Wonderful news for fragranct fans of Angela Flanders – they’re re-opening with a surprise pop-up exhibition and limited edition fragrance…
With there still being so much doom and gloom around in this strangest of years, we react to each piece of good news with the urge to pop the Champagne corks – and here’s something we definitely want to celebrate. The much-beloved London-based niche fragrance house, now with Angela’s daughter, Kate, at the helm, is staging a perfumed pop-up entitled ‘Bleu Anglais.’
Featuring a display of the gorgeous textiles Angela so loved (and began stocking in the original shop, even before she’d made her first perfume), it’s part of the Shoreditch Design Triangle Festival, which runs from the 12th – 20th September 2020.
Angela Flanders perfumery say:
BLEU DE CHINE PERFUME
X
BLEU ANGLAIS TEXTILES
‘We re – open our Spitalfields shop with launch of a limited-edition fragrance Bleu de Chine and a pop – up with antique and vintage Chinese indigo textiles from Bleu Anglais.
Bleu de Chine is a sophisticated scent inspired by the vintage Chinese indigo paste resist textiles, sourced by textile expert Noel Chapman of Bleu Anglais.
The perfume, created by Angela Flanders in 2014, includes notes of bergamot, lavender and patchouli. These last two ingredients, when perfectly blended together, create a third, indefinable scent which is a perfect match for these individual textiles.
This cool and aromatic scent features top notes of invigorating bergamot, soothing lavender, and a base of mature patchouli aged for richness and depth, with a heart of bois de rose which lends its spicy woody, floral beauty.
Bleu de Chine creates a soothing yet exotic atmosphere in the home either as a diffuser or a perfumed candle, and is also available in eau de toilette or eau de parfum.’
With small and independent businesses needing our help more than ever, if you can go and visit, do go and gaze at the fabulous fabrics and, of course, make sure to try the stunning Bleu de Chine scent. It’s exactly the kind of artistically-inspired pick me up we need right now…
Acqua di Parma, in collaboration with La DoubleJ, have dressed an entire beachfront with the new Blu Mediterraneo by La DoubleJcapsule collection for a summer of pure Italian style…
At PSHQ we’re literally salivating over these pictures of the Bocelli family’s bathing establishment, because although we may not be able to wiggle our toes in the sand and gawp at the azure waters, this stunning collab allows us to travel in spirit via the radiant fragrances and vibrant colours of the new capsule collection.
In the utterly stunning location of Alpemare Beach Club, Forte dei Marmi in Tuscany (which looks like it should be the set of a Wes Anderson film, don’t you think?) for the first time ever, Acqua di Parma have dressed the beachfront for the entire Summer season! And now, you can dress your home to transport you to the Med every time you see those so-happy pops of colour or catch a waft of the glorious scents.
Comprising fabulously luxurious body products such as the Shower Mousse (£37 for 150ml), lightly scented with the lemon, myrtle, jasmine and salty marine breeze notes of Mirto di Panarea, a Body Scrub (£50 for 200ml) fragranced with their Fico di Amalfi grapefruit, bergamot, lemon and fig (which is basically like sexy marmalade), and even a range of Travel Accessories (we have our eyes on the Confetti Blue Beach Towel, £255 – would it be a bit extra to say we dream of spritzing this with one of the Blu Mediterraneo collection (from £49) and ‘travelling’ with our noses as we sit in our back gardens?) we’re spoiled for choice!
We say: if you can’t be there in person, let perfume whisk you there right now. So spritz that sunshine-filled fragrance and light that candle, because the beach will wait until you can get there again, but your mood can be lifted in mere seconds by the magic of summer scents…
Mary is clearly a lady after our own hearts, describing her greatest loves as ‘books, gin and perfume,’ and having previously been successful with her A-Z of Gin poster, the fragrance one seemed a natural next theme because, says Mary, ‘I love a little tot of Mother’s ruin, and a good read, and am perfume lover myself. Coming from a fashion/textile design background, I just adore the bottles and all the design detail that goes into to the packaging of perfume, and I love the alchemy involved in creating all the different scents.’
