Fragrance house

Blue Q

Founded in Boston in 1988 by brothers Mitch Nash and Seth Nash, Blue Q began with Flat Cat, a cardboard product that became an early breakthrough for the business. After six years, the company relocated to western Massachusetts and is now based in Pittsfield. It grew into a gift and lifestyle business spanning designed, illustrated, and functional goods, with an identity built around products intended to improve daily life and collaborations with artists. The Nash brothers remain part of Blue Q’s public creative identity, alongside a collaborative product-development process involving designers, art directors, writers, project managers, and outside artists. In 2017, the founders transferred the company into employee ownership through an Employee Stock Ownership Plan. Blue Q received the 2018 Gift For Life Industry Achievement Award for Seth and Mitch Nash’s contribution to the gift and home industry. Fragrance has been a secondary extension of the business, including Dirty Girl bath products and car air fresheners; a small set of Blue Q perfumes recorded elsewhere is listed as discontinued.