A little while back on the @mca_denver Instagram, we asked all of you, our fans, for your help in creating the scent profile for a candle collaboration with one of our favorite candle makers, Wooly Wax!

Well, we’re here to share that the candle collaboration is here, baby! Introducing Museum Smell!

Rachel, of Wooly Wax describes the process and memories that inspired the collaboration candle:

"First, given the feed-back from Instagram, I tried to incorporate those ideas your followers shared with the feeling I get every time I walk into that beautiful building and the emotion of gratitude I feel when I experience each unique exhibition/installation. For me the MCA is an environment that most often presents a visual experience. My process for scent creation is ignited by memory and what scents evoke or reflect that memory. When I undergo this process for the MCA I reflect not only on the physical building, what it looks like and how I experience it but also exhibitions that have deeply resonated with me.

Recently, there were two installations that really inspired me. One was the Tara Donavan: Fieldwork. The variation of material she uses in each installation inspired me to try to capture the intersection between man-made and natural and how one scent could represent two things. To me that translated into something slightly mineral and woody which echos a scent memory I get each time I walk into the museum.

The second notable exhibition that I wanted to incorporate with our Collaborative Custom Scent for the MCA was Amanda Wachob’s Artist in Residency last year. I was drawn in particular to her tattooed lemon series. I remember spending quite a bit of time reading every ink filled pore of each lemon. From memory, I could swear the waft of sweet, citrus permeated each piece I was looking at.

As unique as the MCA, this Collaborative Custom Scent, Museum Smell, is comprised of top notes of citrus and mineral which are warmly held by base notes of wood and amber."

Denver, Colorado. Wooly Wax was developed out of a desire to evoke memory through an endless combination of complex scent profiles. All natural, custom, and hand-poured candles are just one of the many reasons we at MCA Denver love Wooly Wax so much!