OLFACTORY ART

As you may know, Berlin has been the scene of my recent scent explorations, where we had the greatest luck of doing a scent-immersion with perfumers duo and avant-garde scent artists Les Christophs (Christophe Laudamiel and Christoph Hornetz). 

Christophe Laudamiel created the first Scent Opera for the Guggenheim Museum in NY, has exhibited at Grasse Perfume Museum as well as galleries. He is an outstanding gem in the world of perfumery as the only Master Perfumer who wholeheartedly engages with such art and educational initiatives. 

Several people flew in at our "Duft-Visions" workshops, including Prof. Claus Noppeney, a Swiss academic who is doing something outstanding in the academic world: he is carefully studying the perfume-making process as part of an ethnographic project. 

Duft Haus Berlin

As a result of these extraordinary encounters, I will be running the first "Olfactory Art and Design" course ever done for the academia, at the University of the Arts Bern next year, part of the Y Institute programme, Centre for Transdisciplinary Tuition. 

The application of scents in art and design around the world is growing, bypassing their traditional use for fine fragrance creation. Artists and designers, but also curators and educators, are expressing their work through the sense of smell. 

A very powerful sense, as in evocative and emotional, scent can create a unique, immersive experience, through the stimulation of an often neglected sensory modality which is so much connected with our own personal experience.

At the "Olfactory Art and Design" course MA and BA cross-discipline students will explore multiple correspondences between their areas of expertise and the sense of smell, crossing the boundaries amongst different forms of expression. They will study a palette of real ingredients used in perfumery and produce an Olfactory Art and Design project.

Very much looking forward to it!

NP/SP

BSP TRAINING WEEKEND 2013

 

Earlier this year, I had the honour of being invited by the British Society of Perfumers as a Guest Speaker for their Training Weekend, a recurrent BSP educational initiative that has been going on for many years.

What happens there? The Training Weekend provides an opportunity for chemists, evaluators, marketers and other perfume industry professionals to expand their perfumery knowledge, network and refresh their skills on a fragrance development exercise. Whilst working on a body care/fine fragrance solution, delegates received input on different topics such as perfume creation, regulations and history of perfume by other perfume industry professionals.

Together with my friend Jo Norman, with whom I teach Design With Scents in London, I took delegates through a session called "Scent Awakening: The Holistic Experience of Scents", encouraging them to develop a thorough perception of perfume ingredients. Thank you to the BSP Council for inviting me and to the delegates for their warm feedback!

NP/SP

DUFT-VISIONS BERLIN

 

Christophe and me. Photo by Francesca Faruolo

There is a new destination and new friends in my delivery of olfactory inspiration around the world: Berlin and Les Christophs respectively. But let's go back a square.

Earlier this year I gave a perfume session at Scent World in NYC. On the panel of speakers was Master Perfumer Christophe Laudamiel too, one of the world's greatest scent artists, who with Perfumer Christoph Hornetz has been scenting quite some air and skin around the world.

Sharing passion for scents and education, we got soon together again as Christophe kindly visited our Design With Scents course in London. It was then the time for Berlin, where we hosted DUFT-VISIONS ("scent-visions" in German).

This was a fantastic opportunity to explore our sense of smell and olfactory art - thanks to all the enthusiastic noses who joined us from all over Europe.

We will be back soon!

SP/NP

SMELLS OF SAUDI ARABIA

I have been away from my blog for quite a while. Life has been lately filled with new adventures, which included being exposed for the fist time to the Middle Eastern culture (and smells).

I realise that it's the first time (or perhaps the second, after Brazil) I see fragrance being so much part of a culture. Here they wear enigmatic and overpowering perfumes in big quantities. But fragrance is not only worn, it is used to celebrate special moments too.

A few scented pictures:

Grocery wonderland.

In the west herbs and spices are practically ground, contained in jars and sold in supermarkets mostly. Here you can buy the whole ingredient (mainly for cooking) practically everywhere. As I visit a grocery store, a "scent library" is in front of me, each drawer containing a different taste and smell universe... Heaven!

Sealed with a scent.

I was invited to a wedding. Real oud being burnt on a burner, the burner being passed around to participants as they let their clothes become imbued with the smell. The scent sealing that moment. Unforgettable. Oud has become an overwhelming trend in Western perfumery over the last few years. In Saudi, Oud is perfume culture, having always been used for burning and as a perfume. 

Besides, another scent. Elegant men wearing a traditional uniform, carrying around luxurious jars. They pour a hot, spicy drink in small cups, which they serve throughout the wedding. That drink is coffee and the taste (and smell) is new: that of cardamom. Saudis drink it often throughout the day.

Another suitcase, another journey...

We are at the souk. Next to mesmerising carpets and goods of any kind, I am offered the opportunity to smell real perfume ingredients (wood), chopped and contained in a lot of suitcases. In the meantime, I am sipping hot camel milk. Unlike any perfumery store!

Aside from the raw materials, (ridiculous amounts and mysterious varieties of) bottled perfumes are sold, made by local producers. In the West we use perfume in alcohol, here perfume is in oil.

