©2018 Ooh St. Lou Studios Shawn Maher of Chantillon Lux
Profile: The seeds for my infatuation with the olfactory world were planted in my childhood. I was born in Arkansas and grew up in the Ozark Mountains in Missouri. In addition to all the time spent outdoors while growing up, my dad works at a lumberyard and would always have me smell the fresh wood shavings, especially red cedar when I would visit. Between that and the flower gardens that my mom planted annually, you can see how I grew to love woody, earthy and floral fragrances. Not even that, but I even found weird smells to be fascinating, like gasoline, a freshly opened package of baseball cards, cardboard and who knows what else.
Shawn Maher of Chantillon Lux as a young boy
However, my mom is from Saint Louis and I always loved visiting the city with its rich history, beautiful old buildings and plucky charm. Finally, after college I moved to my home away from home for good and just keep loving Saint Louis more and more, enthralled with both the history and the amazing artists who do bold and daring work. There’s been a huge grassroots movement to reinvigorate the city, and the pride that people take in their communities makes it an exciting place to live. And when you see people pouring every ounce of their being into what they love (against all odds sometimes), it inspires you to do the same.
Chatillon Lux Lamplight Penance – Inspired by the final years of the life of frontier Hero Henri Chatillon
Once I began experimenting with perfumery, I felt like something in my brain unlocked. As a musician, the creative process of composing perfume felt an awful like process of composing a song, down to how you have infinite possibilities in how you tell the story, allowing your unique voice to really shine. In both forms of expression, arranging a few notes in perfect harmony can place seemingly ordinary parts in harmony to evoke so much beauty that it is breathtaking. It is no wonder that the art of perfumery sprung forth from religion. While I still love music, I have found an even deeper creative satisfaction in scent. There is a precision there that goes beyond what I love about music and amplifies it, with even the most minute detail affecting the overall composition immensely.
Composing a new formula on the work bench with the Saint Louis flag as a backdrop
On Being an American Perfumer: As an American perfumer, I find that many of us feel less bound to a history and tradition in our work and so you see many of us finding their own voices in a wholly unique way. There is a sort of vibe with so many niche perfumers that reminds me of many DIY and independent bands whose dedication to independence and doing ALL of the work themselves leads to a greater ability to create the music that they truly wanted to create through their entire career. Like many American cities, Saint Louis, formerly the Gateway to the West, has had to reinvent itself multiple times. We have had our struggles, but we also have seen many people in our history whose greatest mission in life was to realize their unique vision and make the world a more beautiful place. Many American perfumers strike a resemblance to many American cities: we strive to reach a goal by blazing our own trails to get there. It is both bold and fearless.
Miles Davis(Antibes Juan-les-Pins 1963
Favorite American Artist: One of the most inspiring American artists to me was someone who also grew up in the area and got his start in Saint Louis: Miles Davis. As a musician, I admire his compositions and technical ability, but as an artist I admire his unyielding pursuit of his vision and unwavering commitment to never becoming stagnant, but rather continually daring to reinvent himself. My next launch in my Parfums line, Nefertiti, is a tribute to both his seminal post-bop album and the famously beautiful and wise Queen Nefertiti.
circa 1966 via amazon.com
Nefertiti is a remarkable album not only because it turned so many jazz traditions on their head, it also was so distinctly Miles without having composed a single track of himself, instead taking on the role of bandleader. He inspired greatness and allowed up-and-coming musicians to stand on the shoulder of this jazz giant to achieve greatness. Many of the songs seek to create a mood rather than impress with musicianship (in the raw recording of the song Nefertiti, you can hear Miles exclaim, “No solos!”), which often forced the band members to find new heights of creativity through unconventional voicings and arrangements. It is something that I often strive to do in perfumery: take the familiar and revisit it with a new perspective. It’s like the feeling of jamais vu, when you suddenly are shaken to experience something familiar as if this is your first time seeing it. When I first heard Nefertiti, I felt like I was hearing jazz for the first time.
– Shawn Maher of Chatillon Lux, Perfumer and Owner
In the fall foliage in Benton Park – named after Thomas Benton Hart
Thanks to Shawn Maher of Chatillon Lux we have a draw for your choice of a full bottle of your choice of Lamplight Penance or Santal Auster, plus three samples of your choice from the Chatillon Lux Parfums line of eau de toilettes. To be eligible you must be a registered reader(register here) in the USA, you must be registered or your comment will not count. Tell us what you found fascinating about Shawn Maher of Chatillon Lux path to perfumery and which Chatillon Lux perfume you would like to win and which Eau de Toilette samples. Draw closes 12/25/2018
Please like CaFleurebon Profiles in American Perfumery and your entry will count twice. Please leave that in your comment.
Shawn Maher of Chatillon Lux is our 139th American perfumer in our series, which began in 2011 with Dawn Spencer Hurwitz of DSH Perfumes.
All photos belong to Shawn Maher of Chatillon Lux unless otherwise noted.
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Santal Auster at the Jewel Box in Forest Park – the largest urban park in America
Editor’s Note: Shawn Maher of Chatillon Lux Santal Auster is one of our editor's favorites of the year. Reviews of Shawn Maher of Chatillon Lux fragrances coming soon.
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