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Florist Emily Thompson said on her Instagram account that designing for the Volvo Cars x D.S. & Durga Swoodish Launch Event “was a thrilling contortion of the real and illusory.” (All photos courtesy Volvo Cars)
If you happened to have walked by the Greenpoint Terminal Warehouse in Brooklyn this past June, you might have noticed something peculiar: the feathery, emerald-green tendrils of dozens of ferns spilling out of the building’s red brick façade.
This unexpected pop of greenery would have been your first clue as to the immersive experience that awaited participants: a fantastical Scandinavian forest.
A portion of the proceeds of D.S. & Durga’s Swoodish candle go toward the Volvo For Life fund partner, One Tree Planted.
Upon entering the warehouse you’d find pastures of wildflowers and tall grasses, interspersed with living trees. In the center, a dining table curved its way around the room and the stars of the show: a perky, sleek XC30, Volvo’s newest, smallest fully electric SUV, and its predecessor, the P1900, circa 1956.
This whimsical setting served dual roles for the more than 140 guests, mostly content creators and lifestyle journalists — to launch Volvo’s new line of fully electric SUVs as well as the release of a co-branded limited-edition scented candle created in collaboration with D.S. & Durga, a Brooklyn-based fragrance brand. Named “Swoodish” — a riff on “Swedish” and “Woods”— the candle is an olfactory nod to Volvo’s Scandinavian roots with woodsy notes of pine, orris, and birch.
“We wanted to tell the story about Volvo Cars’ Scandinavian heritage to a new consumer audience in a playful and unexpected way,” said Gretchen Saegh-Fleming, global head of marketing at Volvo Cars. Working with Gregory Blake Sams Events for both design and production of the event, “we also wanted to achieve the feeling of stepping into a calm and soothing Scandinavian forest, in the middle of Brooklyn’s bustling cityscape.”
The team also worked with Brooklyn-based Emily Thompson Flowers, who sourced all of the florals and greenery locally. And true to Volvo’s mission to drive sustainability, the team either composted, recycled, or replanted florals and greenery in parks and communities throughout the New York City area.
Jennifer N. Dienst is senior editor at Convene.
Guests dine at a long table that curved around wildflowers and tall grasses — and a Volvo XC30, Volvo’s newest electric SUV, and its predecessor, the P1900, circa 1956.
The team at Olivier Cheng Catering looked to the Volvo EX30’s interior lighting’s ambient effects for design inspiration, creating four different lighting moods for the immersive dining experience: Forest Bath, Midsummer, Northern Light, and Nordic Twilight.
Volvo Cars “wanted to achieve the feeling of stepping into a calm and soothing Scandinavian forest” at the Greenpoint Terminal Warehouse in Brooklyn, said Gretchen Saegh-Fleming, global head of marketing at Volvo Cars.
Guests test out the new “Swoodish” scented candle created by Volvo Cars and D.S. & Durga at a launch event for Volvo’s new line of electric SUVs.