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Talking To Top International Perfumers
By Janetta Mackay 9:16 AM Wednesday Oct 16, 2013 Janetta Mackay talks to two renowned perfumers who collaborated successfully before finding their own fragrance fame. Christine Nagel and Francis Kurkdjian. In the 10 years since they created a hit fragrance together, perfumers Francis Kurkdjian and Christine Nagel have each separately reinforced their standing as leading international “noses” with stellar solo careers. Both products of the tradition-steeped but commercially demanding French perfume industry, their innovative approaches have a boutique style that sets them apart. Their names are linked professionally as co-creators of the distinctively musky top-selling Narciso Rodriguez For Her perfume, but each has an impressive solo resume and a unique approach to their craft. Kurkdjian found early fame at age 25 when he created Le Male for Jean Paul Gaultier. He became a “go-to guy” for many luxury brands, among them Dior, Armani, Yves Saint Laurent and Ferragamo, most recently creating Elie Saab’s first fragrance. He has also opened his own bespoke boutique brand, Maison Francis Kurkdjian, in Paris and worked on art installations, including creating giant perfume bubbles spotlighted for public exposition at Versailles and in Shanghai. He combines artistry and accessibility, having also crafted Elizabeth Arden’s perennially popular Green Tea spritz and a shelf full of men’s top selling colognes including Joop, Kouros Sport, Davidoff Silver Shadow and, more recently, Rocawear for Jay Z’s company. He has reworked the classics for Acqua di Palma and bottled modern cool for Juliette Has a Gun. Christine Nagel’s newest fragrance, Si, for Giorgio Armani, is about to launch in New Zealand and, judging by sales overseas, seems destined to be another standout. Hers is the name behind a string of designer fragrances, including Miss Dior Cherie, Dolce & Gabbana’s The One and commissions for Kenzo, Lagerfeld, Lancome, Mugler and more. In recent years she has been busiest as master perfumer for the ever-so-English company Jo Malone, helping broaden its global reach. Like Kurkdjian, she is in her 40s, still relatively young for a perfumer. As their answers to Viva’s questions show, the pair’s working connection may have been brief, but the passion they share for perfumery seems set to ensure enduring excellence. Perfumer Christine Nagel. CHRISTINE NAGEL Do you have a signature style? I have the desire to look for new accords, new associations of ingredients. For [Jo Malone] Peony & Blush Suede, the peony flower does not exist as a natural essence in perfumery. This is where a poetic fragrant vision comes into play. The peony essence in Peony & Blush Suede is unique to Jo Malone London as it is my own interpretation, as a woman and a perfumer, of an English peony. The Jo Malone London collaboration runs to about 20 fragrances now, how is it evolving? I consider myself the olfactory instrument of the brand. I always take into consideration the values of the brand and create scents that connect with its philosophies and values. Even if the fragrances are from different families – fruity, woody, floral – there is the same philosophy. The brand has a real style and the fragrances are easily identifiable. I am extremely happy to create fragrances for it. Do you have a favourite Jo Malone London creation? English Pear & Freesia, one of my earlier creations, is a beautiful, light and refreshing fragrance. The newest addition, Peony & Blush Suede, is a very special fragrance to make, taking over two years to create. This fragrance is elegant and sophisticated. What is the fragrance you would have loved to have created? Feminite du Bois by Shiseido is a fragrance I admire; there is so much femininity infused in those woods. How do think women should approach the appreciation of fragrance? Fragrance to me is an aromatic message we send to everybody who has not yet perceived us. Therefore you have to feel at one with your fragrance . . . at this point, you are charming, appealing, seductive. In perfumery, there has been a return to authenticity, to fragrances with an asserted femininity. Once you have decided on a [fragrance] family that suits your style, spend time getting to know the scents to find your distinctive scent combination. Francis Kurkdjian. FRANCIS KURKDJIAN Is perfumery art, craft or a combination? I live my metier as an art. It is an “endless question” whether modern perfume-making is art, craft or business. No matter what, as a perfumer, you need the art of science and the science of the art. What matters to me above all are the emotions I have when I create and the pleasure I give to people who appreciate my work. What is your earliest olfactory memory? I have a lot. My grandmother used to wear Femme by Rochas. I recall the scent of my grandfather’s aftershave lotion he used to blend himself and of my grandparents’ apartments. My father used colognes at night only. The first time I smelled fresh-cut grass is something I remember still. The fragrance you wished you had created? Fougere Royale by Houbigant, the first fragrance that mixed natural and synthetic molecules in 1882. Is there a fragrance note you consider a signature? Notes/ingredients are my vocabulary. My technique is my grammar. Overall, I think my style is about balance and sensuality. I am a storyteller, using scents. In terms of a trademark I may have, it’s always difficult to have enough distance to be able to analyse. I do not know if my style has evolved over the years. I have always been a huge fan of essentials [oils]. Each ingredient must have its position and its reason to be in. Less is definitely more in fragrance-making; however, you have to be careful not to be anorexic. The scent has to be big enough and have a nice, appealing trail/aura. I have tried to touch all kind of fragrance families to cover the biggest olfactory