Behind the scenes
The Craft
A stick of incense takes eleven days and fourteen pairs of hands. This is what happens in between.
Where we source
32 temples, one dawn round
Our collection vans leave before sunrise, timed to each temple's nirmalya visarjana — the ritual clearing of offerings. Flowers are gathered in cloth sacks, never plastic, and reach the workshop within four hours while their oils are still living. Every temple partnership includes a community fund contribution and a published collection log.
How we process
Sun, stone, and patience
Petals are hand-sorted — jasmine from marigold, rose from tulsi — then spread on rooftop terraces to dry under open sun for three days. No ovens, no bleach, no fumigants. Dried petals are stone-milled into fine powder and blended with tree-gum binder the same way this region has made incense for four centuries.
Fragrance development
The blend book
Every Thuya fragrance starts in Kavitha's lab as a conversation between a flower and its memory — what did the temple courtyard smell like when this bloom was offered? Blends are built from petal powder, resins, and steam-distilled essential oils, then tested through forty burn cycles before a single box ships.
Meet the artisans
The hands behind the fragrance
Lakshmi V.
Master Roller & Workshop Lead
30 years of craft · Madurai
Kavitha V.
Lead Fragrance Developer
6 years of craft · Chennai
Murugan S.
Collection Network Coordinator
12 years of craft · Srirangam
Devi K.
Dhoop Pressing Specialist
18 years of craft · Thanjavur