Our Story

I set out to create a Home Fragrance business but ended up creating a socially responsible business focused on ‘doing good’.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY

My inspiration starts with my great-great-grandparents, Christian and Sophie Dehn, who left Europe for the United States in 1892 in search of the American Dream. The couple built a floral business that still thrives today, catering to the horse racing and spa-going society in Saratoga Springs, New York. Their legacy has instilled in me the creativity and passion of the American entrepreneur.

Gibson & Dehn began with the vision to create extraordinary Home Fragrance products delivered to our customers at a fair price. As we grew, I realized that I was building something much more important - a business platform that could make a social difference. I redefined our mission to “doing good while doing business”.

 

CLARKSVILLE, MO

Having grown up in a very small rural town in Connecticut and living my entire adult life in New York City, I have witnessed “rural flight” and the devasting impact that urbanization continues to have on small communities in our country. I decided to shift our own manufacturing into rural America.

Committing to do our part in helping rural America thrive again we have restructured our business to actively connect urban buying power with rural ingenuity. We opened our pouring studio on the banks of the Mississippi in Clarksville Missouri (population 442) while our sales, design and operations remain based in NYC. The products we now create are “made in America – with purpose” and are creating much needed sustainable jobs in Clarksville.

In our move into rural America, I was made aware and educated on the extreme need to create a safe and caring work environment that provides employment for survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking. Having first-hand experience with domestic violence as a child, and a team that embraces helping others, we developed the concept of “Healing Jobs” that are designed to help survivors of violence rebuild their future and confidence while working side-by-side with the rest of our team.

We have become much more than a fragrance company – we are a diverse group of people changing lives with every product we create. Each morning I wake, I think of the Healing Jobs we create through the products we sell.


-M.D.B.