Sensational Shops
If there is one purchase — one experience — that remains firmly in the realm of the physical, it’s perfume.
Despite the spotty progress of Smell-O-Vision, it’s still impossible to explore and try perfume online with confidence.
After all, our sense of smell is highly subjective and the perfume industry can be mysterious, requiring explanation, storytelling and theater to bring a fragrance to life.
Ironically then, I’ve typically associated perfume shopping with mass brands stacked in forgettable duty free airport halls. However, niche brands and experimental perfumers are really beginning to change the game.
In this issue of Cream of the Shop, we have the pleasure of chatting with the legendary Julian Bedel (JB), a renowned perfumer, artist and entrepreneur. Julian is the founder of Fueguia1833, a unique perfume concept inspired by his homeland, Argentina.
The brand is a tribute to the age of scientific explorations and the meeting between naturalist Charles Darwin, navigator Robert Fitz Roy and a native of Tierra del Fuego — Fueguia Basket in 1833.
Julian and the brand are unique in being vertically integrated and responsible for every action: from the research of botanical ingredients to the presentation in their boutiques across Milan, Tokyo, NYC, Buenos Aires, and Jose Ignacio in Uruguay.
Hi Julian! Welcome to Cream of the Shop. To kick things off, can you tell us a little about Fueguia 1833’s origin story and your first store?
JB: My very first ‘store’ was actually an interactive art installation. I began purely as an artist, not a perfumer or entrepreneur.
It all started when I was reading the 2004 Noble Prize in Medicine. For the first time, this paper decoded the genome of the olfactory bulb and explained what happens in our brains when we are exposed to volatile ingredients — whether that is a pheromone, an orange, or dirt from the earth.
It was the science of scent that fascinated me. It’s a universal language. And so I started experimenting with fragrance.
At the time, I was lucky to have the facilities and many native Argentine plants around me — I didn’t need to go and be a botanical explorer. A lot of the plants were known in our medicinal tradition, but had never been used in the perfume tradition.
I was exploring new combinations, new cords. I managed to create 14 scents, and then I rented an affordable little space in Argentina to create this artistic installation.
My main goal was just to observe how others interacted in the space. To say, I know that by smelling this, you are going to be transformed. The secretion of hormones, your perception of time, all the physical changes that are scientifically proven when you are exposed to certain types of molecules.
And then, well, people loved the perfumes and started asking how much they cost… So I did the math, and said, let’s keep playing this perfume — it’s much more lucrative than trying to be an artist!
You’ve made some really unique design choices in the store. Tell us about the experience you’re creating for visitors.
JB: All of my design choices originate from the pursuit of vocalizing the act of scent.
For example, when I first started, I patented a spherical glass vial to sit on top of the bottles. This allows you to isolate the experience of each perfume. My belief was that you have to be able to touch and smell the product, to interact yourself without any medium, without an assistant.
This of course was blasphemy at the time. Most brands believe that you need someone to guide you and offer explanations, and you only smell the perfume from a piece of paper.
But I didn’t know these things. It’s not that I wanted to be a rebel, I just thought, let’s not contaminate the air and let’s save some perfume, because the glass flasks only need to be sprayed once a day.
Another key design choice is all the wood in the store.
I used to build guitars, and in making these instruments I learned that the best wood comes from 200 kilometers north of Milan. So I went there to source this kind of spruce.
Typically, when you add a varnish, the wood turns from white to orange. But instead I used a Japanese technique called Shou-Sugi-Ban, of charcoaling and sanding the wood which gives you a rich walnut color and creates a very acoustic and warm space.
Similarly for the packaging, we handmake every wooden box, and inside there are three different types of paper sourced from Japan and elsewhere in the world. I love the packaging; there are no plastics.
How do you engage the other senses in the space; What role does lighting and music play?
JB: To start, almost none of our shops have lights in the ceiling. Instead we designed our own wall scones. We also light all the bottles from underneath. This creates a very romantic, moody, mysterious atmosphere.
Also in truth, I’m not a very good light designer, so I just removed them. That’s my best recipe as a designer….if you don’t know how to do something, just take it out.
And then we have a real vintage record player, rather than just playing something on Spotify. You might not even perceive it, but the record creates a texture and that frequency resonates. That musical effect, on top of the wood, the lighting, everything else… you start subconsciously adding layer upon layer of texture and consistency.
We don’t shout about all these details, or explain them to customers, but together it all resonates as an experience. All in all, it’s a very analogue shop, it’s all about transmitting a feeling.
How have the shops evolved as the brand has grown up?
JB: Well we began with just the 14 original scents, but in the Milan store we now have 100. So the table got bigger!
We now also have stores in Tokyo, New York, Buenos Aires, and Jose Ignacio in Uruguay. We have a concession in Harrods as well, and we’re planning pop-ups in Zurich, Dubai and beyond.
Each store retains some of the same elements, but we also improve each time and reflect the local culture.
Incredible. Thank you for giving us a peek into your design philosophy and process. Are there any other stores or spaces you look to for inspiration?
JB: Like everyone I am a consumer of things and there are stores that I love.
For example, a vintage guitar store is like Disneyworld to me. Or if I go to a pharmacy in Austria or Switzerland, I have a great experience because the product is great, but rarely do I find the shop that’s really worth mentioning.
I recently went to the art gallery Hauser & Wirth in Menorca, and they have done an amazing job with that space. here’s a restaurant, and exhibition area, a whole world existing within the repurposed 18th century outbuildings of an old naval hospital.
There are a lot of fantastic spaces and shops. You just have to look.
Thanks so much Julian — it’s been a pleasure and I look forward to seeing your new stores soon!
This conversation originally appeared in my newsletter, Cream of the Shop, which celebrates the most innovative and exciting retail projects happening today. If you’d like to read more or stay in touch, please sign up here.
*Note: This interview has been edited for concision and clarity.
