# Source Adage ## Facts | | | |---|---| | Founded | 2014 | | Origin | United States | | Headquarters | Riparbella (Tuscany, Italy); previously Hudson, New York (2015-2022) | | Status | Active | | Distribution | Direct to consumer | | Website | https://sourceadage.com/ | Source Adage is an independent niche fragrance house founded by Christopher Draghi and Robert Dobay. It began in Hudson, New York, where the couple ran a shop and studio from 2015 to 2022, and since 2023 it has been based in Riparbella, a village in the hills of coastal Tuscany. The company makes eau de parfums and home fragrances, chiefly candles and diffusers, and describes its work as "Artistic Perfumery / Narrated by Nature". Most of its scents are tied to a specific landscape, from the volcanic coast of Hawaii to the forests of Alaska and the deserts of the American Southwest. The founding year is given two ways. In a 2017 interview the founders said they founded the company in 2014 [9], while an exhibitor profile for the Pitti Fragranze trade fair says the house "launched in New York in 2015" [15]. The founders' own timeline places the first product launch and the opening of the Hudson shop in September 2015, which suggests 2014 as the year the business was set up and 2015 as its public debut. The brand remains active, selling through its own shops in the United States and Europe. ## Origin & founders Both founders came to perfume from design. According to the 2017 profile in the fragrance magazine ÇaFleureBon, Christopher Draghi grew up in Connecticut and studied automobile and industrial design before working as a painter, photographer, creative director and perfumer. He later followed his paternal heritage to Italy, where he says he lived for many years. Robert Dobay, also a designer, grew up in Hungary. A 2019 feature in Rural Intelligence, a regional lifestyle publication covering the Hudson Valley, describes the pair as spouses with long experience in branding, marketing and public relations. The article says they had worked for the hotel groups Starwood and Marriott in Italy and England before leaving corporate jobs to build their own company [10]. In 2015 they began looking for a new home and a base for the business in Hudson, a small town in upstate New York. On the company's European website, both men are credited as "co-founders/noses", meaning they take part in composing the scents themselves [7]. The American site names only Draghi in that role, but the European site and several outside accounts name both founders. The company styles its own name in lower case, as "source adage", in much of its writing and on its labels. ## History & milestones The first products were not perfumes. In September 2015 the founders opened a retail shop on Warren Street in Hudson and launched a collection of what they called ambient fragrances: diffusers and candles. A collection of eau de parfums followed in late 2016. By 2017 the line included the perfumes aka'ula, c'i'aan and monto'ac, each named for and inspired by a part of the American landscape. The Hudson shop became the brand's flagship. Rural Intelligence reported that it occupied a Greek Revival building constructed in 1830 by Henry Pratt Skinner, whose 1,500-square-foot ground floor had once served as a school run by his daughter. The founders painted the exterior an "almost black" shade to bring out its neoclassical details and gave the interior a deliberately dark look. The same palette ran through the product line, most visibly in the jet-black candle vessels. Beyond retail customers, the article noted that the company supplied private clients, including international hotels and restaurants. The shop drew attention as a destination in its own right. Writing for Into The Gloss in 2021, Ali Oshinsky included it in a guide to a beauty day trip from New York City, calling Source Adage "a niche fragrance house actually based in Hudson" [12]. She described an apothecary bar of products scented only with essential oils, alongside the perfumes and a signature home-scent line. The Hudson period ended in 2022. In 2023 the founders moved their studio, and themselves, from upstate New York to Riparbella in the province of Pisa, presenting the move as a way to bring their fragrances to Europe [2]. The company now describes its new base as a scent studio surrounded by vineyards and olive groves. The European debut came at Pitti Fragranze in Florence, a trade fair for artistic and niche perfumery. According to the brand's exhibitor profile, the launch included three of its gender-neutral eau de parfums, with more to follow from the American range [15]. A later profile for the same fair listed four gender-neutral eau de parfums in the European collection, a new perfume and the brand's first home fragrances for that market. Both profiles open with the line "Born in New York. reMade in Italy." Since the move, the company has built a programme of events in Italy. In June 2024 it hosted a fragrance and wine event at the Tenuta Prima Pietra winery overlooking the Tuscan coast. In August 2024 it introduced a new perfume, ki'lei, and in October 2025 it held an olfactory evening in Florence during Pitti Fragranze. The European website also offers workshops at the Riparbella studio. ## Ownership No parent company or outside owner is documented. The