A hands-down good idea

A Harvey family has come up with an innovative way to help combat the hand sanitiser shortage in WA.

Rose Italiano has turned her perfume making hobby of more than 20 years, into a hand sanitiser production operation.

Mrs Italiano said she wanted to help West Australians get their hands on the germ-killing product and help stop the spread of the coronavirus.

The Harvey grandmother said she had even enlisted the family to help, calling on her husband John and her daughter Adriana to lend a hand.

Together, they have produced more than 5000 bottles, supplying them to people in Harvey, the South West and Perth metropolitan area. They even made a special delivery to a nursing home.

The Italianos’ set up is a quality operation — there is a sterile production plant in their shed with machines to work the product magic.

The in-demand hand sanitiser has a 70 per cent ethanol base — something Mrs Italiano said she used for her perfumes. The product is laced with aloe vera gel and has a gentle lemon myrtle fragrance.

Mrs Italiano chose the scent because she said it was “uplifting” and had mental health benefits. Although it came as no surprise that Mrs Italiano picked a popular Australian shrub to feature as the fragrance.

She runs the House of Sharday perfume business and bases her scents on native wild flowers

“Australia has some beautiful wild flowers, I thought it was a shame that they were only available for a few months in spring, so decided to preserve the scent as a perfume,” she said.

Mrs Italiano said she originally made the perfumes for visiting tourists to take away as a souvenir, to remember their time in Harvey — the humble home of citrus fruit.

Coming from a citrus family, I was used to growing up in the orchards, surrounded by all the JU orange blossoms and we were always so intoxicated with the fragrance.

Adriana said she was proud of her mum and was honoured to help in such a worthy cause.

“It’s great to help people in need,” Adriana said.

Brands such as Christian Dior have also started producing hand sanitiser in their perfume labs.

What started as a hobby, has now produced thousands of litres of hand sanitiser, in what could be described as the worst pandemic to ever hit the State and regions.

The hand sanitiser is available online and Mrs Italiano said it may even make its way into the House of Sharday’s permanent range.