I first met my Christopher Street fragrance co-conspirator, perfumer Ralf Schwieger, back in 2008. I had been working as an independent fragrance consultant for about a year, and was contacted by Mane USA to work on a few different fragrance projects. Before meeting, I had already begun the initial research on the Christopher Street fragrance project, but was still conceptualizing… still gathering materials and building the olfactive story. After meeting, …continue…
New York City’s Christopher Street is one of the oldest and longest streets in the West Village. Designed as a diagonal road against a rectangular grid, Christopher Street has always been known for its subversive character. A street of merchants and misfits, known for the occasional mob front, it has been home to Beatniks, Bohemians, and homosexuals. Christopher Street and the neighborhood around it have built a reputation for celebrating …continue…
Music is incredibly useful in understanding fragrance. Not only is scent constructed in a manner akin to scoring music, but it too is focused on capturing and provoking emotional response. Many articles and blogposts have been written on the similarities between the two, so I won’t go too deep into the subject, but will say I find the science of both to be quite fascinating. I’ve always been very open …continue…
As the launch of Christopher Street looms ever closer, I’m starting to feel oddly nostalgic… remembering what first inspired me to open Charenton Macerations and why I felt now was the right time to do it. It seems lately (especially with the unveiling of Chandler Burr’s scent exhibit at The Museum of Art and Design) there has been so much talk in and around the industry, involving what the appropriate …continue…
One aspect that most definitely drives the creative spirit inside Charenton Macerations stems from that palpable energy that surfaces when staring into the face of adversity. In these moments, when faced with an obstacle to overcome, a new challenge to face, we actively engage both our instinctual and rational selfs: our thoughts, our fears, our memories… our biological defenses. Moments that lead us to personal triumph or defeat, popular uprising …continue…
“No Hay Banda… This is a Tape Recording.” From David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive. Amazing use of sound and color to advance the plot. Hauntingly genius.
Anyone who’s ever been out with me can attest to the fact that I carry around a lot of “stuff” in my bag. At any given time, I normally have on me: three cameras (a flip, a digital, and my iPhone), blotters, random fragrances I’m testing, tissues, plastic bags, sample vials, a notepad, and probably a few hundred little pieces of paper covered in scribbles. I keep all this with …continue…
ICARUS AND GREEK MYTHOLOGY Greek mythology is always a great source for fragrance ideas. With tales of gods and goddesses, heroes and heroines… of loved lost and gained, lessons taught and learned… it’s a great example of how to tell a story with a universal message. It’s incredibly vivid and poetic, chalked full of lessons in morality. One of my favorite myths is the fall of Icarus, the story of …continue…