Of course this is just the tip of the iceberg...

NP/SP

DESIGN WITH SCENTS 2013

The following is the report from DWS 2013. For the 2014 edition see here. 

It has been an out-of-the-ordinary adventure. This was our second - and oversuscribed - edition at Kingston University London, where we experience the design of places through the sense of smell.

Design With Scents 2013 has seen 15 participants from all over Europe participating in our 5-week scent marathon and an extraordinary panel of guest speakers. Delegates came from perfumery, marketing/advertising, design, wine, fashion and education.

On Monday we embarked on a sensory experience of perfume ingredients and looked at the relationship between scent and space. We had the chance to hear from Will Andrews, Fragrance Scientist at P&G about his experience creating designer fragrances and communicating perfume.

Jo Norman, Christophe Laudamiel, myself with some of the participants.

The cross-sensory study of ingredients continued on day 2, followed by a fascinating journey through the history of perfume with Jo Norman. Master Perfumer Christophe Laudamiel joined soon after, with a mind-blowing lecture where he shared his experience in fragrance making and air scenting. 

Divided in "Scent Agencies", on Wednesday students started to work on their scent design solutions. They received inspiration from Jenny Tillotson from Central St. Martins / Cambridge where she researches and teaches about textiles and scents and Dr. Victoria Henshaw, Manchester University, who investigates the relationship between scents and urban design.

Thursday began with John Ayres, who talked about fragrance and the creative process. Together we took the students through the process of "translating" ideas with fragrance. The creation session was followed by Odette Toilette who shared her experience organising perfume events in London. 

After a few hours sleep (we had a dinner on Thursday evening!), participants presented their final projects on Friday. The design solutions they produced were quite impressive, as a result of a strong creative process. To finish, we went on a trip to London where we visited local perfumer Ormonde Jayne and had some very well deserved drinks (on which we must thank the generosity of our friend Barat!).

Speakers, tutors and students: I have learned so much from you! It has been a true delight to take this journey with you and am so happy and grateful that what started one year ago as an experiment is now a very much enjoyed course in the world of perfumery and design!

Thank you to my co-lecturers Jo Norman, John Ayres and to Kingston for believing in this format and all the hard work making it happen together. Thanks to the guest speakers and the participants for their enthusiasm. 

Design With Scents returns in July 2014.

To all of us!

Nicola

THE (ONE) SCENT OF THE RCA SHOW

Royal College of Art Students' show took place, in full creative extravaganza, after the convocation at the Royal Albert Hall (!!!) with special guests Christopher Bailey, CEO Burberry (with other former students) and artist Cindy Sherman. 

Convocation, at Royal Albert Hall

As I went to explore the variety and inspiration, I was a bit put off by the fact that it was mainly visual.Very few artists used sound. Only one used smell: Designer Sofie Boons, who incorporates scents and jewellery, inviting to a new experience of both jewels and perfume.

Scent & Jewellery Designer Sofie Boons. 

I was very impressed (and proud!) by her work and the lab-setting she chose. I came across Sofie's great talent as she attended the first edition of my Design With Scents course at Kingston last year. I am sure she has a scented path ahead.

Space contains air and air can be designed, with scent as the media. I wish more artists (and teachers), especially in the Fine Art course, will soon start to use it.

NP/SP

MY FIRST AMERICAN SCENT SESSION

When we enter a place, and that place is scented, as we breath, our body becomes the space and we are at one with that environment.

Last week was one of the most fantastic weeks of my life, as I guided my first scent session on the most amazing of all places: New York City. But let's go back a square.

About 10 years ago, a man called Harald Vogt started a no-profit organisation called The Scent Marketing Institute which connects those who operate in scent-supported marketing and expands this type of knowledge throughout the world. Their main event is called Scent World.

Now run by Caroline, Harald's wife, Scent World was a uberintense, 3-day marathon to experience the latest knowledge available. Neuroscientists, (scent)marketers, perfumers, fragrance houses, advertising people, bloggers, scent curios and much more gathered near Wall Street to sniff around and share the inspiration in using scents for commercial environments.

My contribution was "Scent Awakening: The Holistic Experience of Scents" where I encouraged participants to develop a holistic understanding of scents. It resulted as one the most enjoyed presentations!

Thank you so much to all those who attended and Caroline, Jennifer and Gloria in particular for putting on such a great show and bringing me over. 

Next Scent Awakening Session will be held in the English countryside at the British Society of Perfumers Training Weekend. Have you booked? Go on their website!

My favourite presentation (aside from mine!) was by Perfumer/Artist Christoph Laudamiel 

who gave one of the most inspiring scent lectures I've ever attended. 

MAD Museum "The art of Scent 1889-2012" Exhibition.

New York Subway: break dancers. NYC Subway has a very peculiar, warm smell that makes me feel like home. It's not unpleasant at all. ...maybe scented?

Special thanks to Hiro for assisting me during the presentation 

and to Omega Ingredients and Capua for providing the oils for my lecture.