European business trades as Adage SRL, an Italian company with its registered office in Riparbella [7]. The American website continues to operate under the name source adage fragrances, and the two sites link to each other's shops. ## Philosophy & positioning Source Adage presents itself as a small, hands-on perfume house with a strong sense of place. The company says that each fragrance "starts from scratch" in its own studio, and that master perfumers at established fragrance houses then bring the compositions to completion. It describes its approach to fragrance making as "personal, hands-on" and says its scents keep "a clear point of view." Place is the organising idea. In the 2017 interview the founders said that all of their fragrances were inspired by "great American landscapes", and the current perfume range still follows that logic. The brand's home page says its fragrances are inspired by distinct places and by the words that first gave them voice. The founders also framed their path into perfumery as unusual, calling their "non-traditional approach to fragrance making" a differentiator, while stressing that every product must meet the necessary testing and authentication standards. In its own press material the company describes itself as "New York-born niche perfumes and luxury home fragrances", and its trade-fair profiles use the label "Niche-Luxe". Its writing in recent years has taken a position within the niche market itself. The brand's Scent Journal has run essays under titles such as "Trends? Unfollow." (2025), "Niche Perfumery Has Lost the Plot" (2026) and "What Handmade Fragrances Actually Means…to Us" (2026). In September 2026 it published a piece titled "AI vs. Artistic Perfumery. Who wins?" [5], which opened by observing that the industry was running toward artificial intelligence "fast and furious." ## Products & innovation The perfume range is built around seven eau de parfums, each linked to a landscape: - **aétai**, described by the company as a floral and amber-woods scent capturing "the duality of the New England coast" - **aka'ula**, inspired by "the darker side of volcanic Hawaii" - **c'i'aan**, drawn from the forests and fjords of Alaska - **i'khana**, a spicy-tropical scent tied to the white-sand beaches of the Keys - **ki'lei**, presented as an "atmospheric scent rising after a storm along the central California coast" - **monto'ac**, an herbal fragrance based on mid-Atlantic coastal woodlands - **nahasá**, a woody-aromatic scent set in the American Southwest and the newest addition, listed as "Now Available" in 2026 The home fragrance side, sold as the Apothecary and Signature collections, follows the same idea. Its scents range from the California coast to New England. Earlier home scents mentioned in the press include Pacific Coast, Southern States, Great Plains and Hudson 314, the last inspired by the town where the brand began. The most detailed outside assessment of the perfumes comes from the perfume critic Luca Turin, who reviewed the line on his Substack in May 2025 [13]. He described a single, consistent house style that he called "trigeminal", referring to the cooling and prickling sensations some materials produce. "Trigeminal sensation adds an almost tactile angle to smell," he wrote. In his account, every scent in the range opens with a sharp top accord built from ginger, pepper, aldehydes, fir or juniper. He summarised the notes briefly: juniper and fir for c'i'aan, an ozonic oud for aka'ula, lime and grapefruit for i'khana, geosmin and aldehydes for ki'lei, and "grapes" and sage for monto'ac. His favourite was aétai, which he called "an anisic fougère reduced to its simplest elements." Turin's verdict was mixed. He praised what he saw as "an interesting and impressively coherent artistic bias" but noted that the compositions have little drydown, the stage in which a perfume settles on the skin after the opening notes fade. "They are original and smell good, but may leave you wanting more," he concluded. The review also shed light on who makes the perfumes. Turin named the perfumers Kingsley Ibe and Thomas Siedel as involved, citing an industry database. In a reply under the post, Draghi wrote that the brand creates its original accords in-house and then works with perfumers, credited Cecilia Hua with early versions of several scents, and said that aétai's original draft went into production almost unchanged after the perfumer Christophe Laudamiel visited the New York shop. The company's own pages do not name the perfumers it works with. On sustainability, each eau de parfum carries the note that it "contains upcycled and sustainable ingredients" [4], though the company does not specify which ingredients these are. The European website includes an environmental-care section with information on packaging and recycling [8]. No third-party certifications, such as vegan or cruelty-free labels, are documented for the brand. ## Recognition Source Adage has drawn steady coverage in fashion, design and fragrance media since its Hudson years. Beyond ÇaFleureBon's 2017 founder profile and the Rural Intelligence feature on the Hudson shop, L'Officiel USA ran a 2019 piece by Avery Felman under the headline "Source Adage Gives Attention to Detail New Meaning", describing the Hudson-based perfumery as offering "unique and