House of Gozdawa is featured in Visi Magazine's February/March issue in 31 Ways to Celebrate Design, looking at the unique ability of fine fragrance to express individual style and celebrate fine craftsmanship.
In this podcast, Agata Karolina chats to Lionesses of Africa about her journey as a perfumer, shedding light on her creative vision and influences, and on the challenges of the industry.
Sanri Pienaar profiles the six founding fragrances of House of Gozdawa’s collection: CONFESSIONS, Vol. 1.
The Times takes a look at the first collection by House of Gozdawa, CONFESSIONS, Vol. 1, the story behind the fragrances, and Agata Karolina’s personal history with scent.
From the first step through the gallery doors your nose and eyes are filled with the scents and sights of fresh local spring flora hanging from ghostly netted frames. A few steps further reveal these scent tunnels to bare the fruit of head phones hanging from their interior awaiting eager ears to reveal the personal first memory of scent of each muse of the Confessions Collection.
Continuing through to the central courtyard a floor filled with dried petals and flower heads crunch beneath your feet releasing scents of warm dry nights, of local fynbos and dry rose.
All these experiences finally open up to the main gallery space boasting three long tables filled with sketches, literature, memorabilia from places and people, plants, glass chemistry equipment, and my importantly of all the first reveal of each of the six scents for the Confessions Collection: Andrea, Simo, Albert, Marta, Hel and Aga.
The Confessions Collection is a group of six people who's personalities have reflected and impacted my own persona, each one playing a vital role in the person I have become today. To tell my own story as a perfumer, I decided to turn to the very people that had shaped me and tell their story.
Each character embodied a persona; Andrea - The Adventurer, Simo - The Aristocrat, Albert - The Philosopher, Marta - The Lovers, Hel - The Celebration, Aga - The Romantic.
Each guest was invited the opportunity to hear first hand the stories of each of my muses, delving for but a moment into their character and headspace. Every perfume from the founding collection was surrounded by their key ingredients to experience the fresh notes in comparison to the final perfume.
It has been a very long journey leading up to the launch of House of Gozdawa, and the night went far beyond my wildest dreams in its execution and with the over whelming support and interest in what we had created.
Thank you to everyone for the unbelievable support and for being part of a most memorable night. The future of our lives in perfume has begun with a solid and humble first grounding.
To see more of the images from the night, click here.
With thanks and excitement,
Agata Karolina