In celebration of Earth Day, Nautilus has partnered with Caos Motē and the Institute for Art & Olfaction to create limited-edition organic soy candles, the magazine’s first-ever member-exclusive product.
Nautilus worked with Caos Motē’s Brooklyn-based designer Sam Malloy on a product design that turns into a lavender planter when the candle has burned through. The candle’s scent was custom blended for the project by Saskia Wilson-Brown–founder of The Institute for Art & Olfaction.
After a connection made by culture-marketing firm BigHouse, it was apparent that a partnership between Nautilus and Caos Motē would be more than complimentary. “Design is as central to Nautilus as the writing, and so collaborating with a vanguard artist like Sam at Caos Motē felt very natural,” said Fragment Media Group Publisher David Flynn.
Ten percent of the proceeds will go towards The Institute for Art & Olfaction, a non-profit dedicated to access, education, and experimentation with scent. It is that very dedication that led to the creation of this candle’s unique fragrance. “Building the scent of the candle around geosmin–the molecule responsible for the smell of dirt–was a brilliant touch by Saskia (Wilson-Brown),” said Flynn.
At the heart of this collaboration is a deep appreciation for the planet. “The whole product is an ode to the earth, right down to the recyclable packaging.
Dropping this on Earth Day exclusively for members is our effort to help Nautilus members connect more deeply with the things they care about most,” said Flynn.
“It stems from the desire to make everyday civic materials into more beautiful, functional objects,” Malloy told Nautilus. “The milk crate represents upcycling existing materials, like plastic, in this way.”
This effort follows last year’s Jungles Jungles collaboration for World Ocean Day, in which Nautilus released an apparel collaboration benefiting the 30 by 30 initiative.
‘It’s a word that gets thrown around carelessly, but at FMG, membership is the backbone of our business model.’
“We aim to create products for our members that enrich the Nautilus experience–tactile things you can’t get from a story but that leave you with the same buzz and appreciation for the craft and ideas represented within,” said Flynn
As Nautilus is a brand under Fragment Media Group, these initiatives stem from Fragment’s larger efforts of building its business on the member-supported model. “Being a direct member-supported media business means creating a true sense of community,” Flynn said.
“It’s a word that gets thrown around carelessly, but at FMG, membership is the backbone of our business model. For that, membership needs a lot more substance than an off-the-shelf news subscription–it needs to be rooted in community.”
“The product was created specifically to serve members’ interests, and limiting it to members exclusively is part of our continuing effort to add vibrancy to the community,” said Flynn. “We make membership worth the cost by creating products–editorial and physical–that enrich the way people experience the things they care about most.”
This partnership is a reflection of the member-first approach FMG takes toward all new projects and products, and more collaborations in the same spirit will be released throughout the year. “Expect more limited-run products, many of them member-exclusive, that capture the wonder and beauty of the areas of science that Nautilus covers editorially,” said Flynn. “We will not be slapping our logo on a t-shirt and thinking we’ve added something meaningful to this world.”
