Raffaella Mackenzie could never have imagined leaving her thriving career as a fashion designer in Italy to make incense in Seaford, but that’s what happened when love came to town. Born in Biella in the Northern Province of Piedmonte, Raffaella would often travel to Paris or Milan, epicentres of the fashion world. It was a trip to Lucca in Tuscany that would change everything.
Her sister, Sabrina, was working in hospitality at a beautiful 1400s mansion in Lucca. She asked Raffaella to help her out for a couple of weeks. By chance, a gorgeous Australian man happened to be working in the garden there. Raffaella said to her sister, “Oh my God, I think I’m going to marry him!” They both laughed. In 2000, she and Sabrina visited Australia. Raffaella was determined to find that man. She did. They married in 2001.
As a teenager, Raffaella always dreamt of a career in fashion. Both parents were makers. Her father was a stonemason and her mother sewed and painted in watercolour. They encouraged their daughters to follow their hearts. Raffaella’s love of art, particularly fashion illustration, was her key motivation. “Drawing put me into the flow state. I’d get lost in that beautiful moment of creative abandon,” she says.
That said, Raffaella found the fashion industry soulless. That perception didn’t change when she moved to Australia. She stuck with fashion for a while, but it didn’t satisfy her. She took a break to raise her children. When she was ready to return to work, she wanted something different.
She started studying Hinduism and ancient philosophy with a spiritual teacher, learning to look deep inside herself, beyond the everyday. She had an awakening. Raffaella found that divine energy helped heal her. Incense is a part of her spiritual practice so it seemed like a natural next step.
Incense has been burning for thousands of years. It is thought to help with meditation, prayer and energy healing practices.
“Incense has been burning for thousands of years. It is thought to help with meditation, prayer and energy healing practices. Its smoke is the connection between the earthly and the divine. Fire represents one of the four key earthly elements. It’s grounding, and our connection to spirit,” she says.
“Everything I do in my life now is connected with the divine. Making incense changed my whole focus. I’m no longer dressing the body, I’m dressing the soul,” she says. The deep satisfaction she feels making incense brings her great joy and an almost preternatural calm.
As Raffaella sees it, people can get caught up in their tightly held concepts and beliefs. They get trapped in the ego. She feels spirituality is about overcoming the ego in order to be of service to self and others. “Spirituality has nothing to do with religion. It’s an internal discovery of who you are and your purpose in this life,” she says. She feels that certain smells, sights, tastes and sounds trigger and connect people to the divine at a very deep level.
“All that I do is connected with the divine. There is so much beauty in life to celebrate. People don’t always see it, but difficult moments shape you. The light is only visible if you also have the dark. There is always this duality,” she says.
Now Raffaella hopes to bring the divine to her customers through her incense. Each scent offers a different benefit; some are grounding, some uplifting and some calming. She creates her scents to align with astrological signs. Particular herbs resonate more strongly with certain star signs.
Raffaella loves selling her products at craft markets like Shoreham, Emu Plains and Little Beauty in Frankston. “The market is beautiful. It’s like a big family. We help each other. The best part is talking to people and helping customers who come to my stall. Everything about it is wonderful. I’ve been doing this for seven years and I love it,” she says.
She sees making incense as a kind of alchemy. Raffaella uses the purest ingredients sourced around the world from the verdant mountains and valleys of India to the flower fields of France. Each scent can carry the user away lifting the spirit, promoting health and wellbeing and stimulating creativity. Why not give her incense a try?
IG: re.incense
reincense.com.au