spectrum possible. What is the costliest ingredient you have used and how does it deliver? The most expensive ingredient is orris root absolute (the root of the iris flower). It costs about €$75,000 per kilo. I have used orris in my latest fragrance, Amyris for woman and Amyris for man. The most exotic? Think about a lavender field under the sky of Provence, France, or blooming orange tree flowers in Sicily overlooking the Mediterranean, women hand-picking rosebuds in Iran or Bulgaria when the sun rises in May. To be honest, I do believe each of the natural raw materials I use in my fragrances is exotic. The last I have used is oud oil or agarwood oil, a natural raw material that comes from the south Far East. I have used it in one of my latest works, named OUD, as a tribute to this extravagant, extraordinary ingredient. Do you discern any particular emerging trends in modern fragrance styles? Trend is not something I look at as I work at least 18 months ahead of a launch for my own house and sometimes it’s 24 months for other brands. So by the time the trend comes, I am already working on another fragrance and I have moved on to something else. However, right now there is a comeback on very sexy, glamour and feminine fragrances. Couture fragrances are back to the prestige market while celebrities’ fragrances remain popular. Any advice you would like to share? Perfume is not a beauty product. It is not lipstick, mascara or a nail polish. Perfume is not even a product because perfume is invisible. So let it lead you by the emotion of what you smell and experience. Read about perfumer Christine Nagel’s work with Giorgio Armani here. – VIVA Continue reading
Sales Slowed, Farmland Prices Continue Upward
Tom Doran, Field Editor Wednesday, September 25, 2013 5:00 PM DECATUR, Ill. — The pace of farmland sales in Illinois has slowed after last year’s push, but values continue at a steady pace. The Illinois Society of Professional Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers and the University of Illinois released results of its mid-year land values during the Farm Progress Show. The survey is based on information received from ISPFMRA members that evaluates trends in farmland prices and cash rents. “This information supplements the society’s larger efforts at year-end to document farmland prices and cash rents across Illinois,” said Gary Schnitkey, U of I farm management specialist. “There was a tremendous push on land sales at the end of 2012 because of uncertainties concerning income tax treatment in 2013 and beyond,” said Dale Aupperle, Heartland Ag Group, Forsyth, overall chairman of the society’s annual land values and lease trends project. “This led to a great deal of farmland being sold last year that might have otherwise been available to the market in 2013. As a result, there is still a demand for farmland but not much available for sale.” Aupperle noted that this dynamic has kept prices paid for land steady. “On July 1, 2013, farmland prices averaged $13,200 for excellent-quality farmland, $11,200 for good land, $9,000 for average-quality land and $8,300 for fair-quality farmland. This is an increase of 3 percent for excellent- and good-quality farmland, 2.5 percent for average-quality farmland and 1.9 percent for fair-quality land,” Aupperle said. “These prices are not at the level of increases we’ve seen in recent years, but they are still upward.” He added that the survey respondents expect the volume of land to be available for the balance of the year to be about the same as during the first six months. The report notes that farmland productivity ratings in the mid-year survey define excellent-quality farmland with an average yield of more than 190 bushels of corn per acre, good-quality farmland averages between 170 and 190 bushels per acre, average-quality farmland averages between 150 and 170 bushels per acre and fair-quality farmland averages below 150 bushels per acre. Schnitkey said the primary purchasers of land still are other farmers and local investors doing 85 percent of the buying, as has been the trend for the last several years. The number of non-local investors has slipped no doubt because of other investment options such as the stock market, according to Schnitkey. Seventy percent of the respondents indicated that less farmland was sold in the first half of 2013 as compared to the second half of 2012. Partially explaining lower volume was a surge in farmland sales at the end of 2012 on account of uncertainties concerning income tax treatment in 2013 and beyond. Ninety-five percent of respondents indicated that there was an increase in land sales at the end of 2012. Volume of sales in the last half of 2013 is expected to remain about the same as the first half of 2013. Twenty-three percent expect more volume, 43 percent expect the same volume and 34 percent expect less volume, according to the survey. Seventy-three percent of farmland buyers were farmers, 12 percent were local investors, 8 percent were non-local investors, 5 percent were institutions and 2 percent were other buyers. Respondents indicated that farmers have increased as a percentage of buyers while local investors, non-local investors and institutional investors have declined. ISPFMRA members also were surveyed about their expectations for the next 12 months. Respondents were divided in what was expected to be the price change over the next 12 months. Twenty percent expect farmland price to increase, 41 percent expect farmland price to remain the same and 39 percent expect farmland price decreases. Of the 39 percent expecting decreases, 77 percent expect a price decrease from zero to 5 percent. Seven percent of respondents believe there will be a small price decline over the next 12 months, 38 percent stated there is more than a 50-percent chance of a small price decline 52 percent indicated there is less than a 50-percent chance of a price decline and 2 percent said it will not