My readings on the social construction of smells, scent, and olfaction brought me, again, to the astonishing work of the Norwegian artist, activist, and perfumer Sissel Tolaas. In a recent interview with the journal mono.kultur she talks about her motivations to analyze, recreate, and work with smell and scent. According to her, smell as a relational medium allows recognition as another source of knowledge that co-creates identity: scents can manipulate human beings in order to “establish or to maintain their class identity“ (Tolaas in mono.kultur #23, p. 11). In a footnote: also her interpretation of communism resembling the “stale air of imposed uniformity” (page 36 in “If there ever was (a book of extinct and impossible smells)” by Robert Blackson, Art Editions North/Cornerhouse, 2008) convinces that smell can be understood as a “socio-spatial construct and also a narrative” (Tolaas in mono.kultur #23, p. 27). Read more
Das neue Parfumbuch ist nun auf dem Markt erhältlich: etwas früher als ursprünglich geplant ist „Das große Buch vom Parfum“ von Frank J. Schnitzler und mir im Handel und Online, beispielsweise direkt über den Verlag, zu erwerben.
Die gesamte Aufmachung gefällt uns sehr gut. Sowohl Inhalt mit Besprechung von über 1000 Düften sowie die Darstellung der Parfumbranche insgesamt als auch die graphische Präsentation sind gewinnend und edel. Der Verlag Collection Rolf Heyne hat ganz hervorragende Arbeit geleistet und bietet uns über die kompetente Arbeit von Presseabteilung und Vertrieb die Möglichkeit, interessiertes Fachpublikum und den Endverbraucher anzusprechen. Read more
The renewed success of niche perfume brands in recent years suggests an understanding and differentiation of what the terms ‘niche’ and ‘mass’ imply. Those differentiations and the adequacy to think in these terms are often discussed in the fragrance industry. Some players and institutions conceptualize working definitions in order to separate categories as ‘niche’ or ‘mass’ or even ‘more mass’ and ‘more niche.’ Hereafter, I speak about some facets and characteristics that distinguish mass from niche brands. However, this description is not analytical in the sense that a clear differentiation (according to number and quality of retailers, financial restraints and opportunities, geographical reach, profit, and employees, for instance) is possible – I am rather presenting tendencies of how niche players work and what they do differently. In addition, the list is not comprehensive. Read more
New products are presented to the public on the shelves of perfumeries on a regular basis – cosmetics but, in particular, perfumes are reaching the stores on a weekly basis. The question of Why this is happening is as relevant as the question How consumer prices develop. How does a commodity receive its price? Read more