Paperback Perfumes

“In the secular night you wander around
alone in your house. It’s Two-Thirty”
- Margaret Atwood, In the Secular Night

Regina Mamou is a research-based installation artist whose work sits at the crossroads of history, ideology and scent. Raised in a multiethnic household, her mother Polish-American, her father a Christian Chaldean priest who fled Iraq for fear of persecution. Regina's practice blends fact and fiction to interrogate belief systems, particularly communism and totalitarianism. Since 2020, she has been the first artist-in-residence at The Wende Museum of the Cold War in Los Angeles, where she investigates Iraqi-Soviet bilateral relations through an immersive, experiential installation. She holds an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, a BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design, and completed a Fulbright project on mapping and memory in Amman, Jordan.

In this episode, Regina shares her unique work at the crossroads of olfactive art, history and political memory, and how scent can evoke powerful narratives and personal histories. We talk about her use of tincturing, and materials like gypsum, ash and bitumen, to conjure historical and cultural memory, and the delicate process of capturing vapour in immersive, scent-based installations.

We dig into the role of surprise, secrecy and the unexpected in her work, echoes of surveillance and propaganda, and how her Iraqi heritage threads through pieces exploring Middle Eastern history and identity. Regina's piece "Hang Our Gods" was a finalist at the Institute for Art and Olfaction's Golden Pear Awards, and we talk about the audience reactions it provokes. We also pair the conversation with Margaret Atwood's poem "In the Secular Night," exploring its themes of solitude, loss and spirituality alongside Regina's own meditations on memory and belief.

Works mentioned:
Hang Our Gods (Institute for Art and Olfaction Golden Pear Awards finalist), Iraqi-Soviet relations installation — The Wende Museum residency

Poem discussed:
In the Secular Night - Margaret Atwood

Find Regina at:
reginamamou.com
researchbermudatriangle.xyz

Theme music for the show was created by Raul Sanchez I Jorge. Check out his solo work on Wild Animal Records

Australian listeners — the Geelong Fragrance Fair is on from 11–13 September 2026, and tickets are on sale now. It's a great opportunity for the Australian fragrance community to get together — come and see me pair books with Lore Perfumery live on the Saturday!
Tickets & info: geelongfragrancefair.com.au
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“The worst part of holding the memories is not the pain. It's the loneliness of it. Memories need to be shared.”

― Lois Lowry, The Giver

Bawo Ijirigho is the founder and creative force behind Ilé Olomu, a fragrance house rooted in West African heritage and storytelling. A great-grand nephew of 19th-century Nigerian agricultural pioneer Nana Olomu, Bawo draws on his family's legacy and a modern artistic vision to bring the spirit of Nigeria into fine perfumery, co-developing each fragrance in Zürich alongside master perfumer Andreas Wilhelm.
In this episode, Bawo takes us through his unexpected path from music into perfumery, and the meaning behind the name Ilé Olomu — Ilé means "house" in Yoruba, a deliberate departure from the French "Maison" tradition. We talk about how the Nigerian diaspora and indigenous flora, from the yellow trumpet to native lilies, shape his creative process, and the story behind Verdant, a fragrance built on memory, plantain and home, as well as the winner of the People Choice for the Gold Pear awards in 2026.
Food and celebration run through the conversation too, with plantain, ginger and even a nod to Milo finding their way into his fragrance concepts. We also pair this episode with Lois Lowry's The Giver, exploring how storytelling and memory intertwine in both literature and scent, before Bawo shares his ambitions to take Ilé Olomu global and build lasting cultural connection.

Ilé Olomu fragrances mentioned:
Milora
Verdant
Atalẹ Gold

Books discussed:
The Giver - Lois Lowry

Find Ilé Olomu at:
Instagram:
@ileolomu
Website:
ileolomu.com

Theme music for the show was created by Raul Sanchez I Jorge. Check out his solo work on Wild Animal Records

Australian listeners — the Geelong Fragrance Fair is on from 11–13 September 2026, and tickets are on sale now. It's a great opportunity for the Australian fragrance community to get together — come and see me pair books with Lore Perfumery live on the Saturday!
Tickets & info: geelongfragrancefair.com.au
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“There I was, a woman on the rocks by the ocean, wrapped in a blanket, waiting for the return of her lover. Everything I knew about art would say that I was a painting. I was certainly a poem. Sappho was too - her life, perhaps, unknowable, but her feelings were mine. I was mythic.”

