A NOSE FOR DESIGN: The smell of freshly cut stone from the Italian quarries of Carrara and Versiglia was the starting point for designer Michael Anastassiades‘ first home fragrance line with Alessi.

“There was a combined smell of smoke and gasoline. Then there was the smell of damp earth. Lastly, there was the smell of spring flowers, thyme, rosemary, and the subtle smell of poppies, together with the soft resin on the bark of pine trees in the vicinity,” he detailed.

And while the Cypriot-born, London-based creative may be best known for his lighting creations for upscale design brands like Flos or most recently, his furniture for Fritz Hansen, Anastassiades said he has had a strong olfactory sense since he was young. “All my childhood memories are around smells, whether single or combined. I remember vividly the scent of many plants that I came across during my walks in Cyprus while growing up,” he mused.

On Tuesday, Italian design brand Alessi unveiled his first fragrance line of candles and home diffusers. Named Rocc, the collection is inspired by Anastassiades’ first passion for rock collecting.

Each fragrance was developed in collaboration with the Robertet perfumery in the fragrance capital of Grasse, France.

Robertet, renowned for its use of natural raw materials, guided Anastassiades on a memory-conjuring journey through time, resulting in six, mineral-rich yet clean fragrances: Marble, Clay, Flint, a scent that imbues the smell of flint shards with wild fern and oakmoss; Amethyst, which is infused with violet, lavender and myrrh; Amber, made with a rare mix of balsamic tonka bean and warm spices, and Basalt, a fragrance enhanced with Nepal pepper and lemon zest.

The Rocc fragrance collection includes candles and diffusers. Each one comes in stainless steel containers designed by Anastassiades and manufactured at the Alessi headquarters in Omegna, Italy. Each vessel is sold separately, with prices starting at 55 euros, and can be reused as a candle holder or a decorative household object once the product has been depleted.

The collection will be available from October through the official Alessi channels in Europe, the U.K. and Switzerland.