There is an easy romanticism attached to independent design practices—a perception reinforced when a studio quietly builds a client roster that includes Design Hotels, Bang & Olufsen, American Express, Studio Juju, and Schneid Studio. From the outside, scent design looks like an effortless exercise in taste, where the founder moves between moments of sudden inspiration and intuitive composition.
Ask Cherine Wee, founder of scent design studio A Thing of Sense, about that perception, and she bypasses the myth entirely. Behind the portfolio of bespoke olfactory identities lies a daily reality defined by repetition, precision, and administrative weight. For Cherine, the foundation of the work isn't magic; it is simply patience.
"I think people often imagine scent design as an intuitive process or guidance from certain moments of inspiration," she says. "While those moments exist, the reality is that it's built on repetition and patience. Much of the work involves smelling, measuring, mixing, waiting, curing, cleaning, etc, and then doing it all over again. It's a much slower process than people expect, and while there are systems in place, there are no short-cuts when it comes to certain parts of the process."
That grounded perspective extends beyond the lab bench. Running an independent studio means balancing the creative side of formulation with the physical realities of keeping an operation running.
"there are no short-cuts when it comes to certain parts of the process."
"I wouldn't describe these as the annoying parts of the job, but there's a lot of unseen work ongoing," Cherine notes. "Sourcing for materials, inventory, logistics, rent, orders, emails, meetings, preparations for any upcoming projects or activations. The list really does go on. All of this, while less glamorous, has to be taken care of in order to support both the business and my creative practice."
When a trial fails down to the milligram, she doesn't view the outcome as a setback or get precious about the lost hours. Iteration is simply how the work moves forward.
"I don't see 'failed iterations' as failure, rather them being part of the process that allows me to better understand what worked and what didn't," she explains. "This process involves the vision; the atmosphere or sensibility I hope to convey through the finalised scent (part art), the precision in proportions and formulations (part math), the exploration of how different scent notes and blends interact with each other (part science). The final scent should bring all three components together. Think of it this way: a technically successful scent might not necessarily be a meaningful one."
Deciding when to abandon a blend comes down to whether that original vision is still intact. "I know it's time to let go when I'm no longer strengthening the vision I started out with, only trying to make it work," she says. "That said, I don't think any research or iteration is ever wasted. A small discovery or 'mistake' from one attempt often finds its way into another body of work. In that sense, I do see this process as a cumulative one, each iteration builds on the last, even if the final scent never comes to fruition."
"I don't think any research or iteration is ever wasted. A small discovery or 'mistake' from one attempt often finds its way into another body of work."
That interest in material behavior led to her 2025 research into unglazed terracotta. For Cherine, clay isn't just a container designed to hold a product; it fundamentally alters how a fragrance is released and experienced.
"I was drawn to terracotta specifically as a material for my ongoing research that began in 2025, because it challenges the notion of clay (or any material) being merely a vessel for holding scent," Cherine shares. "Instead, I think of it as an active component of how scent can be experienced. With its porous qualities, terracotta readily absorbs, retains, and gradually releases scent, allowing the material itself to become part of the composition. That fundamentally changes how I start creating the scent. I no longer consider the composition on its own, but how scent would interact with the material, air, and time."
Her ultimate focus is on how fragrance functions as an invisible architecture within a physical space. "Much of my work revolves around the concept of time, memory and a sense of space," she says. "So the work here really isn't just about finding the 'best' material to infuse or diffuse scent, but rather to push the boundaries and expand the ways we can experience scent."
This approach naturally intersects with the environment of the Journey East showroom, where heavy, aged materials like century-old reclaimed teak carry their own embedded history.
"Part of my research explores the relationship between the seen and unseen elements," she observes. "In this context, furniture and its aged materials, steeped in history and time, grounds a space with its physical presence, while scent, in its own way, also carries memory and time, becoming an unseen layer that shapes the atmosphere around it. The scented objects I am working on continue this line of research, exploring how scent can be held by a material and unfold over time. I see this as an exploration of how scent responds to material, vice versa, rather than simply filling up a space. I think of it as a conversation between two materials, each influencing how the other is experienced."
"Part of my research explores the relationship between the seen and unseen elements,"
This August, Cherine is hosting a workshop at Journey East centered on this material relationship, pairing custom room scents with exclusive reclaimed teak diffuser tiles. The event runs parallel to her 2026 material projects—testing ceramic formats with Hans Chew and functional wood scent objects with Eden.
"First, with Hans Chew, exploring ceramic as a material in response to scent in different forms, solid wax and liquid," she details. "Second, with Eden, exploring wood as both a material and functional scent object for living spaces. Of course, we will be kicking this off with Journey East, in the form of an experiential, hands-on workshop - the first of its kind for A Thing of Sense and myself. A meaningful way to continue this conversation with more of you."
As the studio marks its sixth year, Cherine has made the conscious decision to retire several of her earliest, most popular signature scents. It is a deliberate edit to ensure the practice continues moving forward.
"I don't see it as 'killing off' a scent or product, but rather archiving to make space for new work, new questions, and allowing the brand to evolve with time," she reflects. "A well-loved scent has already fulfilled its purpose; the fact that it has found a place in someone's home and/or memory is, to me, enough. I also see it as moving along with time and the changing seasons. As the brand has grown, so has the way I approach the work. A Thing of Sense began as a scent brand and has gradually evolved into a broader creative practice. I see the archive as a documentation of where the brand has been, while making space for where we can move forward next."
To maintain that clarity, Cherine keeps a strict boundary between her studio practice and her home life. Her personal living space is organized, clean, and intentionally disconnected from her daily experiments.
"A well-loved scent has already fulfilled its purpose; the fact that it has found a place in someone's home and/or memory is, to me, enough.
"I'm actually someone who prefers to separate rest/my personal living space from work," she says. "So while I don't think my living space is exactly an extension of my studio, perhaps the consistency between both spaces is that I like them clean and organised. Because I spend so much time working with scent, I've also come to appreciate scent in different ways, in and out of work. The scent in my own space doesn't necessarily have to be something from A Thing of Sense either. I do have some personal favourites from other brands that I've used for a long time and still enjoy now. I think that's important too, because it helps remind me that before it became my work, scent was simply something I loved. I want to hold on to that."
Hands On! — A Scent Journey featuring A Thing of Sense
On Saturday, 15 August 2026, Cherine Wee brings her material research directly to the Journey East showroom for the next edition of the Hands On! series. Exploring how fragrance interacts with interior environments, tactile furniture, and raw materials, the day offers two ways to experience the studio's craft:
All-Day Scent Bar
12pm – 6pm:
An open, drop-in experience for visitors to explore the A Thing of Sense signature scent range alongside the textures and atmosphere of the showroom.
Guided Scent Experience
2pm
4pm (sold out):
A ticketed, hands-on workshop led by Cherine Wee ($48 per pax). Participants will be guided through smelling exercises and scent families before blending a bespoke room scent from the 'Flameless' range—paired with an exclusive dBodhi reclaimed teak wood diffuser tile to take home.