OUR PERFUMERS
We often work on fragrances for years before they are released.
Our perfumers work closely with our founder, Stephanie Ledda, to develop entirely bespoke fragrances.
We have been lucky enough to work with some of the most well respected and renowned perfumers in the world. Here's a little bit about each of them.
Frank Voelkl
DSM Firmenich
Fragrances
22 Orris, 18 Vanilla Nera, 14 Isla Coco
From his earliest years, Frank Voelkl
has been sensitive to the olfactive world
around him. He has vivid memories of
his uncle’s farm in the countryside of
his native Germany – where pungent
barnyard odors like hay and fresh rain
first piqued his interest in the scents
of nature. Born in Bonn, he spent his
childhood and teen years abroad in
the Netherlands and France, and his
curiosity about the many cultures of
Europe informed his growing interest
in people of all backgrounds.
Later, his interest in scent deepened.
He has strong memories of his mother’s
rich, warm chypre fragrances; as a teen
in Paris, he remembers the arresting
“statement” scents of the ‘80’s that
were everywhere as he walked down the
city’s streets. It was here that he began
wearing fragrances himself, and began
to understand what he found special
about each one. Appropriately, it was
in Paris that Frank first considered
becoming a perfumer.
Always emotionally invested
in his work, he aims to touch people
deeply, awakening in them a genuine
desire for his fragrances. Frank tells us,
“I believe in creating fragrances that
connect with your soul. My goal is to
craft scents that will evoke a profound
emotional connection – with the power
to elicit pure, unadulterated happiness.”
Alexandra Monet
DSM Firmenich
Fragrances
20 Bourbon Brûlée
Sparkling and spontaneous,
Alexandra Monet is the personification
of joie de vivre. At the age of 13, her
curiosity led her to discover the
programs at ISIPCA. She remembers
the great perfumers of that time – like
Francoise Caron – who supported her
in her professional development and
to whom she remains very close. Her
passion grew, and Alexandra focused
her studies on making perfumery her
profession.
As to her childhood memories about
to fragrance, she savors the memory of
the scents worn by her parents: Eau
Sauvage for her father and Diorella
for her mother. Alexandra deeply
loves these two creations by Perfumer
Edmond Roudnitska and she points to
her strong memory of them as evidence
that her sensitivity and awareness of
olfaction began very early.
Alexandra loves to travel.
“I do like traveling alone,
because it allows me to see things
differently and to approach people
more easily. Stories and memories from
travelling are a wonderful way to inspire
my olfactive imagination.”
Gabriela Chelariu
DSM Firmenich
Fragrances
8 Café Josephine
Born in a small town in Romania,
Gabriela Chelariu grew up in a
restrictive social regime far away
from the world of fine fragrances.
Nonetheless, it was a place redolent
with the scents of nature, and life was
punctuated by the ebb and flow of the
seasons.
Gabi thought of becoming a
pharmacist, studying at Romania’s
University of Pharmacy. When the
country began to open its doors to the
West, fragrance products were very
high-priced but they captured Gabi’s
imagination. Her introduction to the
fragrance industry was working in the
research lab of an aroma chemicals
company during her last year of
school. She then visited Grasse and
“It all crystallized. Suddenly I truly
understood the role of a perfumer. This
world became fully alive for me, and I
immediately knew that, somehow, this
would be my life.”
Clement Gavarry
DSM Firmenich
Fragrances
21 Velvet Ganache
For Clement Gavarry, perfumery was
his birthright: he is the fourth
generation to live a life steeped in
fragrance creation. Born in Paris, he has
fond memories of visiting Grasse –
including planting a cherry tree in the
family garden and watching it grow to
yield luscious cherries he picked each
year with his mother. Clement’s father,
perfumer Max Gavarry, let him come to
the world of fragrance on his own “by
engaging me with nature. In the south
of France, I loved smelling the fir
balsam; the immortelle; the sweet, resiny
eucalyptus trees. Coming off the plane
in Nice, in one whiff I knew I was
home.” He also recalls spending
summers until age 14 near Bordeaux “on
our little kingdom, a sailboat named
Neroli,” with the scent of the sea, plant
life, and the warm, wet earth nearby.
Such memories a perfumer make.
Clement thinks of his creations
as “a balance of heart and mind.”
He is a perfectionist who prefers
to focus intently on a project,
often finding it hard to “let go”
and finish his fragrances.
“I love to truly get to know my formula.
Only then can I find the best balance.
We need time for trial and error – or plain luck!"
Ugo Charron
MANE
Fragrances
16 Scenic Rose
Through synesthesia, he brings music and
fragrance together to create a unique language of notes, harmon and sometimes dissonances, the kind that captures attention.
Although he now lives in Brooklyn, Ugo grew up in Sancerre, a beautiful French wine-growing region. He often visited his farmer grandmother near Chambord and helped hull peas in her kitchen.
Born from art-lovers - his mother's interest in visual arts, his father, folk music - the young Ugo learned classical piano an early age, and never lost familiarity with the keyboard, still choosing the synth is his instrument of choice.
His first encounter with perfume was literary, through reading Süskind’s bestseller that revealed to him depths of this invisible universe.
Access to a new level of awareness unlocked a desire to enter this new world. His passion guided him through the physics-chemistry branch all the way to engineering school and eventually the Aromas and Fragrances Master’s program at the University of Montpellier, to focus solely on fragrance.
His first professional experiences took him to L’Oréal, where he worked on formula stability. After some time working alongside other perfumers, Ugo came to MANE’s NY Creative Center in 2020, where he fell in love with the house's raw materials.