Interview with Fredrik Dalman, In-house Perfumer Maison Mona di Orio
As a successful entrepreneur and in-house perfumer at Maison di Orio Fredrik Dalman began building his olfactory career at the Grasse Institute of Perfumery in the south of France. He continued developing and cultivating his creational skills as the apprentice of master perfumer Bertand Duchaufour. Influenced by light and nature, he takes us for a stroll through the unlimited possibilities offered in his olfactive fantasyland.
How would you define the style of your perfumes?
I love texture, colour, temperature, light and other sensorial concepts that perhaps many would believe is impossible to translate into the world of fragrance. It’s a challenge I love, a language I learned to speak. I believe that fragrance as a medium has unlimited possibilities.
How do you find your ingredients?
Sometimes I almost think they find me. Inspiration can be found in the most unexpected places if you are open, receptive and know how to look. Having a mind keen on adventure and playfulness certainly helps but inspiration has a tendency to surprise. A recent example is when I brought in this year’s Christmas tree, covering my hands in pine sap in the process and a few minutes later started making green mango chutney. Phenomenal combination right there. It’s quite simple really, just pay attention to all the beauty around you and you’ll never be starved for inspiration.
Describe a day in the life of a master perfumer when working on a project like Maison Mona di Orio? What is your schedule like?
I consider it to be quite similar to that of a pianist. In perfumery, we use a very similar terminology to musicians. We talk about notes, chords, and so on. A perfumers collection of raw materials is even called an organ and in many ways, it works the same. Looking for things that “sound” beautiful together. I do this by exploring different materials, finding the facets you want to boost, hide, merge with another. Searching for visual inspiration in the shape of videos, books, pictures. Listening to sounds and feeling certain textures. All this creates a storyline on which I can place characters. Building a world if you like. Once this is done I begin trying out different mixtures until I get butterflies in my belly and then I know it’s done. Quite a lengthy process sometimes. I usually “see” the scent I want to create in my mind and it’s just a matter of finding the right mixtures of materials to create a now “bottleable” thought. Then Jeroen and I smell it together and hopefully, he loves it as much as I do. If not, we go back to the drawing board.
Do you have any favourites among your fragrance collection?
It’s almost like choosing my favourite food (another one of my great passions). I love them all and perhaps it’s because they create different emotions, memories, and feelings. Emotion is truly the definition of luxury to me and therefore I simply can’t choose between one or the other. Every emotion and journey has its time and place. That being said, the fragrances from our very limited and curated Alinea Collection (with creations like Rose Concrete and Vermilion Wood) has a special place in my heart.
How many scents should a person have in their scent wardrobe?
Oh, that’s totally up to the wearer. My father has worn the same fragrance for all his life and it has become such a vital part of him I would almost call it his DNA. Personally, I like a more uplifting day fragrance and a darker more sensual for the evening. However, I certainly don't blame people for wanting a whole bunch…In these strange times any form of escapism is surely welcome.. With fragrance you can visit the Bahamas in the morning, hit Dubai by lunch and relax in Marrakesh’s warm evening wind by nightfall. A very sustainable way of travelling.
All creative projects have their challenges. What was your biggest challenge working on your collection?
It’s all a bit hush-hush still but I I’ve been working on a big new project, a new perfume brand Jeroen and I had to create, a new brand called Pantomime Parfum. We started from scratch, creating an olfactory language expressing emotions without words. Probably my greatest challenge so far. I’ve had to use raw materials in ways I’ve never used them before, translating scent into things even I doubted was possible. It has been such an incredible journey working with Jeroen and seeing the brand take shape, thankfully it won’t be long before you can take them for a spin (follow @PantomimeParfum).
What are your three favourite smells?
I could write a book on that topic. Why choose three when there are a hundred? I say like Julie Andrews. These are a few of my favourite things... Dew filled black currant leaves, Rainy Forest Walks, Putting your Nose in a jar of Tea, Taking a Carrot cake out of the Oven, Super Ripe Peaches, Cardamom, Washing your floors with Linseed oil Soap, Rub a fig leaf between your fingers, Cooking rice, Fresh Sawdust, Late Harvest German Rieslings, Newly struck Elderflower, Danish Pipe Tobacco, Starchy shirts, Honeysuckle, Fresh Cress, Smoke from Chimneys in Autumn. Just to name a few…
What are your goals for the next 5 years?
One thing I love about being a perfumer is that you are in charge of your own education and progress. The feeling of never being fully taught. Sure I went to perfumery school but the greatest olfactory school of all is the work itself. Every fragrance is an opportunity to create something beautiful or find a hundred ways of doing something that wasn’t exactly right. Every failed fragrance attempt worked as the greatest teacher or gave the inspiration for something new. I’m looking forward to keep learning new tricks, smelling new materials, and writing even more stories. There’s something truly free about creating things you believe haven’t been done before, the freedom of making your own rules.
