Diane St. Clair of St. Clair Scents, Amber Jobin of Aether Arts Perfume and Chavalia Dunlap-Mwamba are three artisan perfumers who do it all! (bottom photo courtesy of Amber)
The recent history of artisan perfumers may be compared to the growth of ‘Farm to Table’ in the culinary arts and micro brewers of regional beer. Over the next week we will speak to seven artisan perfumers who “do it all”. They source the raw materials, write the formulas, do the blending, design the packaging, box and ship their perfumes. They do not have big marketing budgets nor are they backed by companies. In Part 1, we will meet three Artisan Perfumers, 2x Art and Olfaction (2014 and 2022 Winner) Amber Jobin of Aether Arts Perfumes, Chavalia Dunlap-Mwamba of Pink Mahogany and 2020 Art and Olfaction Finalist Diane St. Clair of St. Clair Scents -MIchelyn Camen, Editor-in-Chief
Amber Jobin of Aether Arts Perfumes all photos @Amber©
Briefly describe how you learned to make perfume
I began my formal perfume training in 2009 with an apprenticeship under Dawn Spencer Hurwitz of DSH Perfumes. That apprenticeship evolved over the years into a self-directed, weekly, master class with Dawn that continued until 2022 (over 13 years). For each class I would create a perfume brief and a palette of materials and we would riff off it like a jazz improve session, each of us gaining new insights based on our unique design approaches to the same idea.- Amber Jobin of Aether Arts Perfume
I started researching fragrance materials, and the more I researched, the more I became intrigued with the process of formulation. I knew I wanted to create fragrances without the additional usage of phthalates, so I studied at my own pace for 5-6 years before creating my first fragrance for release to the public. – Chavalia Dunlap-Mwamba of Pink Mahogany
I learned to make perfume on my own as well as by working with British perfumer Eliza Douglas. Eliza, who was trained in Grasse, was working with master perfumer Christophe Laudamiel at his New York company, DreamAir. She gave perfumery lessons in her free time. We primarily worked remotely, as she moved back to the UK. She was instrumental in teaching me about the basics of perfume structure, accord making and strategies for assessing one’s work. -Diane St. Clair of St. Clair Scents
Is this a full-time job?
Yes! I am a one-person business and do everything myself so there is always some aspect of my company that needs my attention. I really enjoy the full spectrum of activities that go into creating a product from start to finish and running my own business. – Amber Jobin
Yes. –Chavalia Dunlap-Mwamba
Up until this year, I owned a dairy farm and creamery, making artisan butter and selling it to fine dining restaurants across the United States. This was my primary job, taking about 50 hours a week of my time. I started my perfume business and kept it going in my “spare” time. As of this year, I am no longer engaged in milking cows or making butter, and St Clair Scents has become my full-time job.-Diane St. Clair
Chavalia Dunlap-Mwamba of Pink Mahogany© all photos
Describe how you “do it all” from writing the formula, to creating labels to shipping
I design my perfumes in my head long before I start mixing materials. Once I’ve thought it through and have decided which materials will express the concept most beautifully, I then gather my palette of smells and start creating a small volume of scent. I will usually make a number of iterations, learning something from each one. Once I feel as though I have one or two variations that work well, I leave it alone for a few days. This allows time for the materials to macerate and for me to come back with a fresh nose. After smelling everything again, I will either continue to refine the design or will go straight to making a larger volume of base. Once the base is done and has been made into perfume, it’s on to production. I hand-fill every bottle and sample and I box and pack all orders myself. –Amber Jobin
I am a one-woman team for now and handle everything from order fulfillment to packaging to shipping.-Chavalia Dunlap-Mwamba
I write the formulas for all my perfume concepts, often going through many, many mods to create them. I make the final perfumes, usually aging them for 3 months. I order all of the materials for a final perfume, make it, filter it, and bottle it. I keep up my inventory of 9 perfumes myself, remaking them as they are sold. – Diane St. Clair
Do you ship internationally? If so, how do you keep up with IFRA and regulations
Yes, I do. I purposely work in an oil format rather than an alcohol format (which is considered a hazardous material) because it doesn’t require special shipping and packing practices.-Amber Jobin
I do ship internationally and make sure to keep myself abreast of IFRA and have SDS documentation available if needed. –Chavalia Dunlap-Mwamba
I do not ship internationally. That is a whole level of paperwork and bureaucracy that I cannot take on. – Diane St. Clair
What unique obstacles do you have, (financials, MOQs, small-batch material expenses? How do you overcome these obstacles?
