Meet the Founder

A journey to more natural, sustainable living.

Hi, I’m Rini.

I live on a rural property in the beautiful North West of Tasmania, right next to the majestic rocky face of Mount Roland. My home is full of wildlife and wilderness. There's a river, a rain forest and many small fluffy animals including wallabies, quolls, bandicoots, a resident platypus and even Tasmanian Devils! I am inspired every day by the natural beauty of my surroundings.

Mount Roland, in North West Tasmania. Photography by Chris Puccetti.

Ever since I was a child, scent has been important to me. In fact, as an Autistic person, Perfumery has always been one of my “special interests”. I remember all of my Mother’s perfumes: their names, how they smelled, and what the bottles looked like. When I was eight years old, I got a Perfume book for Christmas and began making my own fragrances with whatever I could get my hands on. It made for some pretty interesting concoctions!  I was also curating my own collection of commercial perfumes and loved to smell them and arrange them on my dresser. Unfortunately, as I grew older, I realised that I couldn’t tolerate a lot of synthetic perfumes due to my allergies and that’s when my love for essential oils began.

Fast forward to 2011, after a successful but hectic career in business management, I moved to Tasmania. I was immediately impressed by the clean air, and pristine environment of the island. I was also deeply inspired by the wilderness that surrounded me and wanted to recreate that experience of being in nature. I was already a skilled natural perfumer, but was only making perfumes for myself and loved ones. So, utilizing my Science degree, my training in Natural Skincare formulation and Aromatherapy, I began formulating solid perfume balms and making them available to everyone. Hence Wilderness Lab was born!

I started out by selling at our local market. The products proved to be very popular! Over time, customer demand drove the business to evolve to an e-commerce and wholesale model that has grown to include stockists all over Australia and Internationally.

I now produce a range of unique solid perfumes, as well as a solid lotion bar called Tasmanian Gold. I have a wonderful group of customers who share my values of environmental conservation, animal advocacy, and optimal health and wellness. My passion for sustainability has driven me to find better ways to do business and I’ve worked hard to make Wilderness Lab 100% plastic-free including product packaging, shipping materials, and in-store displays.

I’m proud to make my products in Tasmania, and I continue to incorporate local Tasmanian (and Australian) premium ingredients that are ethical and safe to use. Some locally grown oils that I use include: Lavender, Calendula, Peppermint, Olive, and Hemp Seed.

My vision for Wilderness Lab is to provide beautiful, sustainable products that are free from harsh chemicals and are closer to nature. 

If you're seeking a more natural alternative to your personal care products, then I invite you to give Wilderness Lab a try. I know you will love them as much as I enjoy creating them for you!

Thank you for being here.