I’ve been a professional photographer for over 15 years. About five years ago, I experienced serious trauma and had to take a break from photography. I fell into a deep depression. It was the fifth dark depression in my lifetime, and I knew that if I didn’t change my life dramatically, I would not survive. I realized I had never been content in my life nor felt a sense of peace and lacked real self-confidence. I dove into therapy and then National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI) support groups. It was a slow process, but every moment offered a reward.

A few friends suggested I get my hands in the dirt and start gardening. I agreed and began simply with arugula and herbs. For about six months, I didn’t get it; gardening felt like a chore. My friends encouraged me to keep going. I persevered and planted two jasmine plants on a front wall and trained the vines to move up. Slowly, I began to see the beauty in the vines. Gradually, I started to feel a few minutes of the contentment I had been seeking each time I gardened. I realized that gardening was becoming a big part of my healing, and I wanted to carry that feeling around with me all the time. Herbal tinctures seemed to be the logical way to do this. I learned how to make the tinctures from YouTube and took a few classes at the Institute for Art and Olfaction in Chinatown.

I chose jasmine as the source for my first tincture. I decided to experiment next with oregano, mint, citrus, lavender and rose – all from my garden. Learning to blend the scents was the next step. This is the process of layering scents into base, middle, and top notes. My garden tinctures are the base of my perfumes. I blend them with small amounts of organic essential oils that act as the top and middle notes. This creates the light, natural, and surprising scents unique to Hīkishémé. 

After a few years of therapy and one year in business, it is clear that gardening brings me back to some of the happiness I had been missing. The more I dove into trauma therapy, the more I could enjoy my time in the garden. Making perfume is a tangible expression of love to myself and to you, my customer.

Initially, I chose to stay in my comfort zone and kept growth slow.  I took one day at a time. Each success was rewarding, no matter how small. Hīkishémé has gone through a few logo, branding, and packaging renditions in its first year. Staying small allowed me the creative space to produce high-quality products. For each of my renditions, I was able to get feedback one-on-one from my customers. They have helped me to shape the brand and product.

My name is Kristine Ambrose. Welcome to Hīkishémé. Why the name?