For Baltimore business owner Jon-Michael Moses, scent is more than a pleasant addition to a room; it is memory, identity and community.
That’s why Moses founded Meet Haus, an independent Baltimore-based candle and home fragrance company that aims to bottle those memories into atmospheric fragrances that leave a lasting impression.
The vision grew out of Moses’ lifelong interest in homes, design, and atmosphere. Inspired by his mother’s and grandmother’s love of creating unique living spaces, Moses built Meet Haus around his interests in chemistry, engineering, design, and storytelling.
Meet Haus officially launched two years ago, though the groundwork began much earlier. Before selling a single candle, Moses spent a year testing products by giving them away to friends and collecting feedback before officially launching his online store.
“Someone gave me great advice: ‘Make 100 candles and don’t try to sell them. Just give them away and listen to what people say,’” Moses recalled.
The company’s most distinctive offering is its Baltimore Neighborhood Collection, a series of candles inspired by the city’s landscapes, architecture, and cultural history.
“The whole concept of the brand has always been about memory,” Moses said. “Instead of trying to just live off of my memories, why don’t I live off a shared memory that we all have here in the city?”
The Baltimore Neighborhood Collection currently includes three candles: Inner Harbor, Mt. Vernon and Druid Hill.
Moses said the Inner Harbor candle, with scents of ocean, cotton and sugar, was inspired by the harbor itself as well as the sweet shops and hotels that line the neighborhood.
The Mt. Vernon candle is inspired by the historic charm of the neighborhood’s older homes and nightlife, with scents of leather, peppercorn and pine.
The Druid Hill candle captures that neighborhood’s mix of natural and cultural influences.
“[The candles] have smells that aren’t native to this part of America, but have been brought here from the communities around,” Moses said. “There’s some coconut in there, there’s some sweet jasmine there. And that’s been brought in by the communities that didn’t establish the park but eventually moved around the park.”
Each candle is designed, mixed, and poured in-house at Moses’ Baltimore home, and sold either online or at various pop-ups and local festivals, such as, most recently, Baltimore’s Artscape festival.
Looking ahead, Moses hopes to expand both the Neighborhood Collection and Meet Haus’ reach with a storefront where customers can gather, enjoy the atmosphere, slow down, and share memories tied to their city.
“We get tied up in living and trying to make money and trying to just survive, that we kind of forget these smells that just remind us of our safe spots and our communities and our neighborhoods,” Moses said. “That’s what I’m trying to show in the candle brand as well.”
Meet Haus’ online store can be found here.
