Conf'entreprenez #6 Jean-Claude Ellena - Le Couvent
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Jean-Claude Ellena, a renowned perfumer, discussed the art of fragrance creation during a conference with Le Couvent, highlighting the divide between technicians and artists in perfumery. He shared insights on his creative process, collaborations with brands like Hermès and Bulgari, and the influence of literature and technology on his work. Ellena remains passionate about his craft while mentoring younger perfumers and continues to explore the future of scent.
Conf'entreprenez #6 Jean-Claude Ellena - Le Couvent
- 1. 1 On 12th of March, Jean-Claude Ellena and the team from Le Couvent (https://www.lecouventparfums.com ) visited Cinquième Sens for our conference Entrepre ‘nez. We enjoyed listening to Jean-Claude Ellena for over one hour. We are delighted to share with you some excerpts from this conversation.
- 2. 2 “If I don’t have red, I use Blue” said Jean-Claude Ellena quoting Picasso to a colleague who was moaning regarding the disappearance of molecules for regulatory reasons. Then Jean Claude Ellena explained to us that he believes there are 2 types of perfumers: technicians and artists. It is easy to guess that he is the latter. He shared with us the never ending debate between Roudnitska and himself regarding Beauty : for Roudnitska Beauty is something universal whereas for Jean-Claude Ellena it is cultural. This divide remained and affected their friendship at some point in time. Giono is Jean Claude Ellena’s favourite writer so much so that he presides the association “Les amis de Jean Giono” (http://www.rencontresgiono.fr/lassociation.html). He recommended reading the famous novel “The Horseman on the roof” which is set in Europe during a time of Cholera… More importantly from his book “The diary of a nose” we understand that, like Giono, he is a “writer of perfume”. Then the conversation moved on to technology and how it affected his work. Chromatography first, unveiling all the mysteries of formulae, then head-space. Finally, the increasing importance of marketing divisions and fragrance evaluators stepped in. He believes that marketing teams see perfumers as technicians not as artists. The usual comments, “please add a bit more of this” or “remove a bit of that”, is not his cup of tea. When he joined Hermès he did it on his own terms: no involvement from marketing divisions, no brief, no consumer panels.
- 4. 4 Creating perfumes is an art that he cannot stop practising. Jean-Claude Ellena was very enthusiastic when Le Couvent Perfumes contacted him recently. It’s an adventure where he can work hand in hand with the younger perfumers to create new fragrance. It needs to be a success to play duet. Of course Jean-Claude Ellena has a sixth sense when it comes to this. Finally, when he is asked about the trend regarding tomorrow’s perfumes, with a mischievous smile he says “ And what about now? What about the present ? ...” Before leaving, he prepared for us a few examples of olfactory illusions with the juxtaposition of smells on paper blotters: Vanilline + HE Orange = Panettone Vanilline + HE Orange + HE Cinnamon = Gingerbread Vanilline + HE Orange + HE Cinnamon + HE Lime = Coca - Cola Fructone + Ehyl Maltol = strawberry Fructone + Ethyl Maltol + Methyl Anthranylate = Wild strawberry PS : For more on this subject, try reading “ Diary of a nose”, Jean-Claude Ellena Author: Stéphanie Let us share with you a few photos of this special event.
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