For the past 6 months we have been lost in an ever-growing to-do-list of formula sign-offs, bottle options, label design (to name but a few!) and when you’re tied up in the smaller details of the process, you can sometimes forget to take a step back and assess the bigger meaning of it all.<br>

Before launching Jorum Studio, we spent over 10 years working in the perfume industry and have been quietly building a new, international fragrance making industry here in Scotland.

As a business that also formulates and manufactures aromas on behalf of other brands (as well as our own), exporting both our formulation services and handmade products globally. We have worked with some really talented people and for some of the best loved names in fine fragrance - working together to create amazing products, grow businesses and build brands across the globe.

After so many years backstage, we felt the time was right to launch our own fragrance brand, one that allowed us to have our own creative voice as well as have the freedom to collaborate with other like-minded people and engage with their ideas.

Euan and I share a strong vision for Jorum Studio, and how it will open a dialogue between perfumer and wearer to create a community built on knowledge, creativity, curiosity and most importantly, joy! The fact that you’re reading this means that we’re one step closer in bringing that vision to life, and that is a dream come true for us.

We have always taken a crafted approach to fragrance design and manufacturing, and this is continued with Jorum Studio. Our focus is on the quality of the aroma and the intention of the fragrance. As much as Jorum Studio fragrances are a reflection of our creative ideas, our fragrances are not intended for us; they’re made with you in mind. We can think a fragrance has the best concept out there, but if people don’t engage with it, what’s the point? That’s why we will always welcome comments and feedback from you, our customer.

As much as Jorum Studio is dedicated to creating exemplary fragrance, we are conscious of our presentation also. We put so much care into creating our perfumes, so giving them a physical form that was any less considered would be a disservice. With that said, like everything we do, we are always learning and will continue to refine Jorum Studio as much as we possibly can, to bring you the best quality product, which doesn’t compromise on quality or creativity.

We are entirely self-funded and of course, a new brand and business, so everything takes time. Our main focus has been (and always will be) to start with the quality of the core product - aroma - working outwards hoping that we produce a quality offering where said quality is equal across each part of what we do, from aroma to packaging, collaborations and commissions to customer service.

For some time now there is one question we have been asking ourselves here at Jorum HQ - where did the joy go in perfumery? So many people wear fragrance, as a way of expressing their personality, and this energy should not be void in the entire brand presentation. This goes further than just the packaging, to the visual and more general communication of fragrance. We don’t want to ‘bash’ other brands but there seems to be a heavy cloud of seriousness hanging over the industry and this is being reflected in the product. It is a hard market now and livelihoods depend on brands performing well but we feel this is manifesting in an austere façade. There seems to be a race to lay claims, make points over differentiation and force (sometimes questionable) heritage and the like. At Jorum, we take our business and the industry at large seriously but we want to have fun with what we do at Jorum Studio.

You can see, from our Ethics Policy that we feel having fun, and working and engaging with a diverse group of people leads to a collectively greater end result.

I’m sure most of you reading this will appreciate perfumery as an art form; it’s expressive and nuanced, and appeals personal emotion, but for those not familiar with the world of fragrance, perfume is just a smelly product, and that’s also true!

To me, a successful fragrance is like going to a concert of your favourite band and singing along with 5000 other fans to your favourite song. It’s your song, but you love it even more knowing that other people feel the same way too. That feeling of personal reflection within a shared experience is something that inspires Jorum Studio every day.

We want to build stronger ties with artists and craftspeople from other industries, to strengthen the association of perfumery as a craft but to also learn from other art forms.

For our first collection, Progressive Botany Vol I, we have collaborated with the luminary Edinburgh-based artist Juli Bolaños-Durman. In response to the six fragrances within the collection, Juli is creating a one-of-a-kind heirloom piece, which will be on sale from Autumn 2019.

Juli’s style is unlike anything we have seen before. Working in glass sculpture as well as other disciplines, Juli often uses found objects to create one-off pieces that tell the story of their past while projecting a sense of new-ness. We thought this was the perfect alignment for Progressive Botany Vol I, which is centred around the notion of augmenting habitual natural phenomena to create new and unexpected olfactory stories.

With each new Jorum Studio collection, we will collaborate with an artist, artisan or craftsperson to create a work or series of works. These creations will be in response to our collection or will use the same stimulus to influence, producing a singular albeit shared response.

It is our aim to use the resources generated from the collection to create additional works as well as new collections and artistic responses. We hope that with each new fragrance we launch, we can further the conversation about fragrance as a craft and build a strong and sustainable creative space for all.

We’re at the early stages at the moment, but already we can see the start of a positive community. We’re incredibly excited to share this journey with you!