Forum From the Archives: Berkeley Perfumer Mandy Aftel on the 'Curious and Wondrous World of Fragrance'

KQED's Forum

KQED

Politics, News, News Commentary

4.6 • 656 Ratings

🗓️ 4 July 2024

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

“You don’t just smell an aroma; you fall into it,” writes artisan perfumer Mandy Aftel. And entering her exquisite small museum, the Aftel Archive of Curious Scents, tucked into a backyard in Berkeley, is to fall into an ancient, mysterious world. Amid centuries-old books, bottles and curios are natural fragrances that come from the secretions of civets and the bowels of sperm whales, as well as from resins, rare flowers, roots and so much more. We talk to Aftel about her collection, the art of building a fragrance, and her new book, “The Museum of Scent: Exploring the Curious and Wondrous World of Fragrance." Guest: Mandy Aftel, artisan perfumer and founder, Aftelier Perfumes and the Aftel Archive of Curious Scents in Berkeley; author, "The Museum of Scent: Exploring the Curious and Wondrous World of Fragrance" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Support for KikiWED podcasts comes from Rancho LaPuerta, boated the number one wellness resort and spa by readers of travel and leisure magazine.
0:09.1	In August, three or four people sharing a casita enjoy special vacation packages. Rancho LaPuerta.com.
0:15.8	Greetings boomtown. The Xfinity Wi-Fi is booming!
0:19.5	Xfinity combines the power of internet and mobile.
0:22.7	So we've all got lightning fast speeds at home and on the go!
0:26.2	Learn more at Xfinity.com.
0:28.1	Restrictions apply.
0:28.8	Xfinity, internet required.
0:29.9	Actual speeds vary.
0:32.1	From KQED.
0:33.2	Thank you. From KQD in San Francisco, I'm Alexis Madrigal.
0:48.9	Happy fourth all week we're bringing you forum interviews that showcase the radical creativity of our region.
0:55.6	This morning, Mandy Aftel is a natural perfumer who's been called the Alice Waters of Perfume.
1:01.3	That's because she works around the corner from Chez Panisse and only works with natural ingredients like Jasmine and Sandalwood and Rose.
1:09.3	She forged a profound new understanding of this art
1:11.9	that runs deep in every culture stretching back
1:14.0	even before civilization.
1:15.8	And over the years, she developed a devoted following,
1:18.3	no less a star than Leonard Cohen called her the Great Alchemist.
1:22.9	We take a virtual tour of her smell museum
1:25.9	right after this news.
1:41.8	Welcome to Forum. I'm Alexis Madrigal. I first visited Mandy Aftell's archive of curious sense, almost by accident. I had some friends coming to town, and one of them had gotten interested in making perfume.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from KQED, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of KQED and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.