Wicked Trio Brings 530 Scents to the Lakes Area
Photographer / Jubilee Edgell
Some businesses chase attention with bright signs and big slogans. Wicked Trio is more interested in what you experience inside and vividly replay in your mind on the drive home. After visiting Wicked Trio, you are sure to notice the way a favorite scent lingers, the way the unique, inviting shop felt like it was waiting just for you, and the way its cheerful owner, Lori, seemed to know exactly what would make you smile.
Follow the lane at 9858 E. 100 N. off Highway 23 near Knox and look for the black building with pink trim and playful pink woodpeckers out front. Inside, shelves are filled with perfumes, body butters, wax melts, bath salts, carpet deodorizers and more, all created around one central idea: people deserve luxurious scents without luxury prices.
This is Wicked Trio, a disabled veteran-owned, family-run fragrance company that has quietly grown into a destination for what owner Lori Dunning affectionately calls “anything smelly.”
“We sell all kinds of smell-good stuff,” Lori says. “Our current fragrance collection has over 530 scents. In our new store, you will find more than 15 different vendors. Come see all the unique goodies!”
Wicked Trio began with a few wax products Lori and her family made at home. Customers loved the fragrances and started asking for more ways to enjoy them. They wanted their favorite scents as perfumes, in body butters, in wax melts for warmers. Each question turned into a new product. Before long, Lori realized she had found more than a hobby.
Her husband’s years of dedicated military service and Lori’s cherished years beside him as a military spouse shaped the way she grew the business. She gained a deep respect for the organizational methods, routines and discipline that keep everything running smoothly. Lori now runs what she calls a “tight ship,” paying close attention to quality, turnaround time and fair pricing. She remembers what it felt like to stretch every dollar and wants her customers to enjoy premium products without the premium price tag.
Perfume quickly rose to the top of the best-seller list. Lori buys high-quality fragrance oils labeled as “type” versions of popular designer scents and turns them into water-based perfumes with a generous percentage of fragrance. Alcohol, she explains, evaporates faster and is tougher on skin.
“I’m about the customer,” Lori says. “What makes the customer happy is the product inside that bottle.”
Many designer perfumes sell for hundreds of dollars for a similar size. At Wicked Trio, customers get an essence version of their favorite fragrance at a fraction of the cost, often in formulas that last even longer on the skin.
Body butters, whipped scrubs, bath salts, shaving butter, aroma beads, room sprays, roller-ball perfumes, car fresheners, diffuser oils, solid perfumes, pain rubs and more have followed. Most are made with natural butters and oils, with color added only to wax products. Lori is candid with customers about fragrance sensitivities and uses essential oils when she can, while still offering the wide variety of scents people request.
Carpet deodorizers are one of her newest hits. Regular customers began asking if she could create something for carpets that would smell as good as their perfumes and body products. Lori listened, experimented and put the first jars into the hands of trusted regulars for feedback.
“I am now selling them right and left,” Lori says. “I’m so glad they asked.”
The deodorizers are a fine powder that you sprinkle over carpet, let rest for 20 to 30 minutes, then vacuum. Scents like Sweet Orange Chili Peppers, Christmas Tree, Pumpkin Spice Latte and Mountain Air have already found loyal fans.
As Wicked Trio grew, Lori needed more space than her home workshop could offer. Her much-appreciated husband built a 15-by-24-foot building on their property and painted it black with pink trim. It sits behind another building, so first-time visitors should watch for the pink woodpeckers and follow the lane back.
Inside, shelves are lined with Wicked Trio products and displays from more than a dozen local vendors. The sign “Wicked Trio & Friends” sums up Lori’s heart for helping other makers grow alongside her.
“You cannot be in competition with anyone else in the store,” she says.
Each vendor brings something different: sublimation-printed shirts and tumblers, handcrafted jewelry, 3D-printed art, glittery hair gels, resin pieces, clever teacher gifts, cozy home décor and even “creepy cool” oddities created with found feathers, bees and moths. Current vendors include Anne’s Oddities, Bright Beads, Color Street, Ginger Gems, Grandma and Papa’s Creations, Manic Moms Creations, Ashley’s Mia Bella Candles, Reedle Deedle Designs, Shirts N Such, The Lather Lab, TJs Creations, Vee’s Creations and Weist’s Crafts and More, alongside Wicked Trio’s own displays.
Many of these makers also appear in the shop’s live sale events on Facebook. During a live, a vendor holds up each item, shares the price and assigns a number or code word. Shoppers claim pieces by commenting with that code, and the first claim that appears on Lori’s screen wins. Items are held for two weeks for in-store pickup and payment, unless customers choose to pay sooner and have their treasures set aside. Even after a live ends, shoppers can still comment on the video, and if the item is available, Lori will add it to their cart.
Lori keeps order forms at the front counter and personally manages special orders so her vendors do not miss a sale. She understands their world. Before opening the shop, Lori spent years hauling her own booth from fair to fair. Now she pours that energy into the customers and vendors who find their way to her little pink shop.
