August 2024 • Chandu

Fumerie is proud to host Chandu as our eighth Maker’s Residency artist and brand! Chandu is a Toronto-based perfumery founded by Forest Degiorgio. Forest, Chandu's enigmatic founder, was destined from a young age to traverse the world. Driven by an insatiable curiosity, he delved into diverse cultures, embracing the unknown and gaining new perspectives. His travels became a lifelong quest for experiences that would both enchant and evolve his spirit.

As an artisan perfumer, Forest's journeys revealed the deep connection between scent and soul. By capturing the essence of a wildflower in a remote field or the aromatic blend of herbs from a sacred ceremony, he unlocked the hidden stories of different cultures. He brings these ethereal scents home, infusing them with his own mystical touch to share their magic with others.

Chandu currently seeks to immerse the wearer in the secrets and well-loved practices of a bygone Asia, preserving its essence through their scents. Forest named his perfume brand Chandu, drawing an analogy to the legendary opium preparation known for its pure and euphoric effects. Just as Chandu captivated its users, offering the most delightful and intoxicating experiences, Forest's scents are designed to enchant and captivate. With a single spritz, his perfumes draw you in, creating an unforgettable and addictive allure that keeps you coming back for more.

Chandu strives to immortalize memories and also revolutionize them into modern scents. Their perfumes are designed to evoke deep, sensory connections, transporting folks to forgotten places and times. They aim to blend the past and future, inviting you to experience these intoxicating fragrances that capture the essence of history while reaching for the future.

Featured Fragrances

AUNTIE EMMA • Aunti Emma is cultural street slang for heroin opium, a drug that was known for its strong potency and addictive characteristics. This scent, inspired by the smoking of those very same opium pipes in Asian regions from 750-1950, promises to deliver musky spices that will continue to deepen on skin. Perfect for wearing in late, romantic settings, or even to compliment a darker side of your personality throughout the day.

With top notes of grains of paradise seeds and chai spice, you can expect a woodsy smell that will linger deliciously, complemented by middle notes of sumptuous vanilla and molecularly distilled patchouli, labdanum, and banyan tree fruit to cut through the musk with a floral sweetness. With a base of oakwood barrels, oakmoss, musks, and tonka bean you can enjoy the leathery, smoky tobacco base and an earthiness that will hungrily follow you throughout the day.

Notes Grains of Paradise Seeds, Chai Spice, Molecular Distilled Patchouli, Labdanum, Vanilla, Banyan Tree Fruit, Oakwood barrels, Oakmoss, Musks, Tonka

ISLA • Inspired by the founders’ time living on and exploring the natural beauty and splendor of the archipelago of Ko Tao in Thailand. Isla promises everything you could wish from a beachy scent, yet refuses to be pinpointed all too easily. Surprising you along the way with scents not usually explored in standard perfumes on the market, such as the sharp undertone from Choyah Nakh, which is made from distilled seashells. The perfect scent to wear to the beach, or when dreaming of the beach from home.

Having top notes of Calabrian bergamot, Choyah Nakh, and pepper berries a unique combination of woodsy, fresh, and peppery scent is created, focusing on complex and deep aromas that continue to unravel as the day goes on. With middle notes of exotic white champa flower leaf, amyris wood, and wild sand dune flowers, you can expect a sweetness to run throughout the core of the scent. Finishing base notes consisting of washed ashore driftwood, aged pemou root, ambroxan, and musks grounds the scent and prevent it from veering towards sickly sweetness. Instead, light saltiness, rich greenery, and tea-like notes can be found lingering as the scent continues to develop on the skin over time, mixing with your own natural scent to create an original experience for you and you alone.

Notes Silver Fir Needle, Calabrian Bergamot, Choya Nakh (Distilled Sea Shells), Pepper Berries, White Champa Flower Leaf, Amyris Wood, Wild Sand Dune Carissa Flowers, Washed Ashore Driftwood, Aged Pemou Root, Ambergris Essence, Musks

Explore the Chandu website here

Explore Forest Degiorgio’s parfumeur page here

Submissions for our 2025 Calendar will close on Dec. 8 2024. All applications and samples must be received by this date for this calendar, but submissions can be made any time for future consideration.

Here at Fumerie Parfumerie, we are first and foremost perfume lovers. The goal of this venture has always been twofold: to bring the finest niche and independent fragrances to the Portland area and to engage the fragrance community and create a space for people to come together. In an effort to serve the greater community of enthusiasts and up-and-coming makers, we are excited to announce that starting January 2024 we will be featuring a month-long spotlight on an independent perfumer who will be exhibited in our shop for the duration of said month.

We believe the growing community of self-taught and newer perfumers deserve access to spaces wherein their art can be shown and appreciated without fully committing to the rather rigorous systems of wholesale. We also believe our community of fragrance lovers want and deserve a chance to enjoy these very hard-to-find pieces of art, even if they do not necessarily fit the curation of our regular offerings. Often, local and micro-perfume brands are limited to working with stockists in their immediate area or are forced to compete with the algorithmic hardships of social media. We are proud to offer our curative services to find these makers and to make available a public form for brands to apply to participate in this exciting new program.

If you are a perfumer or brand owner interested in obtaining a month-long Maker’s Residency here in our shop simply fill out the form below and we will follow up shortly with an introduction, any questions we may have, and next steps. If you have questions you would like answered before applying, please feel free to email info@fumerie.com.

Please complete the form below to apply to be featured in our Maker’s Residency Program