A Swedish Christmas; a husband’s view Story and photos by My Scandinavian Home. How do you celebrate Christmas? Since moving to Sweden (16 years…
While we are not perfumers, we like to think of ourselves as educated ambassadors of Scandinavia. Having lived here since the turn of the millennium, we have a healthy knowledge of the flora, climate and lifestyles of the Scandinavian region and peoples. So, rather than follow the herd and use common scent accords and then dress them up to promise something special, we always aim to create the most authentic fragrance impressions of the Scandinavian region as possible – a region few understand in olfactory terms and a region of limited relevant industry history.
We start by identifying an aspect of the region, a theme, that is both precious to its inhabitants and exotic to the outside world. More often than not, this is based on our experiences from over fifteen years of travelling across the Nordic region in our former jobs working for big American multinationals and as foreign immigrants who married into the region.
Our two usual explorers of Shaun, our founder,
and Stéphane, our perfumer.
Photographs by Niki Brantmark.
Firstly, our gentleman French perfumer, who helps us interpret
that theme through a combination of artistry and chemistry.
He regularly visits Scandinavia to build his own understanding
of this region; we cycle in Copenhagen, swim in Swedish lakes,
explore the Norwegian fjords, and trek through the forests
and coastline together. He learns our region, we learn the magic
of perfumery. We don’t always get it right, but it’s not for lack of trying.
Secondly, the Danish gardener, who grew up in Sweden
and spent her summers in Norway, and has had a passion for
gardening since early childhood. She knows how and what
to plant in soils that freeze and seasons with short amounts
of sunlight. She helps us understand the theme, what grows
there and when, and – more often than not – we go visit.
Our Copenhagen garden is also a constant source of
experimentation and inspiration with more than one hundred
and fifty rose varieties growing alongside a cornucopia of
temperate flora, and a special new section reserved for
growing scented Nordic wildflowers from seeds.
The Danish gardener. Photograph by Chris Tonnesen.
ALBA ROSE
Centuries-old, and tolerant of harsher climates,
this modest rose reveals its pink-white
blooms once only in mid-summer.
ON ICY WATERS AND COLD DIPS
HELGA ISAGER . KNITWEAR DESIGNER Photographs taken by Mikkel Tjellesen My first time was in an ice-covered lake somewhere in northern Finland. I was…