One of the great joys of writing about fragrance is getting the opportunity to meet the creator of a fragrance I’ve reviewed. I met Maria McElroy, the founder of aroma M, in that most twenty-first-century way: through Twitter!
I was intrigued both about her fragrances, which incorporate traditional Japanese themes into modern perfume oils, and the warm and gracious person I met on Twitter. So I was delighted when Maria agreed to an interview and talked to me about how her business started and the influences that shaped her and aroma M.
VD: You have an MFA in painting. How did your journey from painting to perfumery come about?
MM: After I graduated from the San Francisco Art Institute, my studies of Japanese art inspired me to take a trip across the world to see Asia. While I was living in Tokyo, I was introduced to the ancient art of the incense ceremony [called Kōdō]. As I look back on that time, I think that this rarefied experience of Kōdō put me on the path to perfumery. I also received a certificate in aromatherapy, which added another dimension to my olfactory studies. After returning to the United States, I started to bottle some of my fragrances for fun, and when a friend asked to sell them in her store, aroma M was born.
VD: Your perfumes have Japanese themes and the packaging is beautiful. How did you develop your line of perfumes, and why the emphasis on Japan?
MM: Thank you, I love doing the packaging, and I am able to go back to Japan to select the Yuzen papers for the perfumes, which is so much fun. The name of the perfume collection is Geisha, and aroma M was inspired by the years that I lived in Japan. I thought that the glamour and mystery of the geisha combined with the modern American woman was the perfect image for a fragrance. When I filed for the Geisha trademark, there were only three listings; now fifteen years later, there are two pages!
All the perfumes have some Japanese element in their blends. For example, Blanche is a white-flower blend with lychee, Marron has Japanese magnolia, and O-cha (my first fragrance) has green tea.
VD: How did you develop your business, and what are the challenges facing you as your business expands?
MM: The business really happened organically and without much thought, to be honest. We launched in 1995 at Bergdorf Goodman, and I was asked to create three original fragrances under the aroma M label for the opening of the U.S. and Japanese Sephoras in 2000. We also launched at Harrods that year, and I have appeared on QVC recently. It is a lot to keep up with, and having the business for fifteen years, I have seen the industry really change. I want aroma M to stay current and I think that my perfumes have gained a following and remain fresh.