Although the perfume print was far trickier to finish (as the bottles as such hugely varying shapes and sizes), Mary says that she rather relished the challenge, even though it proved so fiddly, taking ‘at least 200 hours to complete,’ Mary explained, because ‘each perfume is drawn individually in mostly A4 size. I had some input from a fellow perfume lover who is a chemist to finalise the list and what should go in for each letter.’
A–Z of Perfume print by Marcy Darch
The final list was necessarily ‘determined by shape of bottle and colour, to create the most pleasing composition. Fortuitously Kenzo’s Flowers was just the right shape to slip in on the second line as 26 perfumes and 5 lines don’t mathematically compute!’ And Mary had some extra support from her son, who ‘helped out with the tech part of reducing all my images, and getting them just so! He deserves a medal for his patience as it was a trial and error exercise to finalise it to my satisfaction.’
All that work was so worthwhile, we think you’ll agree, and as soon as we received our print it took pride of place on The Perfume Society office wall (see below!)
For perfumistas with a particular favourite – fear not, Mary has you covered, too. Individual bottle prints are also available, and if your all-time love isn’t represented, you’ll be happy to hear that Mary also accepts personal commissions.
So what, we wondered, would Mary’s own choice be? ‘My favourite perfume is Angel,’ she revealed,’ I wear it every day and it feels like my secret armour I spray on each morning to face the world!’
We all know that feeling (hopefully. Read my previous feature on how to find your fragrant armour if you’ve not yet discovered yours).
We can see this print gracing many people’s Christmas gift wish lists – and perfume boutiques and all fragrance lover’s walls – can’t you? And in the meantime, if you haven’t read our own Scented Alphabet edition of The Scented Letter Magazine (for which we were thrilled to win a Jasmine Award for journalism, earlier this year), be prepared to for a whistle-stop tour of all things fragrantly fascinating, from A – Z…
Take your front row seat and get ready to smell-along with our very own Suzy Nightingale and Carson Parkin-Fairley in our #FROW Discovery Box unboxing extravaganza!
In this fashion-forward box, timed to launch alongside our Couture edition of The Scented Letter Magazine, we explore each fragrance in-depth, and there are so many samples in the box – THIRTEEN fragrances in all – that we had to split the video into three parts.
Banana Republic Neroli Woods 1.5ml eau de parfum (full size £55 for 75ml) Ermanno Scervino Ermanno Scervino for Women 2ml eau de parfum (£52 for 30ml) Hugo Boss BOSS The Scent for Her 1.5ml eau de parfum (£49 for 30ml) Kenzo World Power 1ml eau de parfum (£46 for 30ml) Les Eaux Primordiales Couleur Primaire 2.5ml eau de parfum (£180 for 100ml) Michael Kors Wonderlust Sublime 1.5ml eau de parfum (£46 for 30ml) Mihan Aromatics Mikado Bark 3ml eau de parfum ($190 AUD for 100ml) Mihan Aromatics Sienna Brume 3ml eau de parfum ($190 AUD for 100ml) Molton Brown Bizare Brandy 1.5ml eau de toilette (£85 for 100ml) Narciso Rodriguez Pure Musc 1ml eau de parfum (£45 for 30ml) Oscar de la Renta Extraordinary Pétale 2ml eau de parfum (£85 for 90ml) Paco Rabanne Lady Million Empire 1.5ml eau de parfum (£47.50 for 30ml) Salvatore Ferragamo Signorina Ribelle 1.5ml eau de parfum (£50 for 30ml)
Molton Brown Muddled Plum Bath & Shower Gel 30ml (£22 for 300ml) INC.redible Puh-lease Semi Matte Lip Click (worth £10 for 1.8g)
Which will you fall for first, we wonder? Watch below to see which made us gasp, and grab your very own #FROW Discovery Box for only £19 (£15 for VIP Club members) + P&P.
This year marks the fifth anniversary of the pioneering London Craft Week, and we’re thrilled to see so many scented events are included! From sniffing bespoke fragrances inspired by ‘rebels and reprobates’ to multi-sensory experiuences and the world’s first ‘sleep bar’, there truly is something for everyone to explore…
From 8-12 May 2019, hundreds of venues across the capital will participate in ‘a five-day celebration of global creativity – its biggest, boldest and most ambitious event to date.
