The Designers
Karl Bradl & Carlos Quintero
Nomenclature was conceived in New York by Karl Bradl and Carlos Quintero.
The former need not be introduced to fragrance lovers. Scent-obsessed since childhood, Karl became an award-winning perfume designer. While he is not a “nose”, his role is a defining one: he conceptualizes each scent, chooses its notes and ingredients, and guides the perfumer throughout the development process.
Carlos Quintero, a self-described “Renaissance” designer, sees his work as a process that can be applied to any facet of life, be it fashion, graphics, furniture, packaging, digital, accessories, objects…
He has worked in Italy and New York for prestigious global fragrance, fashion and publishing companies.
It was Carlos who originated the boldly modernistic concept of Nomenclature:
“Scientists design these outstanding compounds as elegant solutions to very practical problems. For example, to find a compassionate equivalent to musk, an ecological substitute for sandalwood or a cost-efficient alternative to ambergris. I fell in love with the idea of celebrating design in fragrance chemistry.”
While Karl is driven by the urge to create beauty for beauty’s sake, Carlos’s passion is to find beautiful, practical solutions. The duo collaborated on each design element of the project, but it was Karl who led the development of the fragrances.
“Because fragrances are art, not solutions!” quips Carlos.
The Perfumers
Frank Voelkl
A consummate cosmopolitan whose first calling was diplomacy, the German-born, New York-based Frank Voelkl grew up in the Netherlands and France. It was in his grandfather’s farm in Germany that he discovered the scents of nature. During his teenage years in Paris, he was drawn into the world of fine fragrance, spending all his weekends happily sniffing away in a parfumerie on the rue de Rivoli. But it was his wife’s birthplace, Tahiti, which inspired his first composition in 1997, Tiaré by Chantecaille. Frank, who has been working for Firmenich since 2005, thinks of scents in terms of colors, melodies and musical movement. In his compositions, he strives for “perfect imperfection”—to him, it is those very imperfections that yield beauty and emotion. For Nomenclature, he signs adr_ett and efflor_esce.
Patricia Choux
If it hadn’t been raining on the French Riviera where her family was vacationing, the Burgundy-born Patricia Choux might never have decided to become a perfumer at the early age of ten. That day, she went on an excursion to Grasse. The little girl was mesmerized by the alembics and essences of the Fragonard Museum. She drew perfume bottles and invented names for them. In 1993, after graduating from ISIPCA, the perfumery school of Versailles, she embarked on an international career that led her from Germany to England, France and finally New York, where she has been working for Takasago since 2009. A fearless perfumer who loves to break with convention, the globetrotting Patricia feeds her inspiration with painting, drawing and running marathons all over the world. For Nomenclature, she signs orb_ital and iri_del.
Bertrand Duchaufour
Since first finding his calling when he smelled a girlfriend’s Chanel N°19, Bertrand Duchaufour has become a cult figure among fragrance lovers and one of the most prolific auteurs in niche perfumery, with an oeuvre featuring such contemporary classics as Avignon (Comme des Garçons) and Timbuktu (L’Artisan Parfumeur). A keen painter, photographer and collector of museum-quality tribal art, the maverick perfumer often draws his inspiration from far-flung destinations and quirky, soulful ingredients. Thus, a recent trip to Japan triggered the idea for his first collaboration with Nomenclature: shi_sõ.
Nathalie Feisthauer
In Strasbourg, as a teen, she never cared for perfume, until she wandered into a perfume shop on a rainy day and fell in love with Opium. Resolving to become a perfumer, she showered company with applications until one gentleman offered to see her. It turned out to be Jean- Louis Sieuzac, who’d composed the 70s blockbuster. Classically trained at the prestigious Roure School of perfumery, Nathalie began her career in New York in the 90s, working with the power consultant Ann Gottlieb. Since then, her career has spanned from classics such
as Hermès Eau des Merveilles (with Ralf Schwieger) to several cutting-edge fragrances for Comme des Garçons. Today, Nathalie heads her own Paris-based independent composition studio, LAB scent. Fluo_ral is her first collaboration with Nomenclature.
The Designers
Karl Bradl
&
Carlos Quintero
Nomenclature was conceived in New York by Karl Bradl and Carlos Quintero.
The former need not be introduced to fragrance lovers. Scent-obsessed since childhood, Karl became an award-winning perfume designer. While he is not a “nose”, his role is a defining one: he conceptualizes each scent, chooses its notes and ingredients, and guides the perfumer throughout the development process.
Carlos Quintero, a self-described “Renaissance” designer, sees his work as a process that can be applied to any facet of life, be it fashion, graphics, furniture, packaging, digital, accessories, objects…
He has worked in Italy and New York for prestigious global fragrance, fashion and publishing companies.
It was Carlos who originated the boldly modernistic concept of Nomenclature:
“Scientists design these outstanding compounds as elegant solutions to very practical problems. For example, to find a compassionate equivalent to musk, an ecological substitute for sandalwood or a cost-efficient alternative to ambergris. I fell in love with the idea of celebrating design in fragrance chemistry.”
While Karl is driven by the urge to create beauty for beauty’s sake, Carlos’s passion is to find beautiful, practical solutions. The duo collaborated on each design element of the project, but it was Karl who led the development of the fragrances.
“Because fragrances are art, not solutions!” quips Carlos.
The Perfumers
Frank Voelkl
A consummate cosmopolitan whose first calling was diplomacy, the German-born, New York-based Frank Voelkl grew up in the Netherlands and France. It was in his grandfather’s farm in Germany that he discovered the scents of nature. During his teenage years in Paris, he was drawn into the world of fine fragrance, spending all his weekends happily sniffing away in a parfumerie on the rue de Rivoli. But it was his wife’s birthplace, Tahiti, which inspired his first composition in 1997, Tiaré by Chantecaille. Frank, who has been working for Firmenich since 2005, thinks of scents in terms of colors, melodies and musical movement. In his compositions, he strives for “perfect imperfection”—to him, it is those very imperfections that yield beauty and emotion. For Nomenclature, he signs adr_ett and efflor_esce.
Patricia Choux
If it hadn’t been raining on the French Riviera where her family was vacationing, the Burgundy-born Patricia Choux might never have decided to become a perfumer at the early age of ten. That day, she went on an excursion to Grasse. The little girl was mesmerized by the alembics and essences of the Fragonard Museum. She drew perfume bottles and invented names for them. In 1993, after graduating from ISIPCA, the perfumery school of Versailles, she embarked on an international career that led her from Germany to England, France and finally New York, where she has been working for Takasago since 2009. A fearless perfumer who loves to break with convention, the globetrotting Patricia feeds her inspiration with painting, drawing and running marathons all over the world. For Nomenclature, she signs orb_ital and iri_del.
Bertrand Duchaufour
Since first finding his calling when he smelled a girlfriend’s Chanel N°19, Bertrand Duchaufour has become a cult figure among fragrance lovers and one of the most prolific auteurs in niche perfumery, with an oeuvre featuring such contemporary classics as Avignon (Comme des Garçons) and Timbuktu (L’Artisan Parfumeur). A keen painter, photographer and collector of museum-quality tribal art, the maverick perfumer often draws his inspiration from far-flung destinations and quirky, soulful ingredients. Thus, a recent trip to Japan triggered the idea for his first collaboration with Nomenclature: shi_sõ.