Fischersund Co-Founder Lilja Birgisdóttir
When we announced the addition of the wonderfully unique creations of Fischersund to the Fumerie family of fragrances, we offered a multi-sensory and multi-media launch event to our in-store community; we also promised that our beloved online community would soon have an opportunity to engage with the brand in a similarly interesting way. Along with welcoming their newest fragrance, Jöklalykt, we are proud to offer you all the chance to engage with Fischersund’s multi-media approach to scented art by adding some of their limited edition 7” vinyl records to our shop, and this delightful dive into the mind of Fischersund’s co-founder Lilja Birgisdóttir via her interview with our founder and owner Tracy Tsefalas.
Tracy • What was your fragrance experience growing up? Did your parents wear fragrance or have a particular interest in scent?
Lilja Birgisdóttir • Each of us siblings have a scent memory growing up, but mine is the smell of my father’s pipe tobacco. There is something so very warm and nostalgic about it and you’ll definitely smell notes of tobacco in some of our fragrances.
T • Does each member of the team contribute to fragrance creation or does each individual focus on specific areas of the process? Does everyone provide feedback on each creation?
L • Jónsi is our self-taught nose. He’s been on an incredible scent journey for the past 17 years and crafts all of our perfumes. He works closely with our youngest sibling Rósa, who is a perfumer in training and our head artisan who handmakes each of our products in our workshop in Reykjavik. Inga is our art director and designs all our packaging and visual components. I am the brand ambassador as well as a photographer. While each of us have our own strengths, we all work together and provide input on each other’s projects and launches. It’s a really beautiful process.
T • What is it like to work with family? In my own experience, there were both wonderful and challenging aspects of this arrangement.
L • We created Fischersund as a platform for all of us to work together and it’s been really magical. It’s always been our dream to create together and we are doing just that with this beautiful brand. I think the biggest challenge for us is time – whether it’s lack of time in the day or working across time zones. But honestly, it’s been so amazing.
T • I had read somewhere that you use a local distillery for processing many of the materials that are used in your creations. I would imagine that allows for a more authentic connection to the natural resources from your area. Can you describe that collaboration for us?
L • We work with a local distiller who harvests local Icelandic oils, which are very pure and beautiful ingredients. We also work with suppliers around the world to ensure we are using the best ingredients needed to make our fragrances.
T • Your own brick and mortar space for Fischersund sounds fascinating. Can you walk us through what a visitor might expect visiting your boutique?
L • The heart of the brand lives at Fischersund 3, one of the oldest buildings in Reykjavík that was Jónsi’s old recording studio. Under this roof, the brand began with one scent - No. 23 - and quickly grew into more than 50 unique product offerings and immersive experiences all at the intersection of scent, sound and art.
One of the signature experiences at Fischersund 3 is our scent tours. Each guest receives a guided journey of our brand story and collection. During the visit, guests are immersed in a scent experience, discovering our artisanal approach to crafting fragrances and corresponding scent poems that takes people through the ingredients and scent memories. Guided by one of our staff members, people can also explore our rotating scent exhibition in the basement and indulge in a tasting of our signature Icelandic Schnapps.
T • What was the point where you decided to translate music and visual arts into fragrance? What was the inspiration for that artistic expansion?
L • It was at the beginning really, when we were bringing together our passions and talents that we realized that scent, sound and art were critical parts of our DNA. With respect to music, it’s such a natural fit with our approach to scent as both share a similar structure of mid-notes, low-notes, and high notes. And visual arts is incredibly important with everything we do because we are all artists.
T • Has it been challenging for your stockists to truly represent your vision respective of the immersive arts that is part of your Fischersund offerings?
L • We are so lucky to have such incredible retail partners like Fumerie Parfumerie. There is so much care and support for Fischersund and that in turn, allows the customer to understand the brand and be immersed in our storytelling. It’s incredibly important to have the right retail partners who are equally as passionate about our vision, as well.
T • The music of Sigur Rós has inspired the wonderful Fischersund creations. Have there been live performances that incorporated the use of your fragrances as part of the experience?
L • Over the past couple of years, we created and have been hosting a signature experience called a scented concert which is a sensory journey where we intertwine captivating art, live music, and scents. Each concert is composed and performed by the trio comprised of Jónsi of Sigur Rós, along with musicians Kjartan Holm and Sin Fang. We’ve done them for 200-500 people around the world including LA, New York, Seattle, Cork, Ireland, and Reykjavik and have received incredible feedback from people who’ve attended. We will expand this concept more in the years ahead.
T • What do the numbers signify?
L • The numbers signify the final version of the scent after the many iterations of creation with the exception of No. 101, as that is the post code of Reykjavík.
T • Fischersund fragrances often smell like a direct link to the outdoors. What place does nature play in your daily life?
L • Icelandic nature is essential not only to us, but really every Icelander. Our goal is to not only capture the essence of Icelandic nature, but to also bottle some of our more significant memories growing up as a family in this special place. We even have one fragrance called Útilykt, which was created an interdisciplinary collaboration with heritage outdoor brand 66°North that was inspired by the smell that is on your hair and clothes when you come in after a long day outside. It’s one of our best-selling fragrances.
Explore Fischersund here
Explore the Faux Flora scented art exhibit set here
Explore Fischersund Vinyl Records below: