Heritage
A house, in its own words
The story of MOCO Fragrances begins in 2018, when Morgan Conner, a fresh design school graduate, started pouring candles in a tiny 475 square foot apartment in Indianapolis, Indiana. The candle-making venture served as a creative outlet that quickly revealed Conner's passion for working with fragrance materials and scent composition. What began as a personal project in a cramped living space evolved organically into a fragrance house. Conner transitioned from candles to perfume formulation, applying the hands-on creative approach developed during design education to the more complex discipline of perfumery. The move from home studio to independent brand happened gradually, with each new fragrance representing a chapter in MOCO's development. By 2024, the studio had established a structured collection with multiple annual releases, marking a significant evolution from the initial candle-pouring experiments. The Midwest location has remained a constant throughout this growth, with Indianapolis serving as the base for all creative and operational activities. Conner's background in design school influenced the brand's visual presentation and conceptual approach to fragrance creation, creating a foundation that combines artistic sensibility with olfactory craft. The journey from apartment-based startup to established indie house spans roughly seven years of development, iteration, and collection building. MOCO Fragrances operates on the principle that scent should be experienced over time rather than judged immediately. The Discovery Set, which presents all six perfumes as starting points, reflects this patient approach to fragrance appreciation. Conner encourages customers to wear each scent on different days and in different contexts, suggesting that understanding a fragrance requires living with it rather than sampling it briefly. The brand philosophy centers on accessibility and exploration rather than exclusivity or intimidation. Rather than obscuring fragrance families behind marketing language, MOCO presents its collection as a unified body of work where customers can move between scents based on mood and occasion. The indie structure allows for complete creative control, meaning every fragrance decision flows directly from the founder's vision without external commercial pressure. This independence manifests in fragrance concepts that range across different inspirations, from sunlit architectural imagery to frozen fruit sorbets. The brand avoids the traditional perfume industry hierarchy that positions certain notes or concentrations as superior, treating each MOCO fragrance as equally valid within the collection. Conner's design school background influences this democratic approach to scent, treating fragrance as visual art might be treated, with multiple valid expressions rather than a single correct interpretation.