More than 240 makers, designers, brands, artists and galleries from 15 countries will participate over the course of the week, inviting the London public to a packed programme of exhibitions, hands-on workshops, talks, creative experiences and one-off events.’
Of course our eyes (and noses) were immediately drawn to the fragrance-themed events in particular, and so we’ve included a selection to whet your appetite, below.
Rebels & Rogues: Creating Bespoke Perfumes Beaumont Hotel – A collaboration between The Beaumont and individual perfumiers; Ormonde Jayne, Paul Schutze, Penhaligon’s, Experimental Perfume Club, Cire Trudon, Floris, and 4160 Tuesdays who were asked to create a bespoke perfume creation – personal or ambient, in any format (candle, body spray, oil) – based on the theme of Rebels and Reprobates, inspired by one of the people depicted in The Lotos Room, the hotel’s Private Dining Room. Exhibition runs 8 – 12 May 10:30 – 20:30, no booking needed: FREE.
Sleep Bar at the anatomē store
Celebrating Crafted at Bergdorf Goodman’s New York and London Craft Week sees the launch of the ‘anatomē sleep bar’. A collaboration between the anatomē nutritionist and aromacologist alongside visual artist Joao Zabaleta.
‘We live in an agitated and often uncertain world, politically and socially. Most of us are digitally savvy, but our attachment to social media and online living has tended to make us more rather than less anxious in daily life. The pressures and stresses of our busy lifestyles take their toll on our bodies and minds and a good night’s sleep has been one of the key casualties. As numerous scientific studies suggest, the importance of sleep has been overlooked for too long and doctors are now serious about getting us to sleep better. Healthy living requires restful sleep as part of the daily routine.
We’ve worked with the best nutirtionists, aromacologists and nutritionists to create this unique sleep map. The anatomē Sleep Bar at a is here to help you achieve just that and a worlds first launching at ‘B’ store at Bergdorf Goodman followed by out store in London. We’ve created a bespoke customer experience that tailors our x4 Recovery + Sleep aromatherapy oils to individuals’ needs in helping to ensure a more restful sleep, night after night. The cities of New York and London that never sleep will now sleep more soundly with a bespoke, unique oils to support your rest.’ Piccadilly of London, 8 – 12 May, & ‘Crafted’ at Goodman’s ‘B’ Store, 5TH Avenue NY NY, 27 & 28 April 2019, no booking needed: FREE
Scented Candle-making Masterclass with Earl of East London
Learn the art of candle making with Earl of East London at their flagship store, bonds. Kings Cross. Alongside this, take part in bath salt workshops in celebration of their new Japanese bathing-inspired line, and enjoy a collaboration with Japanese ceramic curators Gallery Eclectic. Exhibition, 8 – 11 May 10:00 – 20:00, 12 May 12:00 – 18:00; Workshop, 8 May 11:00 – 12:30, 11 May 10:15 – 11:45. Tickets £45, booking required.
Made to Measure, the Ultimate Bespoke Fragrance Experience at Burlington Arcade
Penhaligon’s Made to Measure is a programme created exclusively for Penhaligon’s with Fabrice Pellegrin, featuring four exquisite pure perfume bases: chypre, woody, amber and ambrée. Once you have selected your preferred base, personalise the scent with the addition of one of four raw and beautiful essence signatures: Rose Cetefolia Absolute, Oud Wood Essence, Iris and Sandalwood. Sit back and relax with coffee, tea or champagne, while your Penhaligon’s Made to Measure fragrance is blended and bottled in front of you. Demonstration, 8 – 12 May 10:00 – 17:00 Booking necessary via [email protected], only 10 places per day available, tickets £400
Do have a look at the full programe for London Craft Week – we’re sure whichever scented or crafty session you choose, you’ll be learning and exploring skills and creating memories that will last a lifetime…
Inspired by the magnificent Dior: Designer of Dreams exhibition we reported on from the press day at the V&A, Dior have now launched an afternoon Prêt-àPortea at The Berkeley, and it really sounds like a treat for all the senses…
‘The Dior Couture Collection transforms landmark pieces into exquisite biscuits, bakes and fancies. From the Junon Dress worn by Theo Graham at Le Pré Catalan in Paris 1949 to the Bar Jacket which has been synonymous with Dior since it took to the catwalk in 1947 as part of the ‘New Look,’ each piece this season takes inspiration from Dior’s fashion history.
