KORMÁKUR OG SKJÖLDUR
Olfactory world, 2021
Created for Kormákur & Skjöldur
I already knew Gunni Hilmars from my years working in fashion.
He knew what I had been doing with scent, and one day he came to see me in Álafosskvos with Kormákur and Skjöldur.
They smelled their way through materials I had been gathering and extracting from the Icelandic landscape.
They wanted me to create a really good men’s fragrance.
They also brought with them an old fragrance they had loved. We smelled it together, talked, and began finding directions that felt right.
But I didn’t end up creating only a perfume.
I created an olfactory world for Kormákur & Skjöldur.
ILMHEIMUR KORMÁKS & SKJALDAR
I developed the scents, but also the atmospheres and stories around them.
Spring air and balsamic poplar.
Salted caramel ice cream melting onto Icelandic wool.
Sheep returning from the highlands after grazing on wild plants all summer.
Smoke. Salt. Food. Mountains.
Lagavulin by the fire and a stomach full of Icelandic pancakes.
The scents were only one part of the world.
PERCENTAGES OF EXPERIENCE
For the olfactory world, I used a way of describing scent that had begun in my earlier Ilmmyndir.
Not percentages of ingredients.
Percentages of experience.
The numbers described the places, sensations, smells and small details that made up the imagined world around each scent.
THE WORLD EXPANDS
The collaboration continued.
Later, Gullfoss and Goðafoss were added to the olfactory world.
7% Anticipation
22%. A splash of eau de cologne
2%. Aperitif at the bar
5%. A double Moscow Mule in ginger ale with a twist of lime
6% The sweet scent of a cigar box
3% Misty, smoky air
10%. Landfall: welcomed by the Snæfellsjökull glacier with its mystic beauty
8%. The fragrance of the island wafts down from the wilderness
9% The moon rises, casting its sheen on the ocean waves
16% Intoxicating love of home
Iceland draws near. Behind is the vast ocean, with memories of a thrilling journey.
The spirit of the wilderness and lofty glaciers touches the soul with magic.