Hosted by our Vice President (and fellow independent Perfumer) Marianne Martin we have 5 expert guests joining us at 7pm on April 6th 2022. Find a few insights into our panel below and then join us on the evening for a deeper discussion about their careers and industry knowledge. Don’t forget that as a member if you are registered for the event, you will be able to watch it in the members section of the website even if you can’t make it on the day.
“In the world, there are maybe 500 or less perfumers – in fact there are less perfumers than astronauts”
Join us online at 7pm to hear Master Perfumer John Stephen from Cotswold Perfumery, Ruth Mastenbroek from Ruth Mastenbroek Perfumery London, Perfumer Penny Williams from Orchadia, Perfumer Pia Long and Creative Director Nick Gilbert from Olfiction, talk about being independent Perfumers in the fragrance industry.
John has been formulating fragrance every day for over 50 years and has used his impressive expertise to create bespoke perfumes for many famous faces and household names including Elton John, the Duke of Edinburgh (Georgian Lime), Prince Edward, The Queen Mother, His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales and Commodore Tim Laurence.
Ruth was born in London and raised in New Jersey, USA. She studied Chemistry at Oxford University, later working in the perfumery department at Selfridges. Ruth trained with (what is now) Givaudan, working in Holland, Japan, Grasse and the UK before she set up her own bespoke fragrance business in 2003, creating perfumes for some iconic global brands, including Jo Malone’s original Grapefruit scent for candle.
Penny is a Creative Perfumer and fragrance expert with more than 30 years’ experience in the business She spent 17 years at global fragrance house Belmay before founding her fragrance business Orchadia in 2006. She sits on many committees and advisory boards across the technical and regulatory side of the industry, is a published expert author and provides training to people and companies all over the world.
Pia is the chief perfumer at Olfiction, and has signed creations for global and niche brands, including Ghost, Designer’s Guild, Zoologist, Beaufort London, La Montana and Les Senteurs. She is a full member of the SIPC (International Society of Perfumer-Creators) and the first Associate Perfumer member of the BSP (British Society of Perfumers).
Nick is the creative director at Olfiction, heading up fragrance development and evaluation for clients including a number of British and international brands. With over 20 years experience he has helped develop the fragrance path of some of the world’s most highly regarded brands – understanding what makes Perfumers tick and translating between perfumers, clients, and the general public.