alluring scents" [11]. The company's press page collects further coverage, including a feature on ki'lei at Pitti Fragranze attributed to Vanity Fair Italia, a Hudson travel piece in Elle Decor, video reviews of aétai and ki'lei, and items on the brand's arrival in Poland and its new home in Tuscany. The same page lists a headline reading "FRAGRANTICA Best Perfume 2024", linking to the fragrance site Fragrantica's annual selection, but does not say which of its fragrances was chosen [3]. ## Current status Source Adage is active. It sells through two direct shops, one for the United States and one for Europe, and runs its studio, workshops and events from Riparbella. The newest perfume, nahasá, was listed as available in 2026, and the brand's Scent Journal has published regularly, most recently in September 2026. ## Timeline {#belagg-timeline} | Year | Event | Source | |---|---|---| | 2014 | Source Adage founded by Christopher Draghi and Robert Dobay (founders' own account) | https://cafleurebon.com/?p=96173 | | 2015 | Retail store opened in Hudson, NY (September 2015) with initial ambient fragrance collection (diffusers and candles); Hudson boutique operated 2015-2022 | https://cafleurebon.com/?p=96173 | | 2016 | Eau de parfum collection launched (late 2016) | https://cafleurebon.com/?p=96173 | | 2022 | Hudson, NY boutique period ends (caption: 'Hudson, NY boutique 2015-22') | https://sourceadage.com/our-story | | 2023 | Studio relocated to Riparbella, Tuscany (caption: 'Riparbella, Tuscany studio 2023-present') | https://sourceadage.com/our-story | | 2023 | European launch presented at Pitti Fragranze 2023 (three gender-neutral eau de parfums) | https://www.pittimmagine.com/en/pittimmagine/archive/fragranze21/exhibitors/S/source-adage-fragrances | | 2024 | ki'lei eau de parfum introduced (journal post 'Lightning in a Bottle', Aug 2024) | https://sourceadage.com/journal | | 2025 | 'Niche Night in Florence' olfactory event hosted during Pitti Fragranze (journal post Oct 2025) | https://sourceadage.com/journal | | — | nahasá eau de parfum listed as 'Now Available' on homepage (observed Oct 2026; launch year not stated on page) | https://sourceadage.com/ | ## Awards {#belagg-awards} | Year | Awards | Category | Source | |---|---|---|---| | 2024 | Fragrantica Best Perfumes 2024 (headline 'FRAGRANTICA Best Perfume 2024' on brand press page; underlying Fragrantica article returned 403 and is unverified; product not named on press page) | unknown | https://sourceadage.com/press | ## Signature products {#belagg-products} - **aétai (eau de parfum)** — My favorite is Aétai, an anisic fougère reduced to its simplest elements. — https://lucaturin.substack.com/p/source-adage - **ki'lei (eau de parfum)** — Introducing, the exhilarating new fragrance from source adage, ki'lei. — https://sourceadage.com/journal - **nahasá (eau de parfum)** — An immersive, woody-aromatic scent of spiritual and physical convergence in the American Southwest. — https://sourceadage.com/eau-de-parfums - **aka'ula (eau de parfum)** — An intoxicatingly sexy scent evoking the darker side of volcanic Hawaii. — https://sourceadage.com/eau-de-parfums - **c'i'aan (eau de parfum)** — A fresh scent with underlying warmth that transports you to the forests and fjords of Alaska. — https://sourceadage.com/eau-de-parfums ## Mentioned in {#belagg-press} - **ÇaFleureBon** (2017) — 'Profiles in American Perfumery' interview with founders Christopher Draghi and Robert Dobay (July 27, 2017) — https://cafleurebon.com/?p=96173 - **Rural Intelligence** (2019) — 'Design Diary: Source Adage, At Home in the Fragrance House' by Sherry Jo Williams (Feb 25, 2019) on the Hudson flagship in an 1830 Greek Revival building — https://www.ruralintelligence.com/design-diary-source-adage-at-home-in-the-fragrance-house/ - **L'Officiel USA** (2019) — 'Source Adage Gives Attention to Detail New Meaning' by Avery Felman (Apr 29, 2019): 'The Hudson-based perfumery boasts an impressive selection of unique and alluring scents.' — https://www.lofficielusa.com/beauty/source-adage-interview-2019 - **Into The Gloss** (2021) — 'Take A Beauty Day Trip Upstate' by Ali Oshinsky: Source Adage described as 'a niche fragrance house actually based in Hudson' — https://intothegloss.com/2021/09/day-trip-to-hudson/ - **Luca Turin (Substack)** (2025) — Review of the line (May 25, 2025): 'An interesting and impressively coherent artistic bias nevertheless.' / 'They are original and smell good, but may leave you wanting more.' — https://lucaturin.substack.com/p/source-adage ## Sources 2. (T1) https://sourceadage.com/our-story 3. (T2) https://sourceadage.com/press 4. (T2) https://sourceadage.com/eau-de-parfums 5. (T2) https://sourceadage.com/journal 7. (T2) https://sourceadage.it/our-story/ 8. (T2) https://sourceadage.it/environmental-care/ 9. (T3) https://cafleurebon.com/?p=96173 10. (T3) https://www.ruralintelligence.com/design-diary-source-adage-at-home-in-the-fragrance-house/ 11. (T3) https://www.lofficielusa.com/beauty/source-adage-interview-2019 12. (T3) https://intothegloss.com/2021/09/day-trip-to-hudson/ 13. (T3) https://lucaturin.substack.com/p/source-adage 15. (T3) https://www.pittimmagine.com/en/pittimmagine/archive/fragranze21/exhibitors/S/source-adage-fragrances --- Glowpedia · · Published 2026-10-17 Please cite with a link to the article URL.