It’s been a busy year for Ranger Station, the Nashville-based fragrance house founded by husband-and-wife duo Steve and Jordan Soderholm. Later this May, the unisex scent line—launched in 2015 and known for its affordable colognes, hand-poured candles (in reusable cocktail glasses) and body care—opens its second brick-and-mortar store on Bleecker Street in New York City.
“We’re bringing American heritage fragrance to New York City,” says Jordan Soderholm, noting a post-pandemic surge of Big Apple fans —many of whom discovered Ranger Station for the first time. “It’s a way for us to root ourselves in a place that has felt like a second home for so long.”
For the Soderholms, creating an inviting space was beyond just retail. “We wanted people to walk into our store and feel like they’ve stepped into an extension of our living room,” says Steve Soderholm. The boutique— dressed in rusty reds and forest greens — blends the brand’s classic American West aesthetic with materials like leather, quartz, travertine, burlwood, and walnut.
A Story With Music Origins
What started as a creative side project in a shared kitchen has since evolved into a buzzy sensation with a cult following. A full-time touring drummer at the time, Steve Soderholm was looking for a hands-on creative outlet between gigs. “I needed something to do with my hands—to keep me grounded,” he says.
Candles came first. “We’d have people over at the house, and I’d bartend for them, always with a candle burning.” At the time, Steve had developed a taste for high-end candles—but as a musician with a limited budget, he couldn’t afford the luxury. “I had more time than money, so I decided to start making my own,” he recalls.
Experimentation was key. “Any artist starting out needs to go through a phase of taking inspiration from those around them,”Steve Soderholm says. “Look at any band—they’ll tell you about the songs and artists that shaped them.”
Leather + Pine, Ranger Station’s debut scent was, by Steve’s own admission, “a blend that had no business working.” Created without formal perfumery training, it was guided by instinct and memory. “I had no idea what I was doing,” he admits. “But the smell of the pine trees and my grandfather’s well-oiled Red Wings stuck with me.” The result? A fragrance rooted in Steve’s childhood summers near Lake Superior in the Boundary Waters of northern Minnesota.
Fragrance as Storytelling
Much like his background in music, Steve Soderholm’s approach to fragrance is rooted in storytelling. “But the person wearing it makes it their own,” he says. Each scent draws from nature, memory, and music—themes echoed in the brand’s collaborations with artists like Noah Kahan, ERNEST, and Colony House.
“A lot of the perfumes I’ve created are intentionally simple because I believe less is more,” Steve explains. Still, a few were designed with layering in mind — Two Trick Pony and Cowboy (a perfume by Lauren Atkins) can be worn solo or layered for a personal, olfactory experience.
Jordan’s Cologne: A Cult Favorite Born from a Love Story
Like all great happy accidents, Jordan’s Perfume wasn’t part of the original lineup and came about unexpectedly. A few years ago in London, Jordan kept catching whiffs of a scent she couldn’t quite place. “I smelled it on the streets, but we never figured out what it was,” she recalls. Back home, Steve recreated the scent, resulting in a namesake perfume with notes of sandalwood, ambergris, cedarwood, rose, and jasmine. “People were stopping me to ask what I was wearing. It became something special,” says Jordan.
Forthcoming newbies will include Rich 90s Mom Candle, a love letter to American summers, tennis bracelets and country club lunches. The Tomato Candle — a tribute to Tennessee’s state fruit blends an earthy blend of vine-ripened tomatoes and “the feeling of dirt under your nails.” A duo of limited-edition candles—Bluebird Days and Speak Easy join the launch, alongside Rich 90s Dad Cologne whose blend of bergamot, lavender, sandalwood, and musk channels a “2:00 PM tee time, a tucked-in polo, and the leather interior of a classic Jaguar XJ.”
The countdown is on. “We’re excited to bring our unique fragrance experience to New York,” Jordan Soderholm says.
Ranger Station: 316 Bleecker Street, New York, New York