Athenaeum

Description

Jorum Studio was established in 2010 by Scottish perfumer Euan McCall who works under the pseudonym Jorum Laboratories and has formulated fragrances for cult brands.

The world dissolves and time slips…

Athenaeum is the distillation of a once forgotten yet fond olfactory memory, awakened upon a chance encounter at the local athenaeum. It is the fragmented and hazy reminiscence of a rural childhood found once more in the urban landscape.

Upon entering the athenaeum one is struck by the overwhelming aroma of degrading pulp and ink, shrouded in a haze of sun-kissed dust. Without haste, the smell transports you to arable mid-summer fields and days lost in swaying pastures, nose buried in hundreds of papery leaves, crops and mulchy woodland all around.

Like gauzy sunshine whistling through rugged lands, Athenaeum is as comforting as it is solitary. A fragrance crafted for reflection.

Athenaeum expertly showcases sustainably-sourced, hand harvested Scottish Lavender. Jorum Studio Athenaeum is the first master-crafted perfume to make use of Scottish-grown, harvested and distilled biodynamic perfume materials.

Notes from the perfumer:

Athenaeum is a slight departure for us. With this fragrance I wanted to present a distant and forgotten memory from childhood, growing up in rural Scotland, more specifically, reading books and newspapers under an old oak that sat on the edge of a field and Bluebell wood.

This memory was awakened by a recent olfactory experience. This time in the urban scent-scape of Edinburgh: in the National Library and archives.

As soon as I entered the archives, childhood memories of lazily thumbing through texts in a field came flooding back. I was amused to stumble upon this shared yet unrelated olfactory fingerprint. I wanted to re-create the sensation of both points of reference in Athenaeum.

Sensorially, Athenaeum is like the drizzle of honey fresh from the hive, the smear of beeswax on aged cabinet, the first sip of cold cider savoured in the orchard from which it came to be. Athenaeum is the cloudburst of lavender-thick pollen ricocheting from delicate wing in flight. Athenaeum is the history of the creator sewn together with gilded thread.

In a way, Athenaeum picks up where Carduus left off. Carduus is a visceral scent memory that is hard to shake. Athenaeum was, for a long time, forgotten.Jorum Studio is happy to utilise the wonderful produce of Scottish Lavender Oils distillery, a stones throw from where I was born and raised in Fife and a half hours drive from our perfume laboratory in Edinburgh.

The Lavender used in Athenaeum is sourced directly from the Scottish Lavender Oils farm and distillery. Growing aromatic plants for extraction in Scotland is difficult and as such, the distillation of any aromatic plants of high quality is a rare find. It gives us great pleasure to showcase this special material for all to enjoy, globally.

Euan McCall

Perfume created and handcrafted in Scotland.