Exclusive Interview with Laura Slatkin, Founder and Creative Visionary of NEST Fragrances

Recently Scentbird had the chance to catch up with Laura Slatkin, the founder and creative visionary behind NEST Fragrances. She was gracious enough to answer a few questions about her work, what inspires her, and some of her favorite scented things:

What inspires you most when creating new perfumes?

The original inspiration behind my fine fragrance collection was the botanical artwork of an 18th century British artist, Mrs. Delany. As the collection started growing and gaining momentum, I found myself gaining inspiration from so many things. A photographer’s work, an unusual flower or something I discover or experience during my travels. I start collecting images that represent the mood I want to create and then I commission an artist to paint artwork that captures my inspiration. I work alongside master perfumers and use the painting as inspiration to identify the fragrance’s botanical ingredients. The entire process is steeped in creativity and the result is always an amazingly impactful fragrance.

How do you feel scent influences your mood and living environment?

My collection of fine fragrances is based on the belief that mood matters and that one should always look to scent to help create different moods. Each of my perfumes has its own personality and each one creates a different mood: happy, seductive, sensual, exotic, romantic, fresh or… decadent. One should carefully consider what kind of mood they want to convey, how they want to feel and how they want to affect those around them. The right fragrance can lift your spirits, calm your senses or set the tone for your day. I like to treat my fragrances like my wardrobe. Much like how I dress myself based on mood or occasion, I wake up and pick my fragrance depending upon what kind of mood I want to feel.

What’s your all-time favorite perfume? Favorite perfumery moment? Quote?

Many years ago, I went on a trip to Paris and had the opportunity to buy one of the very first bottles of Coco Chanel ever produced—it became my signature scent for many, many years. It is a beautiful fragrance that reminds me of a terrific trip to one of my favorite cities in the world.

What’s next for NEST Fragrances?

We have so many exciting things in the works. To start, we are expanding both our home and fine fragrance collections in 2018 with beautiful, new fragrances. And we are taking our expertise in fragrance to new categories, mixing beautiful fragrances with state-of-the-art technology. It’s going to be amazing! Stay tuned!

Many thanks to NEST Fragrances and Laura Slatkin for making the time to answer these questions. Scentbird is proud to carry several fragrances from NEST Fragrances, and we look forward to seeing where Laura’s fragrant inspirations lead her next.