Your tea also includes a flavoursome collection of miniature savoury skewers, taster spoons, elegant canapés and tea sandwiches. To drink, choose a loose leaf tea from our extensive collection…’
Or you could go all-out and add some bubbles to the perfumed proceedings – a special treat for their Mother’s Day sitting on March 31, perhaps – or simply a way to celebrate the scents and treat yourself?
Prêt-à-Portea is priced at £60.00 per person.
Champagne Prêt-à-Portea, with a glass of Laurent-Perrier, £70.00 per person.
Signature Mocktail Prêt-à-Portea, with a glass of a refreshing Mango & Rooibos mocktail, £70.00 per person.
Couture Champagne Prêt-à-Portea, with a glass of Laurent-Perrier Rosé, Bollinger Rosé or Ruinart Blanc de Blancs, £76.00 per person.
This menu will be refreshed every six months, to reflect the catwalk trends, but right now we’re salivating over the thought of the rose pink Miss Dior cake and the Muguet pavlova, both directly inspired by the perfumes… Perfume and cake, could it honestly get any better?
‘Perfume is the indispensible complement to the personality of women, the finishing touch on a dress.’ – Christian Dior
Showcasing couture gowns worn by Princess Margaret, Margot Fonteyn and Jennifer Lawrence, in Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams, the V&A has opened the world’s largest exhibition ever staged in the UK on the House of Dior. We went to gawp at the gowns, and of course, to swoon at the scent bottles…
How telling that – amidst room after room of sumptuous designs and rainbow walls of vivid colours, unless one peered at the labels – it was practically impossible to accurately date the array of garments and accessories. And how welcome that so many iconic fragrances are displayed as part of the overall design aesthetic of Dior.
‘The exhibition highlights Christian Dior’s total design vision,’ explain the V&A, ‘encompassing garments, accessories and fragrances. Flowers are emblematic of the Couture house and have inspired silhouettes, embroidery and prints, but also the launch of Miss Dior in 1947, the first fragrance created alongside the very first show.’
Fragrance and fashion have always gone hand in (scented) glove, but never more so than with Dior. No designer has simultaneously launched a new brand new fashion line and a fragrance. It was an audacious act that marked their groundbreaking, breathtaking course to this very day.
Lined-up in cabinets, perched on plinths or variously housed within a stand resembling a miniature palace; the Dior fragrances are shown as being vital to the overall development of the house, and their continuing success shows how warmly we have clasped the scents to our (in our dreams) Dior-clad chests.
Arranged into eleven sections, the exhibition traces the skill and craftsmanship of the ateliers, along with highlighting many of the designers who have worked under the Dior banner, always pushing the boundaries while keeping an elegant insouciance that remained true to Dior’s ethos.
Noses pressed against the glass, oh how we would have loved to smell some of the originals – an impossible task at such a large exhibition, of course, but merely gazing at the original sketches for the bottles, a saved invitation from that orginal fashion and fragrance launch, and the most lust-worthy flaçons you’ll see all year – it’s enough to transport most of your senses. We advise wearing your favourite Dior fragrance and inhaling deeply as you get giddy with the glamour of it all…
Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams runs from now until 14th July 2019, with tickets from £20. All concessions £15.
We highly advise booking your tickets now, as a day after opening they were sold-out until April. Even so, believe us, it’s worth the wait.
We often liken a fragrance to texture – ‘velvety’, ‘smooth’, ‘suede’ – or colours, temperatures and emotions. With so few words in our language dedicated to smell alone, we must reach out with our other senses and make a connection between them and what we are smelling.
