Interview: Kathrin Heller in Conversation with Room & Orbit
Scent shapes how we feel within a space — subtly, yet profoundly.
In a recent conversation with the modern wellness platform Room & Orbit, Kathrin Heller, founder of PEACE IN THE WILD, reflects on health, sensory environments, and the deeper role of fragrance in everyday life. Moving between personal experience and a broader philosophy of well-being, the interview offers a quiet perspective on how atmosphere, nature, and ritual can support us.
Below is a curated selection of excerpts from the conversation:
What does health mean to you?
KH:
Health, to me, is coherence. When body, mind, senses, and environment are in alignment.
What’s underrated in health?
KH:
The sensory environment. Light, scent, sound and texture influence our nervous system. A space can regulate us within seconds or subtly exhaust us over time. We speak a lot about nutrition and exercise, but rarely about atmosphere. And yet we live inside it every day.
Do you remember the exact moment you realized you wanted to start PEACE IN THE WILD?
KH:
There wasn’t one single moment. It was a realization that matured over time.
I have always been a very sensory person. Then, we spent our parental leave in the South of France, surrounded by freshly harvested lavender fields. We stayed with friends at an old distillery. Despite having a baby, we all slept so deeply, and the atmosphere felt noticeably calm. That experience made me understand that scent is not just pleasant. It affects the nervous system. Then I immersed myself in essential oils and their effects on mood, stress, and physiology. And I couldn’t let go of the subject.
What followed was a two-year founding process. Formal aromatherapy training, research, conversations with perfumers, laboratories, and producers. Learning. Questioning. Refining. The spark was in France. The brand itself was built slowly and deliberately.
What is your long-term vision for your brand?
KH:
To create a new standard for fragrance rooted in aromatherapeutic intelligence, potent natural ingredients, and aesthetic restraint. Long term, I see PEACE IN THE WILD expanding thoughtfully into curated environments where atmosphere matters, and into products that extend this philosophy beyond scent alone. A universe where scent becomes a foundation for ritual and intention, helping us feel centered and connected in this wild world.
What advice would you give to the person reading this?
KH:
Open your senses.
The full interview with Room & Orbit explores Kathrin Heller’s perspective on health, scent, and sensory environments in more depth:
Von Kathrin Heller
