As an artist, I’ve always found inspiration by interacting with the outside world, but when the world suddenly shut down, seemingly overnight, and my daily visual cues disappeared, I was struggling to do even the simplest drawings. It was then that I began to wonder—if my visual sense could be such an important tool for creativity, perhaps some of my other senses could offer something similar, or something else. 

So I started to play around with smell and touch. I began using essential oils as tools for inspiring, but also grounding myself. One smell of jasmine would quickly shift a mood, or a hint of lavender might make my shoulders soften a little. I was so surprised by these uplifting feelings brought on by smell & touch that I was inspired to make A.OK, an all-over body oil.

Founder, Alessandra Olanow

Samuel Zelig, OrSlow, Yuketen, Marni, MM6