Arun Sispal is an artist and designer who sought to explore these connections in a tangible way, translating them into fragrant form with the help of British indie perfume house 4160 Tuesdays. You can now experience the results at his exhibition within the Royal College of Art – which is FREE but ends 1st July 2018, so we urge you to make haste before you miss it!
Scroll down for full details of how to get there, but for now we caught up with Arun, and asked him to explain the concept in his own words…
Arun Sispal: ‘The sentence I use to summarise what the work is about is -“If you were unable to experience the qualities of fragrance through the olfactory system, how could you experience its qualities through senses of touch and sight?”
Essentially, this project is to be viewed as a ‘conversation’ and ‘enquiry’, as opposed to a design piece with a final end outcome. The work discusses notions of ‘Interpretation’ and ‘blended senses’, and how the senses can influence one another. The conversation is made up of 3 stages:
Stage 1– I created a bespoke scent Stage 2– I responded to the scent created through design and material creation Stage 3– The design work was taken to 4160 Tuesdays, where Sarah McCartney created a fragrance response to the design work.
Stage 1– I created a scent at 4160 Tuesdays with a perfumer named Harry. We had several attempts and I described the type of scent I wanted. I needed the scent to have body and definition, as opposed to being something that was very silent and undefined – this was to allow for a successful material interpretation of the scent; because if it was quiet and did not have many facets, I don’t feel the design response would have been engaging or understandable.
In the end, we created a super heavy, dark and dusty scent, with a veil of Dorinia rose that glistens on tops, eventually drying down to something quite powdery. It is a scent than keeps changing, and shows new sides, and that is what I wanted- for it to fleet between these quite dramatic moments.
Stage 2– I then spent time responding to the scent. Thinking about the colours it evokes, the journey of the scent and how it develops over time, its weight, texture etc. (all of these elements that are both tangible and intangible, but once sprayed and in liquid form, this sense of physicality is no longer present). I also got those around me to tell me what the scent evoked for them and any memories, and the responses were so varied and unexpected- depending on their age, location etc.
In terms of the colours… Initially these super dark charcoals and blacks, quite scratched on surface, as the scent isn’t forgiving or a wallflower, but it shouts, and these tones reflected the intensity of the smoke. Also, a refined selection of bitten pink and metallic blush, reflecting the Rose when it is both shrouded in smoke and at its most brightest, clean stage. An abundance of mid tones that do not necessarily sit under the ‘pink’ or ‘grey’ heading, but instead are quite unsure of their identity, and shift between the 2, reflecting the transiency and ephemerality of the scent, and how it develops so much.
And in terms of the materials, using heavy wool felts in super flat, monotone charcoal and gunmetal coloured metal aspects, to reinforce the weight of notes like the agarwood, karmawood and white birch, and then contrasting this with delicate degrades of embroidery in metallic pink that shimmer on the surface, like the softness of the rose.
Stage 3– The design work was then taken to Sarah McCartney of 4160 Tuesdays, who spent time understanding and looking and touching the materials, and trying to create a connection between their physicality, and the array of ‘ingredients’ at the facility. One of the most prominent and interesting elements that Sarah picked up on was the use of gunmetal coloured wire that lay on top of the wool felt in a regimented, slightly aggressive way, and how its edges ‘poked’ out of the surface.
She wanted to use a note that had the same ‘pokey’ feeling – eventually opting for pink and black peppercorn- due to their instant ‘hit’ that knocks your head back when you smell it. This was such an exciting part of the project, as it was great to see the way that a professional perfumer is able to interpret the visual and aesthetic, which is the job of a designer.
The work was an experiment that had materials at the heart, how to tell a story in a multisensory way. It is about sensitivity, and it is also quite romantic…’
Royal College of Art, Kensington Gore, Kensington, London, SW7 2EU 12-6pm, 28th June- 1st July (closed 29th June) Located in ‘Textiles’
Every year, some of the world’s most rare and beautiful perfume bottles are gathered together in one room, at the Perfume Bottles Auction (and going for eye-watering prices, as you’ll see, below!) ‘The longest-running specialty auction of it’s type worldwide, returning clients have come to expect unique, undocumented, and seldom seen bottles to be offered by the Perfume Bottles Auction.’
