ATELIER MATERI is a French haute parfumerie house created in 2019. "MATERI" means "material" in Breton. For ATELIER MATERI, this symbolizes the careful work of each raw material at the heart of its fragrances.
Convinced that it is the hand of man that breathes soul into creations, Maison ATELIER MATERI collaborates with artists and artisans, from the harvesting of raw materials to the creation of its fragrances, bottles and boxes.
Respecting time and using the most beautiful materials, his creations embody creative choices that are both refined and contemporary.
Interview with the founder Véronique Le Bihan
1. Your philosophy emphasizes the raw beauty of matter and craftsmanship. How does this translate into the creation of your fragrances?
VLB: All our creations are designed around the material and the gestures of those who transform it. Like a sculptor works with wood or a ceramist with clay, the perfumer combines, shapes and tames raw materials to reveal their beauty. The entire creative process is linked to both the artisanal mastery and the artistic sensitivity of the perfumer. Their technical know-how and knowledge of the material are just as important as their creativity. For each of our perfumes, we take the time to study the material, to explore its different facets and textures, the possible associations. Our ambition is to create perfumes with a minimalist and contemporary aesthetic, where the material expresses itself in a singular way.
2. You surround yourself with artists and artisans in the creation of your perfumes. Why this choice?
VLB: Before creating ATELIER MATERI, I worked for 10 years in the development of perfumes and cosmetics for brands in France and internationally. As with most perfumes on the market, the products were developed in a very short time and mass-produced industrially. I had a desire and a need to return to something more sincere and authentic.
Our perfumes are developed with respect for time, from the most beautiful materials, with a true creative commitment. Being also passionate about design and architecture, I wanted a beautiful object, that one could take out of one's bathroom. I am convinced that it is the hands of Man that bring an extra soul to creations. Entirely handmade, polished and patinated, each of our caps, by its differences and roughness, bears the imprint of the craftsman's gesture. It is the beauty of imperfection, as it exists in nature, that reinforces the authenticity of our perfumes.
3. Could you share with us your creative process and your bias in the selection of raw materials to combine tradition & innovation?
VLB: For each of our perfumes, we explore a specific natural material. Some of our creations highlight atypical materials such as timut pepper, ambrette seed or white cocoa. Others focus on more traditional perfumery materials, such as rose, iris or sandalwood. So, we look for new interpretations of the material, highlighting rarer facets and contrasting and unexpected associations.
For example, for our fragrance Rose Ardoise, the initial idea was a bold interpretation of the rose, where the flower reveals itself as urban and mineral. It is the image of a rose growing in the middle of a concrete floor, right in the city center. To translate this image, perfumer Céline Perdriel played on ambiguities, combining femininity and masculinity, transparency and texture, minerality and sensuality. Around the rose, she combined the fresh and spicy notes of schinus molle and nutmeg with animal and amber notes
ambroxan. Leather gives the fragrance a sensual and androgynous side. A contemporary and unique composition of rose.
3. Can you give us an example of an atypical raw material that you have used in a perfume?
VLB: Our Cacao Porcelana fragrance highlights a white cocoa, the "Gran Blanco de Piura", a rare variety that grows in the heart of the oldest plantations in northwest Peru. It has incredible facets, with sensual notes of nuts and milk with accents of tonka bean. When I discovered this material, it immediately took me back to my childhood and the times I shared with my grandparents, baking chocolate cakes. The
fragrance combines the delicacy of cocoa with notes of wood and patchouli, inspired by my grandmother's perfume and blond tobacco, reminiscent of the cigarettes my grandfather smoked. My Proust madeleine!
4. Your house advocates a minimal and contemporary olfactory writing. How does this translate into your compositions?
VLB: We breathe contemporary elegance into raw materials by playing on contrasts and unexpected associations. Followers of the “Less is more” philosophy, we favor minimalism over excess and complexity. Our creations are distinguished by their unique, refined and contemporary character where the material is revisited.
