![]() ![]() When the first knockoffs appeared it was hard, and vendor issues and the economy have kept us humble. Nothing better.Īnd we’ve had our share of downs. Gratefully, we’ve had way more ups than downs, with the greatest “up” the fact we’re a 20-year old business that people are still excited about and devoted fans of. What have been some of the ups and downs of Alora over the years? Eventually Alora was in all the flagship and co-op locations and had great success there for 11 years.īeing on Oprah’s O List that same year was a pretty big deal too, people still call today asking what Oprah’s favorite scent is! We’d have buyers call from stores across the country saying “they’d seen our product in Barneys and would like to write an order immediately”. We’d hand-selected some great retailers across the country but landing a spot in Barneys truly was a stamp of approval. The minute we got the call telling us Barneys New York added our diffusers to their apothecary, we were off to the races. How did you know when you made it and that this was going to be a real business?Įasy. By the end of 2000 we’d hand assembled 8000 diffusers and landed Alora in 12 boutiques across the country. In 2000, we moved home to our family farm in Southern Minnesota and developed a trio of signature scents and introduced the US to a brand new home fragrance category. Feeling the pull of home, we committed to starting our own business together, and began with bringing our own version of the “reed” diffuser to America. We lived in a 150-year old villa overlooking Lake Como and were constantly inspired by the beauty surrounding us. My sis and I started Alora in 2000 after spending two years living together in Italy. Of course when we cabbed down to his Chelsea showroom we realized pretty quickly that it wasn’t a store, but John happened to be there and we gushed to him how much we loved his textiles and our friendship was born. And, combing through a mag, I happened to see John’s bedding in a “best of” section and loved it, telling my sister that we had to visit the “John Robshaw store” on our next NYC trip. Well, 20 years ago magazines still ruled when it came to discovering new products and stores - no Instagram, and people were still scared to enter their credit cards online (imagine!). We asked Therese Gibbons, the founder of Alora Ambiance, a few questions below. They've come together 20 years later to launch this collection of reed diffusers and candles using Alora's most popular signature scents wrapped in John's notable prints and patterns. ![]() John was starting John Robshaw Textiles, global bedding and textiles, inspired by India artisans, and Therese was beginning Alora Ambiance, the first reed diffuser in America, brought from Italy. John Robshaw and Therese Gibbons met 20 years ago when they were both launching their companies. Limited Edition Candles and Reed DiffusersĢ0 Years of Travel, Friendship & Business ![]()
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