The brand Atelier Charisma has launched a fragrance that you can buy at Aus Liebe zum Duft for a few weeks now: Grandeur. Behind the young label is founder Jarno Broekkamp, who comes from the Netherlands and has a vision of his own, having been closely involved in the world of perfumery since a young age. In this interview, he reveals some interesting facts about himself, Atelier Charisma and his first fragrance composition.
Welcome to the fragrance diary: Jarno Broekkamp! 😊
Dear Jarno, please tell us a little about yourself and introduce yourself to our readers!
My name is Jarno Broekkamp and I am the 22-year-old founder of Atelier Charisma, a niche perfume house dedicated to the creation of Extrait de Parfum. As far back as I can remember, I have had an enormous passion for scents. This passion took me on a personal journey to discover unique scents, often beyond the reach of mainstream perfumes.
My career in the fragrance industry is best described as an extensive self-study in which I have spent countless hours learning about perfumery and exploring a wide range of different types of fragrances. The idea for Atelier Charisma was born from my realization that the possibilities in creating perfumes are truly limitless. I want to bring something new and exciting to the world of perfumery by including a rare or unknown fragrance note in every creation.
When did you realize that fragrances have a special appeal for you?
From an early age i always had a certain connection with perfume and scents in general. For example, when my nephew asked for certain toys at Christmas, I asked for a simple perfume set and when I reached the age where I started earning my first money, a lot of it was immediately spent on perfumes I had read about online.
Also from a young age, my parents took me to many corners of the world. These travels definitely shaped my approach to scent, think of the small markets full of exotic spices in Asia and Africa. That definitely left a lasting impression that inspired me in the creation of Grandeur.
Why is your brand called Atelier Charisma?
From the very first moment, I found it important to reflect the feeling that the scents should convey in the name of the label, namely the charismatic feeling. However, I felt that the name ‘Charisma’ itself had little connection with what we do. After looking for an addition to the name, I came up with “Atelier”, which in my opinion fits perfectly with the creative process that our creations undergo. The name Atelier Charisma is in my eyes a perfect reflection of our core values and creative ethos.
What are your values and philosophy?
At Atelier Charisma we pursue the philosophy of making every creation ‘unique but wearable’. Every creation should provide a special feeling with every spray.
In terms of development, it’s a non-negotiable to me that every creation must consist of at least one relatively unknown scent note. To ensure a balance between innovation and complexity.I am dedicated to pushing the boundaries of perfumery by constantly exploring innovative techniques and experimenting with rare and unique olfactory notes to promise an experience like no other.
Let’s talk about grandeur! What was the inspiration for this extrait de parfum?
For Grandeur we did not have a specific place or feeling as a source of inspiration. However from the very first moment I had the idea to build the scent around the special olfactory note of Camphor. This is the olfactory note i remember most from my travels to Indonesia.
I already had the thought in advance that our introductory scent should be one that would leave a big impression, one that should have an increased degree of uniqueness and complexity. In other words, a scent that would possess grandeur. Which in my opinion would be the perfect name for this creation.
It is a woody-aromatic composition. Why did it go in exactly this direction?
As mentioned earlier, one of the non-negotiables is that every creation must have atleast one rare or unknown fragrance note. The one that I have always had in the back of my mind from my youth and travels through Asia is Camphor, a herb from Indonesia.
After determining that camphor would be the first heart note, several herbs were added in the heart that created a complimentary effect on camphor, including styrax and clove. A large part of the vision for Grandeur was to create a seamless transition between the top, heart, and base notes to eliminate a static feeling and ensure a dynamic experience. We noticed the smoothest transitions when using the fresh top notes of bergamot and vetiver leading to the aromatic and spicy heart notes of styrax, camphor, cloves, guaiac wood and opoponax. Which gradually evolves to the smoky and woody base notes of Patchouli and Oud.
You worked with a perfumer. How did that go?
The collaboration with the perfumer was very close, with of course a lot of contact back and forth. We actually came up with the fragrance together. At the beginning of the collaboration, I only had an idea of the vision and what the name of the creation should express. The further determination went very gradually, of course the perfumer brought a lot of expertise in the field of matching fragrance notes, but as we progressed in the process my vision and view of suitable additions also began to expand.
As a huge perfectionist, I constantly doubted whether a certain choice was the right one. This made the collaboration very intensive and also significantly increased the amount of testing and attempts required to arrive at the final composition.
What is special about Grandeur for you?
What makes Grandeur so special in my eyes is that each fragrance phase consists of a different fragrance family, with the top being fresh and citrusy, the heart spicy and resinous and the base woody and smoky. This makes Grandeur a truly dynamic and complex scent. The transitions that occur between these phases make it a creation that thrives on myriad levels.
Do you currently have a raw material that particularly inspires you?
My all-time favorite fragrance note is clove. This is because it smells both spicy and sweet, which I really appreciate. Clove was a fragrance that absolutely had to be present in Grandeur. But lately I’ve become a big fan of scents that consist of molecular notes or certain types of tea. These notes give me a lot of inspiration about what future fragrances could look like.
What can we expect from Atelier Charisma in the future?
First of all, I look with great passion and enthusiasm to the future of Atelier Charisma, in which a lot of time will be spent on fragrance innovation and developing fragrance concepts that will continue to push the boundaries of perfumery. One thing is certain, many different fragrance families will be brought together into complex and dynamic compositions
Dear Jarno, thank you very much for taking the time to answer my questions.
Be First to Comment