About Me

I’ve long been a devoted collector of fine fragrance—drawn not only to the alchemy of scent, but to the quiet ritual of discovery. Over the years, I’ve wandered through perfumeries tucked into cobbled alleys and gilded arcades, acquiring home fragrance treasures as mementos of place and mood. Each bottle a bookmark in my personal anthology.

Enter Hildegard.

In late 2023, I adopted a Boston Terrier with the temperament of a philosopher and the digestive system of a small cannon. Her flat-faced charm came with a formidable olfactory challenge. My household—already shared with a large dog and a cat—had its defenses, but this was a new frontier. Naturally, I responded with scholarly rigor: a deep dive into the world of odor mitigation, complete with over-purchasing, obsessive research, and a touch of panic.

When I realized I was burning through candles at a rate of one to two per week, I began to seek a more sustainable solution. Wax melts, with their modular elegance and ease of experimentation, became my medium of choice. But as any true obsessive knows, one rabbit hole leads to another. Soon I was immersed in the arcane art of candle-making—acquiring vessels, testing wicks, and ignoring every sensible warning about fire hazards and formulation fatigue.

By 2025, I decided it was time to share what I’d been quietly developing. Thus, Grackle and Bat LLC emerged from the shadows—an official incarnation of a name I’d long used for my handmade pursuits. It’s a nod to Austin’s dual nature: the gothic and the sun-drenched, the scholarly and the strange. That same duality lives in my work, where hobby meets vocation and scent becomes story.

My aim is to craft a revolving collection of candles and fragrance formats that evoke a visceral, transportive response—each one a study in mood, memory, and atmosphere. As the line evolves, I’ll continue to explore new ways to infuse spaces with character and complexity.

If you’re drawn to the idea of transforming your surroundings into something more evocative—more you—I invite you to join me. The journey promises to be fragrant, a little eccentric, and entirely worthwhile.