Sweet Smell of Success
Written by Mary Welch Tuesday, November 16 2010
Snapshot: Laura Slatkin
Following a Wall Street career at Lehman Brothers, Laura Slatkin joined forces with her husband, Harry Slatkin, in 1994 and founded home fragrance enterprise Slatkin & Co., known for scented candles plus bath and body products. After Slatkin & Co. was acquired by Limited Brands, Laura Slatkin founded NEST Fragrances. Her lines include Godiva Home Fragrance Collection and Vera Wang Bridal.
Womenetics: Tell us about yourself and why you started your own business.
Laura Slatkin: In 2005, when we sold Slatkin & Co. to Limited Brands and Harry went on to become president of their home designs, I had a choice. Harry said I could retire and focus my efforts on our family and our philanthropic foundation or I could continue working. The thought of retirement scared me. I have been working ever since I was 14 years old. I worked all through high school and college, and I couldn’t imagine not putting on a dress every morning so I started a new company, NEST Fragrances.
Womenetics: What are you trying to accomplish with NEST Fragrances?
Slatkin: NEST Fragrances began as a private label manufacturer, creating home fragrance collections for companies such as Ralph Lauren, Laura Mercier, NARS, Christian Dior, and Jonathan Adler. Today we do great work for more than 50 well-known brands. In 2008, we launched our own brand, NEST Fragrances. Today NEST Fragrances, the brand, is carried at Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman, among other department and specialty stores worldwide.
In 2009 and 2010, we began to license brands, beginning with Godiva and Vera Wang. We also launched two more NEST-owned brands, Sprig Fragrances and Project ART by NEST Fragrances, both targeting a broader audience.
Womenetics: What is the most important thing to consider when buying a candle?
Slatkin: Its ability to infuse a room with fragrance. 
Womenetics: What are you most popular scents?
Slatkin: NEST Fragrances is a very well diversified collection that touches upon all the important home fragrance categories – modern florals, traditional florals, citrus scents, fruity, spicy, gourmand. Each category is represented by at least one or two fragrances, and they all sell well. Today’s home fragrance consumers are very sophisticated. They know what they want. They no longer walk in a store looking for a scented candle. They walk in asking for a grapefruit candle or a jasmine scent. I do have two exceptions: Bamboo and Holiday both are very strong leaders.
Womenetics: Many of the combinations are so interesting. We're intrigued by moss and mint. Why do combinations like that work, and who comes up with them?
Slatkin: Sometimes I think of them. I might be making a turkey or cooking a Moroccan meal for friends. And sometimes they are handed to me. I always try to inspire young talented perfumers to experiment and surprise me; create something new and exciting that no one has ever done before. That’s how moss and mint came about.
Womenetics: You're very involved with autism research. Why?
Slatkin: Our son David was diagnosed with severe autism at 17 months. In 2003, Harry and I, along with a few friends, founded the New York Center for Autism. The mission of our foundation is dedicated to supporting autism education, community outreach, and advancing the field of autism research. To date, we founded a school for children with autism, the NYCA Charter School, we funded an autism training institute at Hunter College to increase the number of qualified educators available to work in the NYC Public Schools system, and we established after-school programs with local community-based organizations. Our latest project, and clearly our most important endeavor, is a four-phased initiative. We are creating an Institute for Brain Development, which is a collaborative effort with New York Presbyterian Hospital and its affiliated medical colleges, Columbia University and Weill Cornell Medical Center.
Womenetics: Why do you love candles so much?
Slatkin: Scented candles add warmth and romance to a home.
Womenetics: From a business standpoint what is the most difficult aspect?
Slatkin: The ups and downs of the day-to-day dealings of running a company. No matter how successful you are, there are a lot of issues you have to deal with, and they can be very frustrating. It is so important on bad days to remember how great last week was and remember that this is just a bad day. Get through it and move on. Growing a company is very much like a roller coaster ride, so you better get used to the ups and downs. Never let the issues get in the way of positive thinking and your aspirations.
Mary Welch is a freelance writer for the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Dawson Times, Plan Your Meeting magazine, and Atlanta Business magazine. Previously, she held many positions with Leader Publishing, including editor-in-chief of Atlanta Woman, editor of Business to Business magazine, and editor of Catalyst magazine. As editor of Business to Business, she assigned, edited, and conceptualized a series that was awarded Silver in the 2005 GAMMA Awards for Best Series. Welch was a reporter for the Atlanta Business Chronicle for eight years and freelanced for publications including Glamour, Advertising Age, South, Georgia Trend, and Oz. From 2000 to 2003, she served as vice president of media relations for Bank of America, during which time she authored Forever Green: A History and Hope of the American Forest with Rolling Stones keyboardist Chuck Leavell.