― Melissa Broder, The Pisces

April Lea is the founder, perfumer and creative force behind LVNEA, a Canadian fragrance house known for its richly layered natural perfumes. Drawing on mythology, folklore, art history and the natural world, April creates scents that invite us to slow down, reflect and connect more deeply with the stories carried by fragrance.

Recorded prior to the 2026 Institute for Art and Olfaction Awards in Athens, our conversation explores the inspiration behind her award-finalist Vanitas fragrances and the centuries-old artistic traditions that informed their creation. April shares insights into her creative practice, from collaborating with perfumers and working with living botanical materials to translating emotion, memory and meaning into scent.

We also discuss the complexities of natural perfumery, including ethical sourcing, sustainability and the environmental and cultural histories embedded within fragrance ingredients. Together, we explore how perfume can be both deeply personal and inherently political, connecting us to land, community and place.

LVNEA fragrances mentioned:
Vanitas
Selkie
Les Lunatiques

Books discussed:
The Pisces - Melissa Broder

Find LVNEA at:
Instagram:
@lvneaperfume

Website:
lvenua.ca

Theme music for the show was created by Raul Sanchez I Jorge. Check out his solo work on Wild Animal Records
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“At a small table, sitting very upright, was one of the ugliest old ladies he had ever seen. It was an ugliness of distinction—it fascinated rather than repelled.”

― Agatha Christie, Murder on the Orient Express

Most perfumers focus on crafting fragrance but David Clarke, the creative mind behind Rivendare, transforms the entire process into a story. From an unexpected starting point with no initial interest in perfume, he has built a distinctive voice in artisanal perfumery from a remote corner of Australia, earning recognition from the Institute for Art and Olfaction.

Please note: this conversation was recorded prior to David receiving the Golden Pear Award in the Artisan category from the Institute for Art and Olfaction in June of 2026.

In this episode, David shares how a failed online business became the unlikely gateway into perfume-making, and how that pivot shaped his philosophy around creativity, independence, and experimentation. We explore the role of scarcity and mystique in niche fragrance, and how stepping away from commercial expectations can open space for truly original work.

David offers an inside look at the realities of small-batch perfumery, working with rare materials, navigating the challenges of sourcing from regional Australia, and pushing beyond conventional industry standards in pursuit of artistic freedom. His approach challenges traditional ideas of luxury, shifting the focus from status and scale to craftsmanship, creativity, and the ability of a fragrance to inspire and transport.

Rivendare fragrances mentioned:
1747
Tundra
Death by Vanity

Books discussed:
Murder on the Orient Express - Agatha Christie

Find Rivendare at:
Instagram:
@rivendareperfume

Theme music for the show was created by Raul Sanchez I Jorge. Check out his solo work on Wild Animal Records

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Was I starting to feel evil? Yes, now I was worrying I'd be turned to the dark side by too much crochet.”

― Naomi Novik, A Deadly Education

In this episode, I have an excellent conversation with Benjamin Esposito, the self‑taught perfumer behind New York’s House of Mammoth. I have always admired the way Benjamin talks about his work, grounding it in what he calls radical attention, the practice of noticing the strange, tender and absurd moments that shape a life. His path into perfumery started far from fragrance, but he is someone who loved making things from scratch. That curiosity eventually led him to scent as a way to tell stories and hold space for memory.

We talk about how his fragrances draw from childhood moments, pop culture references and the sensory imprints of his cultural background. Benjamin shares why patience and slowness guide every part of his creative process and how artisanal work continues to matter in a world that moves faster every day.

Fragrances mentioned:
Everett - House of Mammoth & Michael Nordstrand
You & I (Will Die) - House of Mammoth
Voices - House of Mammoth
DinoS’mores - House of Mammoth
Snippid - House of Mammoth
Bad Lily - TALE Parfum
Vetiver - Guerlain
Joy - Jean Patou
Rauque - Roberto Greco/Christopher Sheldrake

Books discussed:
Calvin and Hobbs
A Deadly Education - Naomi Novik

Find House of Mammoth at:
Instagram:
@house.of.mammoth

Website:
houseofmammoth.com

Theme music for the show was created by Raul Sanchez I Jorge. Check out his solo work on Wild Animal Records
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.