Bidding on these precious lots are flacon collectors and a good number of museum directors, all desperate to get their hands on these utterly stunning pieces. This year’s auction took place in conjunction with the International Perfume Bottle Association‘s 30th annual convention in Tyson’s, VA, matching the previous year’s already staggering result of $400,000 within a few dollars. Oh my goodness, how we would have loved to be there! Which of these would you have bid on, given a chance…?
1922 Lucien Galliard for Violet ‘Pourpre d’Automne’
Now we have the incredible results (and heart-flutteringly fabulous pictures of the bottles) of what they realised, as told to us by the Perfume Bottles Auction representative… ‘A large and enthusiastic crowd compeated with online bidders, multiple phone lines, and a number of absentee bids over 250 lots chosen to suit every pocketbook – resulting in a wide spread of wins from a 1925 Terre de Ritz figural powder box formed as a 17th century court lady ($120) to the 1940 Helena Rubenstein “Gala Performance” ($24,000, seen below) formed as an actress with outstretched arms standing in an elaborate stage-set box of ostrich plume and velvet.
Bottle designs of 1925 proved to generate special interest and some of the highest results, including the Julien Viard bottle for Myrugia “Besame” with it’s rare love-birds images on label and box ($19,200); the French comic-strip inspired black and white auk character for Coryse “Alfred” ($9,600); Rene Lalique‘s dancer and butterflies motif for Erasmic “de Lui” ($13,200); and the alluring fan-themed label, box, and scent name of Oriza L. Legrand “Eventail” (fan) topping the sale ($39,000) at triple it’s pre-sale estimate.
A fine grouping of R. Lalique items featured perfume bottles, powder boxes, hand mirrors, and a rare 1930 three-chamber perfume tester bed with miniature stoppers as nude maidens for Maison Lalique ($8,400). The auction drew particular interest from a number of museum curators over three historically significant Guerlain bottles including “The Moorish Bottle” a rare 1910 hand decorated bottle by Pochet & du Courval ($9,600, seen above). All three went to museum collections.
1830 Guerlain white opaline glass, with hand-written note and label.
Other highlights in the commercial bottle category include the surrealist female bust of 1941 Lilly Dache “Drifting” ($19,200); the 1938 Baccarat white crystal fan for Elizabeth Arden “Cyclamen” (9,600); and the 1927 Marblehead Art Pottery Egyptian pharoah bottle for Leigh “Amber Nile” ($10,200, see feature image at top of page).
The sale included several lots of perennially popular 19th century scent bottles featuring a Thomas Webb peachblow bottle with applied gold cherry blossoms ($960); an 1850s miniature gourd with hand carved Napoleonic images ($660); an 1887 silver-capped British porcelain monkey ($480); and an 1870s crystal chatelaine bottle with ruby, sapphire and pearl set silver mounts ($1,320).
Dominating the evenings offerings was a beautiful private collection of 1920s-1930s Czechoslovakian crystal bottles, which became a buyer’s paradise due to the large selection and variety, scattering winning bids to between $500 and $2,500, and sending an exceedingly rare Ingrid bottle simulating carved lapis birds soaring ($7,200, seen above)!’
And for those of you hoarding stashed of fabulous flacons, consignments are now being considered for the 2019 auction in Chicago. For further information contact Auction Director: Ken Leach at [email protected]
Every year, IFRA – the trade association promoting the safe creation, development and enjoyment of fragrance) organise a Fragrance Forum – an utterly fascinating coming together of highly engaging speakers with experts from just about every sector you can imagine – all of whom are linked by their expertise and interest in the sense of smell. We were thrilled to be invited along for their seventh Forum as part of the fragrance press, and so found ourselves learning the power of Medical Detection Dogs, how to make a Mosquito Invisibility Cape, how to smell-map a city, how the Pre-Raphaelites responded to the stench of the river Thames (by linking it to paintings of fallen women, it turns out), the difference between Synaesthesia (one of my favourite subjects ever) and cross-modal correspondences, and font-sniffing (as in: can you smell/taste/hear typefaces? Short story: yes.)
