the cat is out of the bag; i have developed a fragrance. this post will read like a self interview as everyone is curious as to why a small company like mine has taken such a bold step. so here it goes:
why a fragrance and why now?
it's been about 4 years since the nooka watches were relaunched as nooka inc., and this is created the perception (understandably) that nooka is a watch company. the true story is that the nooka watches are the end-product of a design exploration of interface design and universal language with a futurist look-and-feel – to me, nooka is and has always been a design lab. i wanted to challenge myself to create new and desparate nooka products that express these ideals, creating a mindstyle™ brand in the process. so this challenge was to approach a fragrance in this manner.
also, i have a personal obsession with fragrance. until age 27 i used to be so allergic to fragrance that i couldn't be close to anyone wearing it without getting an asthma attack. after a serious bike accident, my allergies were lessened in their severity and a new world was opened up to me [any doctors out there that can provide a link to a good article on this subject?]. i then approached scent with out any preconceptions formed from having a spouse or lover wearing a certain scent or ever wearing a scent myself.
what makes the nooka scent unique?
it was developed with my creative process which is quite different than how other brands approach fragrance [i was told]. i presented the noses we collaborated with a matrix of words and thoughts about the nooka brand, what feelings and images i want the scent to evoke and a short list of scents i like and dislike. the result is a fragrance that i feel evokes optimism, a creative spirit and at the same time is very sensual. some notes are chosen to create the global/universal language aspect of nooka and others are references/deconstructions of materials used in our current product lines as well as notes that are directly sensual. it is the mental and the physical together in a way that creates a very round fragrance that is difficult for most people to decipher – which is quite futuristic and very nooka.
is it for men or for women?
it is for men on a man and a woman on a woman. it is not unisex, there is no one sex in our species, we are not worms. i myself buy a lot of fragrance and am insulted when a sales person asks me "is this for your wife" when i buy a women's scent. it is not my job to tell people what they should perceive as masculine or feminine. moreover, the notes react so differently to individuals skin, it really smells different on each person.
what is the scent called?
the scent is simply "nooka". the marketing tagline for this scent is: the future distilled™. as i plan on releasing more scents in the line, the tagline for the line is: beyond common scents™.
who did you work with on the project?
pierre-constantine guéros for this scent. you can google him.
gosh, the bottle is gorgeous. can you tell us about that?
i worked very closely with my in-house designer, alexander yoo to develop this bottle. it is an expression of all the core values and directions in the above answers with a focus on the glam future – gem facets and shapes that evoke opulence and space travel. it is both a cartoon diamond ring and a communication satellite in form. you can see the faceted gem-cut theme in all our new products for this year: the belts [nooka NS], wallets [nooka AO] and the not yet released zem™ line of watches.
you can read the marketing copy here. nooka scent is currently available online, at our pop-up shop 330 east 11th street nyc [until august 16] and DDC Lab meatpacking [west 14th street nyc].
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