the Industry
Chemophobia, luxury markups, 120 billion units of packaging, underpaid labor — lessons from Arabelle Sicardi’s book, and how we respond. -
Perspectives
Our Closed-Loop Refillery Partnerships
Soap delivered in 15-gallon drums that come back to be sanitized and refilled — at Maison Jar in Greenpoint and re_grocery’s three LA stores. -
Perspectives
Why We’re Not On Amazon
Fees that can eat half of each sale, an algorithm that punishes lower prices elsewhere, and customers we could never talk to again. -
Launches
Introducing Hair Care
Citrus-floral Awakening, sulfate-free with watermelon extract and panthenol — compare to Oribe Signature, at $24 a pouch. -
Launches
(Re)Introducing Jardín Azteca
The new formula pushes tomato vine to the front, over cassis, fir balsam and oak moss — with refills that fit most 170g luxury candle jars. -
Launches
Introducing Acadia
Our first marine fragrance: blue cypress and cardamom on a salt-air shoreline — inspired by Molton Brown Coastal Cypress & Sea Fennel. -
News
Element Brooklyn Named Best Soap Refill by HGTV
More than 150 products, six categories, tested in real homes by HGTV’s editors — and Mandarin Crush came out on top for soap refills. -
Visit
Element Brooklyn Hits Times Square
From a KitchenAid mixer in a Williamsburg apartment to 100,000 orders and a Shopify Milestones billboard at the Nasdaq MarketSite. -
Launches
Introducing Our New Cleaning Essentials
Each bottle of concentrate refills the glass sprayer twice, cleans tile to stainless steel, and smells like our bestselling hand soap. -
Visit
Join Us For Bring-Your-Own-Vessel Candle Making!
Summer Sip & Pour, June 2025: bring a jam jar, mug or thrifted oddity, and we supply the wax, wicks, fragrance blends and guidance. -
Perspectives
Luxury's Price Surge: How Fragrances Fuel Profits
Perfume at nearly $100 an ounce and climbing: what luxury markups actually pay for — and why 41% of shoppers say the price no longer adds up. -
News
We're live in Australia!
Standard delivery in two to three business days, free on orders over AU$50 — or one to two days with priority shipping. -
Perspectives
Who Pays for Free Shipping?
Amazon trained us to expect it; small brands absorb it. Why our orders cost about $11 to fulfill, and why free shipping starts at $50.