To give you a taste of the breadth and diversity of the subjects covered, here’s a little more about the speakers and the topics they spoke about so passionately. In a Fragrance Forum for which the theme was Scents & Sensibility (a nod to this year marking the 200th anniversary of Jane Austen’s death), we left with a renewed excitement of the sense that some neglect, but which many of us have built our careers and, indeed, our lives around… Dr Claire Guest – Sniffing it out CEO Medical Detection Dogs
Claire has been involved in the training of dogs for tasks involving scent for over twenty years. Since 2002 she has been professionally involved in training dogs in the detection of human disease through scent. She is now the CEO of Medical Detection Dogs (MDD) the leading charity training dogs, pioneering both medical assistance and disease detection, and is not only a pioneer of the training but committed to carrying out empirical research to improve operations and to inform future medical technologies. Professor James Logan – How to make a mosquito invisibility cloak London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
James has more than 10 years of experience in the laboratory and field – in the UK and overseas – of controlling insects of medical and veterinary importance. He has an award-winning PhD investigating why some people are bitten more than others by mosquitoes and midges. Mosquito-borne diseases affect more than half the world’s population, diseases transmitted by insects account for more than 17% of all infectious diseases, causing more than one million deaths. By understanding more about mosquitoes and their incredible sense of smell, we can develop better ways to control one of the world’s most formidable forces. One day, we may even be able to make ourselves completely invisible. Key theme: Scent and our surroundings Kate McLean – Programme Director for Graphic Design at Canterbury Christ Church University Dr Daniele Quercia – Bell Labs, Cambridge On the Impossibility of Mapping the Smellscape
Kate McLean is a British artist and designer and mapper of urban smellscapes – the term used to describe the odour landscape around us. She runs smellscape mapping workshops, leads smellwalks around the world and has co-edited a book, Designing with Smell: Practices, Techniques and Challenges (2017). Her talk looked at how interative design research can be used to investigate how the general public perceives and reacts to smells in public spaces.
Daniele Quercia leads the Social Dynamics group at Bell Labs in Cambridge. He has been named one of Fortune magazine’s 2014 Data All-Stars, and spoke about “happy maps” at TED. His research has been focusing in the area of urban informatics, focussing on the fact that, although humans are able to potentially discriminate thousands of different odours, smell is simply hard to measure. SmellyMaps have recently proposed a new way of capturing the entire urban smellscape from social media data (i.e., tags on Flickr pictures or tweets). The SmellyMaps project aims at disrupting the mainly negative view of city odours and being able to celebrate the complex smells of our cities. Dr Christina Bradstreet – Art, Smell and Sanitation The National Gallery
Christina is Courses and Events Programmer at the National Gallery and she has taught 19th-century painting at Birkbeck College as well as guest lectures at Sotheby’s Institute, Royal Holloway College and the Courtauld Institute. So, how did the Pre-Raphaelites respond to the stench of the River Thames, in the summer of 1858? This talk explored how the urban stink influenced artists in Britain and beyond in the nineteenth-century. Key theme: Scent and psychology Dr Clare Jonas – Synaesthesia – a blending of the senses University of East London
Synaesthesia is a fascinating condition in which the senses become entangled so that music might appear to have shapes, or smells have colours. In this talk Clare explored what synaesthesia is and how it relates to mechanisms of multisensory perception in the general population. She also explored visual aspects of art, advertising and packaging and how psychological research links them to taste and smell. Sarah Hyndman – Wake up and smell the fonts! Founder and Director, Type Tasting
Type Tasting founder Sarah Hyndman is a graphic designer, author and public speaker, known for her interest in the psychology of type. Her main area of expertise is multi sensory typography, she works on collaborative research studies with the Crossmodal Research Laboratory at the University of Oxford. In her talk Sarah explored how visual language influences all of our senses as it tells the story of a product. The visual translation of luxury, gender or smell creates anticipation, informs our choices and enhances our experiences.
Innovative new research into crossmodal perception is now mapping the typography of smell – understanding this enables us to use visual language to accentuate nuances and nudge behaviour… just one of the many subjects we left wanting to explore in more depth, so stay tuned for our further investigations!
Written by Suzy Nightingale