“I’ve been a vendor,” she says. “So I know what it’s like to have to lug your stuff around.”
At the heart of it all is Lori’s family. On her business card, she lists herself as CEO and “headstinker,” with her much-appreciated husband, a retired electrician, and her granddaughter by her side.
“I’m the headstinker. My husband is the old fart. My granddaughter, who is my lovely assistant, she’s a little stinker. So you know, we’re a bunch of stinkers here,” Lori says with a laugh.
Her daughter, Melissa Goodrich, is an integral part of the business as well. Melissa helps with cleanup, crews and organizing the shop, and Lori likes to say that if the rest of them are “stinkers,” Melissa is the “air freshener” who keeps everything fresh and running smoothly.
During the interview with Lori, her personality was as memorable as any fragrance. Her quick humor, strong business instincts and deep care for people came through in every answer. She moved easily from explaining formulas to telling stories, turning an already enjoyable conversation into something that felt more like a visit with a longtime friend.
Lori talks about customers the way some people talk about close friends. She knows their favorite scents, remembers how they first found her products and enjoys helping them discover new combinations they might never have tried on their own.
Online reviewers echo that focus.
Customer Cristina Tinoko shared that she first placed an order online, but Lori canceled the shipment when extreme heat threatened to damage the products. Later, Cristina spotted Wicked Trio body butters at the American Antique Mall on Indianapolis Boulevard in Highland and bought three of them. In her review, she refers to those body butters as “these beauties,” and says she now plans special trips to see what other scents Wicked Trio has to offer.
After years of hunting for her favorite floral, Allison Welliver found it at Wicked Trio.
“I have been searching for lilac oil forever from small businesses, and no one ever has it in stock,” Allison says. “Wicked Trio not only had it, but they also had two different kinds! I bought both…Thank you so much for giving me my scent back!” She adds that she received “amazing customer service.”
Customer Lori Plaspohl recalls meeting Lori and a fellow maker at the Covered Bridge Festival in Mansfield. She and her best friend loved the products they sampled, yet what stayed with them most was the conversation. It was such a bright spot in their day that they circled back to talk more and buy more before they left.
Other customers rave about everything from shipping to specialty products. Customer Amy Smith-Wilson in Virginia describes opening a box of wax melts and being greeted by scents that “smell so good,” noting that they arrived quickly and in perfect condition, even in the heat. Nicole Fulgham, who has sensitive skin, says her favorite body butter “really lasts forever in both scent and moisture” and reports no irritation. Jenny MayCrochet Ethington credits Lion Pain Balm with easing her arthritis knee pain so much that she has stopped using another over-the-counter ointment. Longtime fan Renée Markovitz jokes that she might be “addicted” to the products and offers this advice with a wink: if you have to be addicted to something, “do scents, not drugs!”
Stories like these keep Lori pushing forward, even while managing her own health challenges. She feels deeply grateful to have found work that suits her gifts and personality.
“It is not just about money, it’s making treasured new friends along the way,” she says.
Community work is woven into Lori’s schedule. She leads Hope for the Holidays of Starke County, coordinating gifts and support for families who need a boost during the Christmas season. She also maintains detailed records and communication so that the program can continue to grow.
Inside Wicked Trio, that same generous spirit shows up whenever local organizations need help. When groups ask for a gift basket or gift box for a fundraiser, she responds generously. Lori says she always, always does say yes to those requests.
The creativity and care she brings to community projects show up in the way she helps customers build gifts, too. Fragrance collections are especially popular during the holidays. Shoppers can choose a mix of perfumes, scrubs, body butters, carpet deodorizers or other items in their favorite scents, and Lori will assemble them into a custom gift box. She often adds a discount when people build a larger set.
For many first-time visitors, the experience begins with a single fragrance. Lori might suggest a small bottle of perfume, a jar of body butter or a bag of aroma beads that fits their style. Once customers discover how long the scent lasts and how soft their skin feels, they tend to come back.
“My perfumes are where it’s at,” she says with a smile.
Wicked Trio is located at 9858 E. 100 N. in Knox, just off Highway 23 down a lane behind the front building. Look for the pink accents and those memorable woodpeckers.
Hours are typically Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with extended hours and seven-day-a-week shopping leading up to Christmas. For weekend or after-5 p.m. shoppers, a quick text or private message is often all it takes for Lori to step out and open the door. She jokes that it usually takes about 60 seconds to walk out to the shop, unless she is in the middle of time with her great-grandchildren, who always win. To ask questions, place orders or schedule a visit, customers can call or text 574-575-1524 or email Loridunning1@gmail.com anytime.
Wicked Trio ships orders and will often deliver larger purchases within about an hour of Knox. Customers can shop online at wickedtrio.com or message Lori through the Wicked Trio Wax Company Facebook page to claim items from live sales, place special orders or ask scent questions.
“We sell all kinds of smell-good stuff,” Lori says.
Whether you gravitate toward a soft, fruity floral, a nostalgic lilac, a cozy holiday blend or something completely custom, chances are she already has a fragrance waiting with your name on it.
