Souvedeer: Cultural Storytelling Through Scent
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Time to read 3 min
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Time to read 3 min
At On Waverly, we are always searching for makers whose work tells a story — not just through what they create, but through the meaning behind it. This month, we are thrilled to introduce you to I-Chieh Wu, co-founder of SouveDeer, a women-founded, AAPI-owned brand that transforms Asian cultural rituals into scent-based experiences.
I-Chieh describes SouveDeer as a way of making “scent objects that carry memory.” That simple phrase captures the heart of her work. Each candle, diffuser, or small design piece is more than something beautiful for your home; it’s a reminder of heritage, family, and belonging.
These pieces invite people to slow down, reflect, and experience everyday rituals through the senses.
I create scent-based objects that carry pieces of cultural memory—like a xiao long bao-shaped diffuser or a soy candle in a traditional gaiwan teacup. These pieces invite people to slow down, reflect, and experience everyday rituals through the senses. It matters to me because I’ve often lived between places and identities, and creating physical, giftable objects is my way of staying rooted while inviting others to connect with culture in warm, tactile ways.
SouveDeer began as a way to stay connected—with my sister, with home, and with the everyday rituals I missed after leaving Taiwan. As an immigrant, I’ve often held onto scent and texture as anchors—fragments of culture that helped me feel whole. Over time, those fragments became design cues. I now see my work as a quiet kind of translation: turning memory into form, and turning those fragments into scent-based objects others can hold, gift, and remember—especially those who, like me, carry more than one culture.
Living in the U.S., I’ve come to see creativity as a form of translation: not simplifying who I am, but expressing it in new contexts through form, scent, and memory. My AAPI identity isn’t just a backdrop—it’s a wellspring of imagery, material, and feeling that informs everything I make.
I wish more people understood that what looks playful on the surface—like a dumpling or a mahjong tile candle—is often rooted in something deeply personal. The dumpling shape comes from childhood memories of my family folding jiaozi together, while the mahjong tiles remind me of the sound of relatives laughing and shuffling pieces during Lunar New Year.
These forms carry memory, longing, and a quiet desire to preserve what doesn’t always fit into words. As an immigrant and AAPI creative, I’m often navigating how to express heritage without having to explain it. SouveDeer isn’t just about fun candles — it’s about offering moments of recognition, warmth, and shared cultural memory.
One of my favorite moments is seeing someone’s face light up when they realize the candle they’re holding is shaped like a dumpling, or a mahjong tile they remember from childhood. That moment of recognition, surprise, and warmth reminds me why I do this work. It means something personal has made its way into someone else's story.
I’m excited to be entering a new chapter with SouveDeer—growing the brand beyond where it began, while still holding onto the spirit of how it started: at a kitchen table in San Francisco. I’ve been exploring new product ideas inspired by Taiwanese childhood and nostalgia that make people smile. It’s a fun and meaningful way to continue translating cultural memory into scent and form.
Instagram: @souvedeer
Website: www.souvedeer.com
In person: - Pop up markets in NYC/SF - SF: On Waverly / Sunset Mercantile - Taipei, Taiwan: Lian Shang Bo 108 / Maji Treats / The Red House - Osaka, Japan: Maji Treats at Kintetsu Harukas