Modernist art, architecture and design constantly inspire my work. Our perfumes, true contemporary objects, adopt a sober and refined aesthetic. I like to explore the raw beauty of an exceptional raw material, revealing its rare facets in a textured and singular composition. Guided by the search for a millimeter-perfect aesthetic, I maintain an unwavering obsession with details. It is the idea of discreet luxury, as opposed to ostentatious luxury.
5. Can you tell us more about the design of your perfumes, as well as the role of craftsmanship in their creation?
VLB: The object, both sober and contemporary, is inspired by Brittany, where I grew up, a region where nature is raw and wild. The dark blue of the bottle echoes the color of the ocean after the storm, while the concrete cap recalls the minerality of the cliffs and takes the shape of a pebble polished by the waves.
The cap, entirely handmade in a Parisian workshop, is shaped in concrete and ennobled with a patina with golden reflections. Each piece, by its differences and roughness, is unique. I pay particular attention to details. Each of our bottles bears the ATELIER MATERI hallmark, a tribute to artisanal know-how. This is repeated in engraving on the glass as well as in stamping on the label and on the box.
Our object reflects the philosophy of the House: a discreet and authentic luxury that takes the time to make, combining contemporary vision and artisanal know-how.
6. What are the values that guided the creation of ATELIER MATERI?
VLB: By creating ATELIER MATERI, I wanted to propose a new vision of perfumery, more human and responsible, by putting nature, craftsmanship and local production at the heart of the project. We develop relationships with our partners based on exchange, transparency and fair remuneration.
In a short circuit logic, we favor local sourcing and French or at least European manufacturing.
Our perfumers are based in the Grasse region. Our cap is hand-made in a workshop in the heart of Paris. Our bottle is made in Germany and our box assembled in the Paris region.
We pay particular attention to the choice of our raw materials, ensuring respect for the environment. Natural ingredients are selected with a concern for ecological preservation, without ever threatening natural resources and in a logic of fair sourcing.
7. What are the challenges and successes you have encountered in your fair and responsible approach?
VLB: We have chosen 100% European and almost exclusively French production, which obviously has an impact on our cost price. We make no compromises on the origin or the quality of our products, despite the economic pressure and the difficulties we may encounter during certain developments.
For example, we have already had to modify packaging designs because it was impossible to produce them locally, as production had been completely outsourced for certain manufacturing processes. There would therefore be easier choices, such as having production in Asia. But we are proud to promote, at our level, the various exceptional know-how by having French and European workshops work at all stages of the creation and manufacturing of our products.
perfumes.
8. You have opted for a “new luxury, which takes the time to do”. Can you tell us more?
VLB: Perfumery is subject to the same constraints as all consumer industries: marketing trends and an increasingly tight launch schedule... Brands must create more and more and faster, at the risk of losing visibility and desirability.
I wanted to free myself from these constraints and find a rhythm that respects creation, artisanal know-how, and nature. We are a luxury house that takes the time to do. We create without the pressure of a launch deadline, the release of a new perfume being guided by the outcome of its creation and not by a marketing calendar. This can take a few months or several years. But this commitment
is for me a philosophy that allows us to maintain our authenticity and our sincerity.
9. Do you have a favorite perfume?
VLB: I consider my perfume collection as an olfactory wardrobe, which is why it is difficult to choose just one. Each perfume corresponds to a piece that I wear depending on my mood. This is the case with Iris Ebène, which serves as my "olfactory comforter". When we started working on this perfume, I gave perfumer Marie Hugentobler the vision of a cashmere sweater that you can curl up in, a soft and enveloping fabric. Every time I
looking for comfort, this is the scent I choose.
Cuir Nilam is the representation of patchouli dressed in a leather perfecto with a typically Parisian elegance. It is a Haute Couture composition that exudes singularity and sensuality. For me, it is the ideal perfume for a romantic dinner.