I would say my biggest headache would be the discontinuation of materials. –Amber Jobin
Financials regarding grants and other ways of offsetting material/packaging costs seem to be the main obstacle. I am constantly reading and researching ways to best navigate this by finding packaging materials in bulk until I am at a place where I’m able to scale up to having custom bottles, caps and packaging. –Chavalia Dunlap-Mwamba
I use a large percentage of naturals in my perfumes. This makes creating very expensive for me, especially since I am buying in relatively small quantities. The typical 50/50 split with retailers, which works fine for large perfume houses, makes this method of selling very difficult for me, as my profits become very small. It is why I sell primarily from my website, which means that I do better financially, but also limits my exposure to new customers. I really wish there was a way to convince retailers that the 50/50 split that they’re accustomed to is not very workable for small artisan perfumers. -Diane St. Clair
Diane St. Clair of St. Clair Scents all photos ©
Did you have a big break? If so, what was it?
I was fortunate to win the Art & Olfaction Artisan Award in 2014 for my perfume John Frum. As a new perfumer, being recognized by your peers was a tremendous confidence booster and really spurred me on to keep going and learn as much as possible about this beautiful art form. It also introduced me to perfume lovers in a way I could never have done on my own. -Amber Jobin
I was approached by a major company (NDA) that I had on my vision board for a couple of years that I wanted to work with. We will be partnering very soon, and they reached out to the brand, not the other way around. –Chavalia Dunlap-Mwamba
I had a very big break when The New York Times wrote a story about the sale of my butter business. They said I was going to pivot to full time work on my perfume business and published the link to St Clair Scents. I received 100 orders an hour for sample packs until I had to shut my site down because I had not anticipated demand. Key lesson—be better prepared for major publicity! –Diane St. Clair
How has social media impacted your brand? What about blogs and YouTube Reviews?
It definitely serves as a way to communicate with a broad audience. It can be a window into your world as a perfumer that you can share with others. I believe that people are very curious about the creative process of perfume and want a glimpse into that world. These forms of communication are very important and generally have a wider audience than my own personal social media channels. They are a great way to introduce your brand to new people. I also enjoy hearing someone else’s impressions of my perfumes. Thoughtful and constructive critique is important to all art forms and it is easy to become isolated and not have an awareness of how others perceive your work. -Amber Jobin
Social media has allowed me to bond with people I’ve never met in person by way of our common thread of fragrance. It’s allowed me to connect with those who share the same love and passion for the olfactory arts as myself. It has given me the opportunity to share who I am as an individual and bridge that with my profession, thus showing I’m a real person who happens to be a perfumer/business owner. It’s allowed me to be personable yet professional and make those who connect with Pink MahogHany fee like a “Fragmily.”- Chavalia Dunlap-Mwamba
Social media was initially important to my brand. I feel that it is less so now. When I started my small house in 2018, there were more reviewers and perfume blogs online. It was easier to find in-depth reviews. I feel that a lot of fragrance info and content is absent online, and there is more impact from superficial content—slick photos, influencers and whatever is trending. It doesn’t do much to educate consumers about fragrance, perfumers or quality products. –Diane St. Clair
Thank you to Amber, Chavalia and Diane our “Do it All” Artisan Perfumers. Please support them by purchasing directly from their sites.
For our Artisan Perfumers who do it all draw
Amber Jobin Of Aether Arts Perfumes is offering a reader’s choice of any three samples worldwide and please request which three Aether Arts Perfumes you want in your comments
Chavalia Dunlap-Mwamba is offering a travel size of newest fragrance, SexYÖUality – US + Canada only for a registered reader.
Diane St. Clair is offering in the USA only a sampler of four scents, (one an A&O finalist and one the bestseller, Casablanca.) for a registered reader
To be eligible, you must be a registered reader
Please a comment regarding what appealed to you/or what you learned in Artisan Perfumers “who do it all part 1”, what resonated with you and where you live. Please leave in your comment what you would like to win. Draw closes 11/23/2022 and the winner will be announced within 10 days later.
Thank you David Falsberg of Phoenicia for helping Michelyn with some of the questions
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