During the 1980s, a young Susan Camille Beckman lived abroad in Greece in her early 20s. A true creative visionary with a profound passion for crafting and projects, Susan took on many hobbies and jobs during her time in the Mediterranean. On one of her many outings in Athens, she traveled to the Monastiraki market, where she came across a local perfumer whose shop had displays showing the art of perfumery using various flowers and ingredients found in nature. This outing struck inspiration for the fascination she always had for perfume, potpourri, and lotion-making. During another Greek adventure working on a film set, the director told her that her name would be a great name to establish in the beauty market because the name Camille felt classic and sophisticated, and Beckman was German and sounded industrious.
Around this time in 1984, Susan decided to return to her home in Idaho after several years of living her life as a young artist in Europe. She knew she needed a creative way to make a living and with her crafty spirit and inquisitive desire, to Idaho she went, and thus Camille Beckman was born in 1986.
Susan Camille Beckman Roghani (Circa late 90s)
Camille Beckman initially started out by making and selling delicate gift items using lace and our signature trademark hand-tied satin rosebuds; including padded picture frames, bookmarks, potpourri, sachets, and elegant wreaths made of baby's breath and other dried flowers.
During the early stages of the business, Susan was able to hire around 25 women to lovingly craft these delicate creations, and soon after, the lotion and soap-making began. Being a daughter of an agriculture teacher, Susan grew up with a heartfelt fondness for gardening, plants, and all that mother nature provides. With skin that was constantly dry and cracked from being in the dirt, she was ready to take her business to the next step into a new niche beginning with a revolutionary hand cream recipe that later became known as Glycerine Hand Therapy™. This product not only transformed the skin but transformed the business into the personal care market with the success of over 30 years of softening hands around the world.
The first-ever Camille Beckman fragrance line called “The Juliet Line”, featured four beautiful fragrances; Joy’s Bouquet (named after Susan’s mother), Wild Rose, English Rose, and Peaches & Cream. Our Camille Beckman signature, Camille, was the first fragrance that was officially designed. Its feminine and fresh scent of carnation, cashmere, and white iris was “born in Athens”. Still one of our beloved fragrances today, Camille Beckman has shared over 50 beautiful, unique fragrances with the world throughout the decades. Some of the classic fragrances that still remain timeless and strong today for over 25 years are French Vanilla, English Lavender, Glycerine Rosewater, White Lilac, and Oriental Spice among others.
The full 'Camille' product collection from an old catalog
French Vanilla, one of our top-selling fragrances as shown in a vintage catalog!
White Lilac, "Forever a favorite of ours, White Lilac brings back memories of springtime all year long"
By the late 90s, Camille Beckman put over 90 women to work with the philosophy that giving women jobs that they enjoyed while being able to raise their families was imperative. Many of these women were mothers who stayed at home hand-tying our trademark rosebuds that are on every jar of Glycerine Hand Therapy™. “Having a company that could put family first was very vital. With our products being partially manufactured and partially handcrafted, it puts a lot of people to work” said Susan Camille Beckman.
Camille Beckman was booming in the 90s. Much of the inspiration for product design and advertising stemmed from Susan’s elegant taste, but also from the classic Victorian era she always loved. In the 90s there was a major Victorian revival (think Victoria magazine!) among trends in fashion, beauty, and art. The modern-day Camille Beckman gracefully continues its sophisticated romance with the same hand-tied rosebuds and classic fragrances that we know and love. Through constant change and trends, the timeless elegance of Camille Beckman will live on forever.