Shaun Russell

Catch Shaun Russell on Do Radio: Miracles Happen Here with Jon Kaye and Alan Wick 19-25 January 2026

Did you find your vocation later in life? Shaun Russell certainly did.

Shaun is the founder of Skandinavisk, a fragrance brand inspired by the quiet poetry of the Nordic world. His belief that a more Scandinavian approach to life is better for all, a proven model of societal and environmental practice the wider world can genuinely learn from, led him to found Skandinavisk in 2012 to help spread those ideas through scent, story, and design.

What began as a personal conviction grew into a global business built around restraint rather than noise, and values rather than hype. Skandinavisk isn’t about selling aspiration. It’s about translating landscape, culture, and philosophy into objects that sit gently in people’s lives.

In this conversation, we talk about starting a business later in life, the motivations behind that leap, and the lessons Shaun has learned while building, adapting, and protecting the business over more than a decade. We explore creativity, leadership, Nordic philosophy, and the emotional reality of founding something that carries your name, your taste, and your conscience.

This is a conversation about business, yes. But more than that, it’s about finding your work, trusting your timing, and choosing to do things the long way round.