The World of Michael Dehn's High End Fragrances

Michael Dehn was quite literally born into the fragrance industry. He is a fifth-generation prodigy of a scent-driven family. Michael’s great-great grandparents started the family legacy when they opened Dehn’s Flowers in Saratoga Springs, a flower shop still in operation today. Fast forward to Michael, who created the luxury fragrance brand Gibson & Dehn. Borrowing from 125 years of family experience in botanicals, scent development, and business expertise, his success is unsurprising.

Inspired by his childhood surroundings, experiences in landscape design, and natural resources, Dehn’s line of luxury candles and diffusers are evocative of his youth in Saratoga Springs. Saratoga-inspired scents, such as Regatta, Saratoga, and Beekman Street, were instant successes and quickly adopted by retailers across the country. It wasn’t long until his olfactory and business acumen led him to develop private-label fragrances for some of the world’s most prestigious brands, including The Plaza Hotel, Harry Winston, Cartier, Hilton, and SEED, meaning you may be well aware of Dehn’s creations without ever having heard of him.

Inspiration for his private label offerings came from many places for Michael, who had previously worked as the North American brand manager for British Airways’ Concorde. There he was responsible for conceptualizing the Concorde Terrace Lounge in North America, which led to the realization that atmosphere can be greatly improved and distinguished through scent.

In creating private-label fragrance, Michael “wanted people to walk into a place, like a hotel, and through scent remember that they had been there before.” To him, it was about developing longstanding familiarities revolving around scent. Gibson & Dehn’s expansion into private-label scents came about naturally; the brand offers full-service product development supported through a white glove client experience. Michael works with his clients from inspiration to completed product, ensuring clear delivery of their vision by creating complex blends of supreme fragrance oils set within a brand-identifiable vessel.

“The most important part of creating private-label candles is to create a distinct, signature scent for the brand. This is especially important for hotels,” Michael said, “as it has to be unique and able to extend throughout the room and to its other amenities.”

“Everyone wants to own luxury, but few want to pay for it,” Michael stated in reference to his dedication to creating affordable and high-end scents. The candle industry was recently valued at $4.2 billion, perhaps because of the customarily high price-point, but due to his family’s five generations of fragrance entrepreneurship, Gibson & Dehn’s retail offerings are reasonably priced.

As for the future of his namesake brand, Michael says he will continue to produce his ozone scents “reflective of winds, oceans and the outdoors,” while also releasing masculine fragrances of amber, sandalwood, and cedar.

The candle market has had a long, upward trajectory, and Michael’s family history and dedication to craft ensure that the Gibson & Dehn brand will lead the pack.

By Anthony Michael