About Monarch Èlan

(The House of Sovereign Scent and Living Legacy)

The Beginning — “A Flame Lit in 2021”

Every house begins with a spark — not the kind that burns, but the kind that remembers.
For Michael and Desiree, that spark came in September of 2021, when they poured their first candle at a kitchen table in Omaha. It was uneven, imperfect, cooling too quickly on one side and tunneling by the second hour. But it was theirs. It was the first time either of them had made something that felt like ownership — not borrowed space, not someone else’s blueprint, but an act of self-determination cast in wax.

Over the next four years, the couple would obsess over that flame. They tested, failed, refined, and rebuilt — more than 900 iterations of candles, perfumes, diffusers, and aromatic oils. They studied how scent changed the mind, how ritual changed behavior, and how repetition built discipline. What began as curiosity became craft; what began as craft became a calling.

Every blend became a lesson: neroli for courage, tonka for calm, labdanum for depth, vetiver for return. Every mistake taught them patience. Every burn test taught them respect. Each pour brought them closer to understanding that fragrance, when made honestly, isn’t decoration — it’s direction.

“We realized scent could hold memory, rewrite atmosphere, even change how people moved through the world. We didn’t want to make products anymore — we wanted to make permanence.”

The Creation of the House — “Where Ownership Took Form”

By 2025, that long process of study and self-creation evolved into something larger — a philosophy, a system, a brand built not around commerce, but around inheritance.
And so, Monarch Èlan was founded — not to compete, but to preserve; not to sell, but to steward.

It became the couple’s answer to the question they had asked since childhood: What would it mean if we owned something that lasted?

Michael, a methodical craftsman with an engineer’s discipline, built the production systems, wicks, and wane-time matrices. Desiree, the sensory perfectionist, developed the olfactory architecture — the accords, the layering, the way a fragrance could sound as much as it could smell. Together, they became both artisans and archivists — documenting every experiment in what would become The Ledger of Inheritance.

Each candle still bears a batch number, every blend a notation in ink. Each bottle still passes through their hands — poured, cured, signed, and sealed in-house.

“We built Monarch Èlan the way people used to build libraries — one careful entry at a time.”

The Process — “Poured by Hand, Recorded by Heart”

Inside the Monarch Èlan studio, there are no conveyor belts or anonymous batches. Every product is poured by the founders themselves, using a slow, ritualized process refined over years:

Sourcing: All oils are IFRA-compliant, cruelty-free, and blended with sustainable bases like coconut–apricot wax for candles and vegetable-derived compounds for skin formulations. Each raw material is traced, documented, and signed into the Ledger before use.
Pouring: Every vessel — ribbed amber glass, 10-ounce capacity — is hand-warmed before wax is introduced, ensuring even binding and slow cooling.
Curing: Cured in temperature-controlled racks for no fewer than 10 days, allowing the scent molecules to stabilize naturally.
Finishing: Each candle receives its brass wax seal, hand-numbered tag, and kraft wrap embossed with the Monarch crest.
Recording: Batch data — formula ratios, pour date, temperature, wick size, humidity levels, and scent notes — is recorded both digitally and in the physical House Ledger, archived for permanence.

This process, though deliberate, is not merely about control — it is about recording proof of creation. Every candle is both an object and an entry, every batch a story of the maker’s discipline.

The Fragrances — “The Language of Sovereignty”

Monarch Èlan’s fragrances are written like journals — each a chapter in a growing compendium of scent and memory. Every blend begins with the Monarch Accord, the invisible thread that runs through the house: guaiacwood, oak, labdanum, vanilla smoke, and cedar.

Around this foundation, new fragrances are composed to mark milestones — the signing of the Stewardship Charter, the opening of the first atelier, the completion of a fellowship, or the quiet moments between success and reflection.

Each blend serves a purpose:

Neroli and White Jasmine — clarity and restoration.
Lavender Driftwood and Black Violet — reflection and emotional grounding.
Sel de Mer and Magnolia — freedom, clean motion, the breath before change.
Cedarwood Blanc and Rose Oud — dignity, intimacy, the smell of recordkeeping itself.

These are not random notes — they are coded emotions, built from years of study in scent psychology, molecular layering, and sensory memory.

“We blend for the long burn — scents that age into a room like a story that keeps unfolding.”

The Philosophy — “To Build What We Can Keep”

Monarch Èlan is not a brand made to chase seasons or trends. It is a house built to outlast the people who made it.
It is a Black American maison, born from two lives shaped by survival and raised toward sovereignty.

Michael and Desiree grew up like many — raised by single mothers who taught endurance before ownership, survival before security. Their success stories were born in apartments that weren’t theirs, neighborhoods they didn’t own, and systems that rarely made room for permanence. Monarch Èlan became their rebellion — their declaration that ownership is possible, and that permanence can begin with a wick and a will.

Their mission extends beyond fragrance. It is about teaching others how to build what they can keep: how to document their craft, protect their names, and create legacies from ordinary acts of making.

“We believe lineage doesn’t have to be inherited — it can be built.”

The Future — “The Compound and the Continuum”

The world of Monarch Èlan is expanding — from the studio to the envisioned Compound, a 300-acre sanctuary dedicated to scent, study, and stewardship. Beneath its library, vault, and archive will live The Compendium — a living record of recipes, essays, formulas, and heirloom blends reserved for the next generation of artisans and heirs.

Each fragrance crafted today will be stored, indexed, and preserved for tomorrow — so that future stewards can open the record and know exactly how to begin again.

“We don’t want to be remembered as a brand that sold candles.
We want to be remembered as the house that proved ownership could smell like something.”

The Essence of Monarch Èlan

We are not perfumers chasing novelty.
We are recordkeepers bottling permanence.
Every candle is a signature, every fragrance a vow, every ledger a piece of proof that we were here — building, documenting, keeping.

Monarch Èlan — Poured by hand. Recorded by heart.
Sovereignty in Scent. Permanence in Practice.