happen. ISPFMRA members were asked how likely there will be a price decline greater than 10 percent in the next 12 months. Thirty-eight percent indicated there is between a 10-percent and 50-percent chance of a large price decline, 33 percent said a 1-percent to 10-percent chance of a large price declines and 24 percent said a large price decline will not happen. Respondents expected the sales price of corn on the 2013 crop to average $4.92. Most respondents expect 2013 corn yields to be above the five-year average. Sixty-six percent expect above-average corn yields, 18 percent expect average corn yields and 16 percent expect below average corn yields. Respondents were divided on expected farmland price increases over the next five years. Respondents were asked what they expected changes in farmland prices to average over the next five years — a response of “10 percent” indicated that farmland will increase an average of 10 percent each year over the next five years. Forty-six percent of respondents expected prices to average an increase between 1 percent and 5 percent the next five years, 9 percent expected farmland prices to remain the same and 45 percent expected price decreases. Members expect small decreases in cash rents from 2013 and 2014. Respondents indicate that excellent-quality farmland had a $388-per-acre cash rent in 2013 and an expected cash rent of $374 per acre in 2014. Good-quality farmland had a $332-per-acre average cash rent in 2013 with an expected cash rent of $318 per acre in 2014. Average-quality farmland had a $318-per-acre average cash rent in 2013 and expected cash rent of $278 per acre in 2014. Fair-quality farmland had $224-per-acre-cash rent in 2013 and expected cash rent of $212 per acre for 2014. Respondents expect corn prices to average $4.75 per bushel during the next five years. Most respondents expect slight decreases in production costs moving into 2014. Fifty-six percent of respondents expect production cost to decline slightly, 21 percent expect production costs to remain the same and 23 percent expect increases in production costs. Continue reading
Good Farms ‘Being Snapped Up Like Crazy’
By Debora Van Brenk , The London Free Press Wednesday, September 11, 2013 Soybeans grow in Leamington, Ontario on Wednesday, September 11, 2013. (DEREK RUTTAN, QMI Agency) A three-year frenzy for farmland is starting to cool — but only slightly — as grain prices continue sliding from last year’s lofty heights. Even so, don’t expect land prices to drop anytime soon, says a new national real estate report. It shows acreage has been a particularly hot seller in Southwestern Ontario, where it’s not unusual to find acreage selling at twice the price of a few years ago. “Farming has been on an enormous high,” said David Brown, executive vice-president of Re/Max that produced the farm market trends report. About 40% of acreage on the market saw multiple purchase offers and there continue to be a lot more interested buyers than sellers, he said. “The very desirable farms are being snapped up like crazy.” The biggest jump came last year, coinciding with corn prices that topped $7 a bushel and soybeans at $13-plus. But this year’s dip in crop prices is making some buyers more cautious. “That may moderate the market,” Brown predicted. He said that means prices will stabilize but are unlikely to fall. “It’s hard to forecast anything but positive,” he said, as long-term trends show there’s still far more demand for land than available acreage. The biggest price jumps in Ontario during the past three years took place in parts of Middlesex and Elgin counties. “Clearly the lustre came off in February” as crop prices started dropping, said Mark Wales, head of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture. But, apart from a decline in the 1980s when interest rates rose to 20%, land prices haven’t fallen in recent memory. Increases may slow, and sometimes even plateau, but the supply of land keeps shrinking and the world population is growing. “The long-term trend has always been upward,” Wales said. But the ups and down of commodity prices also mean anyone who has bought that rapidly appreciating land will also need some fiscal depth to make payments. “Hopefully for them, they have enough cash flow to back it up,” Wales said. The increase in purchase prices is also driving up rates to rent the land, he said. Brown said most buyers are neighbours of the sellers — far more often family farmers looking for economies of scale than speculators looking for a future flip. “They’re looking long term. They’re not interested in short-term fluctuations.” The rapid rise in prices also makes it tough to be a new buyer. “It’s good if you own it because it means you’re worth more, at least on paper,” Wales said. “The problem that such a massive short-term increase brings is that it makes it tough for young farmers.” Fifteen of the 17 rural communities highlighted in the RE/MAX farm report showed land-price increases in farmer-to-farmer sales — the Annapolis Valley in Nova Scotia and the Fraser Valley in British Columbia were the two exceptions where prices changed only slightly or not at all. — — — A sampling of farmland prices per acre (market value in 2010 in brackets) Leamington $11,000+ ($7,000) Chatham-Kent $5,000-$16,000 ($4,000 – $12,000) Middlesex East $12,000 ($8,000) Middlesex West $12,000 ($5,000) Elgin County East $10,000 ($6,000) Elgin County West $8,000 ($4,500) Lambton North $11,000 ($6,000) Lambton South $7,500 ($4,000) Woodstock/Stratford $15,000 – $18,000 ($8,400 – $8,600) Kitchener-Waterloo $15,000-$18,000 ($9,000 – $9,500) Bruce County $5,000 – $9,000 ($3,000 – $5,000) Grey County $3,500 – $6,500 ($2,500 – $3,000) Northern Saskatchewan n $1,500 – $2,000 ($650 – $1,200 in 2011) Central Alberta $3,400 – $6,500 ($1,600 – $3,800 in 2011) Fraser Valley $40,000 – $60,000 $40,000 – $60,000 in 2011) Source: RE/MAX Market Trends Report: Farm Edition 2013 Continue reading
