We were lucky to catch up with Lacey Walker recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Lacey, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?
Resilience is really quite amazing when you think about it… Humans are so resilient, we just never feel it in the moment. I think what’s helped me through so many bumps in the road was, well… I have been in business in one way or another since I was 20, when I started my first one. I am now 37. Through each adventure, comes the unknown. With each growth comes pain. With each loss comes some sort of gain. Everything in business is constantly moving and shifting. I have learned to continue to ride the waves. In the 17 years, some of what felt like my worst failures ended up being my greatest successes. Don’t give up. Not when life is thrown at you. This rule is applied to business in every way. One door closes, another one opens… if not, break the door down.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I started my perfume company Seance about 6 years ago. I had started another fragrance line with a friend, and that endeavor didn’t work. I was faced with giving up, or plunging face first into doing my own thing, with possible failure looming ahead.
But this time I wanted to follow my vision and my gut. I wanted to choose something I was passionate about. I worked as a psychic and medium for years… so my obsession with the supernatural was always there. I am an avid antique collector and history novice… I had learned so much about the Victorian era, with an emphasis on their spiritualism movement, which was where we know Seances, Ouija boards and the broad term of psychics and mediums from.
I had always had an obsession with scent. It’s such a strong sensory- and its link to memories is absolutely amazing. As a fragrance lover though, I was met with resistance because I am super susceptible to Migranes. I was also sick of all the designer smells, or perfumes I had come in contact with. I wanted something unique, that wouldn’t make my head hurt. I wanted eco friendly, cruelty free, vegan, and I wanted to be able to know where I source everything from… so that it was all in my control, and all made by me- from beginning to end.
Seance was born. And it caught on quickly!
I think it really stood out because each perfume comes with its own card specific to it. That card has a beauty story on it to paint the picture the scent is creating and to add the extra element of encompassing a scent and its ability to transport you to a time and place in history and life.
That coupled with the fact that I think I have a pretty good nose, and like to make unique and mysterious scents. Especially for any other weirdos out there that never fit in a traditional mold.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
My knowledge of weird historical facts helped me on my mission of going above and beyond with my brand. I decided early on that each scent would be based off a specific time in history. I wanted to be able to paint a vivid picture of what you were going to smell. Whether its the story of the Undertaker, whom takes great pleasure in being misunderstood, to the scent Dearly Departed which smells like a fresh grave (florals, grass, dirt, etc)… and our well know Haunted House Spray, which smells like an old victorian mansion… dusty carpet and all. Having an extensive knowledge of the Victorian Era and their mourning rituals as well as spiritualism made it easy to paint these pictures with scent.
I took extensive perfumes classes, and later taught one for Atlas Obscura and Oddities Flea market. I researched how essential oils and fragrance oils were made. I visited manufacturers to see how they produced their products. I have been sure to hire a team to do product production and packing so that I am supplying jobs to people who I know and people who need it. I have been sure to find mixtures and scents, as well as ideas that haven’t been done. I have my hands in the business at all times and in every way. To ensure quality and also keeping true to my personal mission statements for business.
My best advice for people early in their journey is know your brand. Pick something, stick to it, and do it better than it’s been done, and constantly strive to make it better. Always learn more. Never stop the learning process.
If you knew you only had a decade of life left, how would you spend that decade?
When the pandemic hit, I was in a serious bind. Not only did I get deathly ill, I also owned a salon with 10 employees and worked on my very large and loyal clients as a stylist. I was now balancing two businesses in my lap while the world was battling a pandemic. As well as being a mother!! It felt like businesses were closing left and right. Whether you had a brick an mortar or an online shop… The world was hurting and so was the economy of course.
We survived that business wise. I am so thankful.
However, I never recovered health wise. I was finally diagnosed with Covid Long Haul. At the moment, it is an incurable disease with a lot of physical ailments and limitations. (I have to walk with a cane, among other things!) (and don’t worry, my cane is victorian.)
I had to completely change my life. I became officially disabled, which to a business woman who never slowed down.. this wrecked me. It’s been a battle… but such is life. I haven’t given up… I keep marching forward, Doing my best, and giving myself grace. Though there are plenty of days that I want to crawl into a hole and not come out. My family helps with that… and all my amazing Seance fans, who remind me daily why I do what I do.
Life can change in a moment… all you can do is decide how to adjust to it.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.seanceperfumes.com
- Instagram: @seanceperfumes
- Facebook: Facebook.com/seanceperfumes
