What makes your perfumery unique? At Fettle & Frisson we design artfully composed perfumes. We embrace all that nature has to offer, from bark to bloom, as we strive to create unique olfactory works of art. The nature of each perfume is expressed through the exhibition of botanicals as we hope to provoke a deeply rooted connection to the natural world. As rogue perfumers, this is our only design criteria.
Take us through the process of sourcing raw ingredients. The Fettle & Frisson brand, and all our products, are imbued with an unwavering attention to detail. This extends into all the activities of the perfumery, including gathering our raw materials. An illustration of this process is the manner in which we gather the pieces of raw wood used to dress Gaharu. A bold and robust woody perfume required a botanical dressing of equal character. In order to find the perfect piece we examined the diversity of trees in our neighbouring forest and reflected on the unique design of each species. We considered the colour, girth, grain and even the branching of each tree until we found the perfect one, the majestic Olea europaea subsp. africana, or olienhout, which grows wild and free. This tree embodied the qualities of Gaharu and is now beautifully exhibited within the perfume.
Local artisanal perfumers Fettle & Frisson have a ‘deeply rooted connection to the natural world’
We chat to the new kids on the indie perfume block about their raw materials, devotion to nature and their top summer scent
Image: Supplied / Mila Crewe-Brown
That Fettle & Frisson makers Megan Bisschoff and Coen Meintjes live at a rural Buddhist retreat centre in the Groot Marico district hints at their conscious, craft-centric and biophilic leanings when it comes to the scents they create. Hand blended and hand poured, their virgin range includes three gender-neutral fragrances: Unshiu, Damask and Gaharu.
What is Fettle & Frisson? Fettle & Frisson is a niche natural perfumery for the avant garde at heart. We’re an artisanal perfumery using plant-based essences and extracts inspired by biophilia. We’re a diverse duo with a background in architectural design and a love for sustainable herbal gardening.
How did Fettle & Frisson come about? Here, in this natural mandala in the Groot Marico, we run a small permaculture project growing medicinal tea herbs. Our exploration of botanical perfumery is a manifestation of the abundant inspiration that we found while delving into all the sensorial complexities that herbs have to offer.
Get some stamps in your olfactory passport and smell your way around the world
What makes your perfumery unique? At Fettle & Frisson we design artfully composed perfumes. We embrace all that nature has to offer, from bark to bloom, as we strive to create unique olfactory works of art. The nature of each perfume is expressed through the exhibition of botanicals as we hope to provoke a deeply rooted connection to the natural world. As rogue perfumers, this is our only design criteria.
Take us through the process of sourcing raw ingredients. The Fettle & Frisson brand, and all our products, are imbued with an unwavering attention to detail. This extends into all the activities of the perfumery, including gathering our raw materials. An illustration of this process is the manner in which we gather the pieces of raw wood used to dress Gaharu. A bold and robust woody perfume required a botanical dressing of equal character. In order to find the perfect piece we examined the diversity of trees in our neighbouring forest and reflected on the unique design of each species. We considered the colour, girth, grain and even the branching of each tree until we found the perfect one, the majestic Olea europaea subsp. africana, or olienhout, which grows wild and free. This tree embodied the qualities of Gaharu and is now beautifully exhibited within the perfume.
Image: Supplied / Mila Crewe-Brown
Your ingredients are all plant based. Why? With the ever-increasing aromatic assault of synthetic perfume ingredients on our collective noses we sought to create perfumes that are as kind to your skin as they are to your nose. Plant-based ingredients, with their subtle yet complex nuances, presented an opportunity to ensure this. We formulate our perfumes with natural, organic and wild harvested essences, oils and extracts distilled from real flowers, woods, fruits and roots.
What are your thoughts on the mass perfume industry? Mass perfumery, like any mass production, is flawed in so many ways, the least of which is the production of a soulless monotony. Today, true luxury can only lie in artisanal craftsmanship and the touch of a human hand, something which mass production can never offer.
Image: Supplied / Mila Crewe-Brown
What scents are you drawn to as a brand? Anything that presents a daring construction. Bold materials, juxtaposed with rare, atypical companions are a signature of our design. From the smoky scent of raging bush fires to the cloying sweetness of summer acacia blossoms, our perfumes draw on this ever-changing environment rather than any one scent in particular.
What’s your top summer scent this season? For us, summer evokes blissful feelings of nonchalance and olfactory memories of fresh, juicy fruit. We used this fond nostalgia to create our own summer scent called Unshiu, Japanese for “mandarin”. This perfume is an eccentric fruit fusion which balances sweet, yet dry, mandarin with a tart pomegranate and makes for an exquisite summer scent which we will personally be wearing all season long.
Image: Supplied / Mila Crewe-Brown
What’s next? On a recent hike through the bushveld we came across a patch of indigenous Helichrysum, locally named impepho. The smell of their fresh green foliage was humbly stirring, instantly adding the species to our growing suite of botanicals. We are excited to announce that 2019 will see the development of a Proudly South African fragrance as an ode to indigenous botanicals.
Fettle & Frisson is sold online and in store at Guillotine, 44 Stanley, Milpark, Johannesburg and Alexandra Höjer Atelier, 156 Bree Street, Cape Town.