Today we’d like to introduce you to Amber Rountree.
Hi Amber, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My perfumery adventure began when I couldn’t find a perfume to capture my favorite summer scent. Using my skills as a researcher, I scoured the web, read any book about creating perfume that I could get my hands on, and tuned in to well-known perfumers like Sarah McCartney. The result of my experimentation is Knoxville’s first micro perfumery that blends high quality scents by hand. When I’m not making perfume, you can find me working at my alma mater as a researcher, hiking at Ijams with my family, and going to see live music!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Some of the challenges of being a small indie perfumer are sourcing materials. Our suppliers often carry the same materials that large perfume houses purchase but offer much smaller quantities – sometimes this can cause a delay or a material may become unavailable.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Sunsphere Scents is a way to capture the things I love about Knoxville: from a boat ride down the Tennessee River to a hike at House Mountain! The Sunsphere is synonymous with Knoxville, and its quirky, one-of-a-kind structure made it a natural choice to represent a scent journey through my hometown. It’s been a gift to connect folks to the history of Knoxville through scent, like Candoro Marble. Candoro marble is as unique as Tennessee pink marble, and the reason Knoxville was nicknamed the Marble City. The Candoro Marble Building is a gorgeous Beaux Arts building that displays the timeless beauty of pink marble and holds cherished memories of my wedding day!
One of my favorite perfumes is Red Daisy, inspired by my favorite band, Billy Strings! I’ve been lucky to see them in my hometown, around the country and their music has been the soundtrack to my work in perfumery. This is a scent memory from hearing the band play Red Daisy at outdoor venues – an updated bluegrass classic. I had a similar goal in creating this scent and hope it brings back happy, possibly hazy memories of your favorite bands.
What does success mean to you?
As a creative, I think this is tricky. I knew when I started Sunsphere Scents it likely wouldn’t be a large revenue source but more of a passion project in addition to my professional work as a data analyst and researcher. My measure of success is that folks buy and return to buy Sunsphere Scents, particularly those that have discovered my perfume in the Knoxville Visitor’s Center.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.sunspherescents.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sunspherescents
