image by aya brackett
In the Autumn of 2018, I was fortunate enough to pay a visit to the Aftel Archive of Curious Scents. This was unlike any museum that I had previously encountered. Although of small stature, this magical place was filled with a vast array of artifacts, aromatic materials, and historical items. The space is intentionally welcoming and invites its visitors to explore to their heart’s content. I strongly recommend a sojourn for anyone with any level of interest in the olfactive world.
In November, Fumerie was lucky enough to collaborate with Mandy Aftel in an online event in which she walked us through her new book The Museum of Scent, Exploring the Curious and Wondrous World of Fragrance. Those who attended also had the opportunity to ask questions of the very knowledgeable and gifted perfumer. I had a variety of questions myself which time didn’t allow me to share on this particular occasion. I reached out to Mandy with a request that she and I might continue the conversation and she graciously agreed. The following is what transpired.
Tracy • What inspired you to create a museum? Do you aspire to expand and are there special items that you hope to acquire?
Mandy • Much of what is available to experience in my museum I have collected over a period of over 30 years. Before the museum was created, I would often bring out these special items to share with friends. I loved sharing things that I found beautiful and enriching and it brought me joy to share this world with others who had never had the chance to experience these items before. After repeated times of hauling the items in and out of storage, the thought occurred to me that I could create a space that others could visit, learn about and explore this wonderful world that I found so fascinating. The museum celebrates the multi-cultural underpinnings of ethno-botanical, biblical, and historical offerings that provide so much value and are endlessly inspiring. Initially, I had reservations about whether or not others would even come to the museum but over time have seen a diverse audience that has travelled from across the globe to visit. I don't have any plans to expand the museum but I am always hopeful that I will find some new treasure.
T • Do you use your carefully curated museum as a teaching tool for your students?
M • Not directly, no. The book on the other hand includes particular items with my students in mind. I have expanded on the blending capacity of natural essences in the book much more than in the museum and I was able to include wonderful tidbits about lore that I found quirky and fascinating. In fact, when I added the essential oil families that you find in the book, they were a very late addition to the overall work.
T • What was the impetus to write a book about your incredible museum?
M • I was desperate to write a book about the museum! I wanted to reach people who didn't have the chance to visit and to bring alive the beauty, history, and scent. It also allowed me to take a deeper dive into descriptions that are limited in the museum due to the signage having to be concise. I have found that even some of the people who visit the museum who may be tagging along with their partners and not necessarily have an interest in fragrance, find something that piques their curiosity and they can appreciate discovering something new. The book itself has all sorts of anecdotes and serves as an appreciative nod to history.
T • Having co-authored a few cookbooks with renowned chef Daniel Patterson, it is evident that taste plays an important role in your own sensorial experience. Can you tell us about your chef's essences and how and why these have become an integral part of your creative process?
M • Everything revolves around the essences. I love the materials and what they add to food. Extraordinarily gorgeous plant materials are meaningful, rich, and historical. All of these food flavors can be used in perfumery but not all of the perfume fragrances can be used in food. Fragrance is a little more complicated because there are so many moving pieces in a perfume but the integrity of the materials is the same. I'm like the "flavor doctor" at my house and I use the chef's essences all of the time. Even subtly, the essences contribute so much to food and can bring out the most wonderful expression to a meal.
T • You have taught fragrance workshops for many years. How has your approach to teaching evolved over the years? Have you noticed any changes in how your students currently engage in the classes versus the early days?
M • I have my own way of teaching that has been evolving and "cooking over the stove" for years. When I was teaching classes in person, they were small groups of eight students. In the studio class, we all shared one organ (a shelving system that holds an array of bottles carrying essential botanicals). If I wanted to show anything, we would pass around that one bottle, which was basically chaos. If I wanted to teach about a specific material, by the time the last person got their nose on the bottle, the focus would have already shifted to something else. I was aware that this method was not ideal but couldn't see a solution. Then COVID hit and everything switched to online classes. I created a system in which I would send out a fragrance kit that both my students and I would use during our sessions. Online classes give me the time and space to analyze the student's creations for the dynamics, not whether the creations are good or bad because in the beginning that doesn't matter. The revising process is what I consider the most important, not the first drafts. Teaching has become more interesting and alive for me over the years.
T • Several past students of yours are now successfully selling their perfumes to a wide audience. What is it like for you to have been such an important part of their olfactive experience?
M • I love seeing them go out into the world with work that they love and I'm honored to have played some role in their lives. There are plenty of other students that I have taught who have never made their work public even though I consider them wonderful perfumers. They are all along a continuum of that type of ambition and it's wonderful wherever they are.
T • Tell us about your participation in the Institute for Art and Olfaction, and how that came to be.
M • I was very excited when Saskia (Saskia Wilson-Brown is the founder of the Institute for Art & Olfaction), launched her institute and I made a point to reach out to her. I was thrilled about Saskia's vision and wanted to help and support it. Before she arrived on the scene, there really wasn't much of a platform to showcase and honor handmade perfumery. It's wonderful that she has an award in my name to celebrate handmade perfumery, and to see these creations getting honored and recognized is fantastic. I'm pleased with the direction that Saskia has gone, she does an absolutely terrific job.
T • What is your view regarding the current state of perfumery? Are you excited by how many people are engaging in creating perfumes on a smaller scale?
M • I love it! There was no opening for that when I started, it was all big brands. Now there is a greater opportunity for people to find your work, buy your work, or even have your work out in the world. It is a very lively environment. People who make perfume are passionate and curious.
T • Your process for discerning a client's preferences when creating a fragrance for them is fascinating. Can you walk us through that experience?
M • Antithesis to my method as a practicing psychotherapist years ago, I don't provide a questionnaire for a fragrance consult. I rely entirely on a person's aesthetic response to materials. I have created a kit that I send out to an interested client which includes 16 top notes, 16 middle notes, and 16 base notes. Upon receipt, they rank their favorites. I believe that one's sense of smell is not driven by their conscious mind or language, it is driven by the animalic aspect of who they are. I make a sample based on their choices and our conversation and then have them critique that for further information. I will remake the fragrance three times. It's fascinating that around 80% of my clients choose the first one. For those that choose to return for another scent at a later time, they rarely choose the same essences to go in it. That particular creation is like a portrait of them at that point in time.
T • From a psychological standpoint, do you feel personal taste, interest, and expression through scent complement the human experience of personality differently from other art forms, or is it more similar to taste in mediums like music, movies, ...etc.?
M • The connection that people have with a smell without feeling that they have to like something, truly bypasses a lot of the chatter and gets to something deeply personal that they can attach to. Perfume is an expression of an aspect of who you are; it’s wonderful to have several fragrances for different moods because we humans are so complex.
In addition to Mandy’s newest book The Museum of Scent, Fumerie is also proud to offer Mandy’s other book Essence & Alchemy, as well as her Olfactory Note Wheel. Links to each can be found below.
Explore The Museum of Scent here
Explore Essence & Alchemy here
Explore the Aftelier Natural Parfume Wheel here