Deepika Singh.
Founder · Herbalist · Ritual Practice
I have always been drawn to plants — not just for their beauty or fragrance, but for the stories they hold, for the way they come from the soil, the rain.
That curiosity has taken me across India — to the attar makers of Kannauj, the jasmine fields near Mysore, and through the Nilgiris, Coorg and Kerala. What stayed with me was the quiet knowledge held by people who have worked with plants for generations — knowledge shaped by observation, experience and an understanding of nature that cannot always be written down.
Nature leaves its story in every ingredient. My work is to listen before I create.
— Deepika Singh
Every formulation begins with the material itself — flower, leaf, root, bark, fruit, resin, oil or extract. Where it was grown matters. So do the season, the rains, the soil and the hands that cultivated, gathered or prepared it. Each carries something of its journey.
The work happens slowly, in small batches. Some formulations find their balance easily; others are simplified, adjusted or begun again. Every ingredient has a purpose. Nothing is there simply because it can be.
Natural materials are never entirely uniform. They change with place, climate and harvest. The practice is not to erase those differences, but to understand them and let them guide the work.
It's this connection between plants, people and place that continues to inspire me.
It is about paying attention.
Deepika Singh
Founder · Herbalist · Ritual Practice, Essence of Hope
Our Story.
Eight years from a kitchen-counter candle in Gurgaon to a small apothecary rooted in India's botanicals. The sourcing journeys, the people met, and the plants that shaped Essence of Hope.
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— childhoodPratapgarh — the kitchen that taught me to smellप्रतापगढ़ · Pratapgarh
Born and raised in Pratapgarh, in eastern Uttar Pradesh — a small city of old temples, mango orchards, and a slow kind of life. My mother kept a kitchen garden of tulsi, mint, and curry leaves, and a shelf of homemade preserves. The herbal tradition first lived for me there — in the smell of a morning kitchen, in the colour of a marigold, in a grandmother's recipe for a winter tonic. Years later, every candle I pour is still trying to recreate that room.
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2018A single candle in a Gurgaon kitchenआरंभ · Aaraambh
First hand-poured soy candle on a winter evening — a quiet experiment that turned into a calling. The first three were given as gifts to neighbours; all three came back within a fortnight asking where they could buy more.
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2020A move south — to the spice gardens of the Nilgirisनीलगिरी · Nilgiri
Three months in a small planter's cottage in the Blue Mountains of Tamil Nadu, learning to read a field by smell — the cool eucalyptus of an evening mist, the bright pepper hit of a freshly-cracked pod, the warm clove that lingers in the wool of a drying shed. Came back with 14 single-origin distillates and a notebook full of plant names in Tamil, Toda, and Badaga.
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2021Kannauj — the perfume capital of Indiaकन्नौज · Kannauj
Two weeks apprenticed to a third-generation attar-maker in the old city of Kannauj, Uttar Pradesh — the town that has distilled rose, oud, and vetiver into attars for Mughal courts since the 17th century. Watched a copper deg bubble for nine hours to produce a single drop of mitti attar (the smell of rain on hot earth). Brought home a small copper still that still lives in the studio.
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2022Essence of Hope finds its nameआशा · Aasha
A logo, a one-page website, and the first 50 candles sold from a small shared studio in Bangalore within eleven days — most to friends, a few to strangers who found the site at 2 AM. Ananya, Priya, and Lakshmi — the first three customers — are still on our subscription list.
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2023Mysore's jasmine fields at dawnमैसूरु · Mysore
Two summers in the jasmine gehalla (small holdings) outside Mysore, waking at 4 AM to harvest with the women who have done this for forty years. The mallige — small, white, impossibly fragrant — became the heart of our Moon Tisane and the Forest Hand Cream. A portion of every jar still goes back to the co-operative that grows it.
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2024Coorg's coffee hills & Kerala's backwatersकूर्ग · Coorg
Autumn in the Western Ghats — first the cardamom estates of Coorg, where the spice grows under the shade of 80-year-old coffee bushes, then a week on a small houseboat in the Kerala backwaters, learning how a single drop of coconut oil carries the scent of a meal, a morning, a season. Both found their way into the Gentle Manly candle and our cold-process soap base.
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2025A homecoming — the studio moves to Pratapgarhपरंपरा · Parampara
The studio returns to the Pratapgarh kitchen where it all began — a small rented space on a quiet lane with a neem tree at the gate. Three apprentices join. The Curation Journal launches as a quarterly print zine on plant wisdom, sent free to every subscriber. International orders begin arriving from the US, UK, and Singapore.
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2026You, reading thisअब · Ab
The next chapter is being written by everyone who lights a wick, takes a sip, or pauses for a single breath — and by every farmer, distiller, and grandmother whose plants we are lucky enough to carry. — dhanyavaad.
Inside the Studio.
The apothecary is a living archive of nature's intelligence — where every botanical is intentionally sourced, thoughtfully studied, and hand-blended with both intuition and clinical care. Rooted in reverence for traditional healing lineages, each formulation is crafted with patience and purpose, transforming raw plant wisdom into grounding rituals for modern everyday living.
Sensory
Curation
Herbal Education 薬草学
From our apothecary to your home, every formula is a conversation between traditional plant wisdom and modern sensory care. We share what we know through intimate workshops — infusions, ubtans, and aromatherapy blends — so you can carry the practice into your own daily life.
Botanical Formulations 植物の調合
Our botanicals are blended in small batches, by hand, in the studio. Every formula starts as a question — what does this person need to feel more like themselves today? — and ends as a small, quiet remedy for the senses.
Elemental Rituals 五元素の儀式
Bringing nature-based grounding into daily lifestyle habits. From intimate tea ceremonies to intentional moon rituals, each experience acts as a structured pause for nervous system regulation.
Shared Experiences
Every formulation begins with the material itself — flower, leaf, root, bark, fruit, resin, oil or extract. Where it was grown matters. So do the season, the rains, the soil, and the hands that cultivated, gathered or prepared it.
Let's craft an experience together.
共に体験を織りなす ConnectFor collaborations, corporate workshops, and bespoke ritual design, reach out and we'll begin the conversation.