• We may start at the beginning, has scent always been a large part of your life?

Yes, I’m grown surrounded by perfumes. My parents had a small perfumery in Turin when I was a kid and I went often there. I smelled all the perfumes in the store and in the warehouse.

• Are there any scent memories from growing up that you are still drawn to?

Yes, the milk and coffee of my breakfast when I was a child. The grass of the football field (I have played soccer longtime), some perfumes of my parent’s store. I remember Kouros, a powerful scent.Yes, the milk and coffee of my breakfast when I was a child. The grass of the football field (I have played soccer longtime), some perfumes of my parent’s store. I remember Kouros, a powerful scent.

• How did your career or journey into the fragrance world begin?

At the age of 21, I’ve started to work as a sale rep in the world of perfumery. I’ve done it for 11 years. Then Lancaster Group (Davidoff, Chopard perfumes…)has offered to me to become a trade marketing manager, a role that I’ve covered for 3 years and then I’ve been the general manager of Orlane. In 2001 I’ve created with my wife the Kaon, a distribution company specialized in niche brands.

• What inspires you?

Almost everything. A picture (Kashnoir) , a word (Patchouliful) , a trip (Cozumel, Alkemi). The most important thing is to be attentive, to try to catch what is around you, what happens to you. To look at your life trying to be permeable. It’s an attitude.

• Can you share words about the projects that you have created?

Wow, so many perfumes…. I can tell you about Patchouliful. This perfume is born for a word that I’ve found in the web, at Urban Dictionary, in 2010. The word of July 21, 2010, was Patchouliful that means “more than beautiful, the pinnacle of beauty” I’ve loved the word and I’ve decided to create a Patchouli perfume with this name. Easier to say than to do. It takes 3 years to have the right one thankful to Cecile Zarokian that has been able to understand the way we wanted to have our Patchouli. The king of Patchouli, a hippy king.

• What is your view of the fragrance world and how it is changing?

If we talk about niche we’re now in a big change. Too many brands, too many points of sale, too many distributors. All this means a decrease in the quality of the offer and the risk is that we can lose the customers that were approaching our market. I see too many brands that are not coherent. Not creative scents and not quality ones in nice bottles sold at a huge price. The price is a very important issue and we’ve always to respect the consumer.

• What is view your advice to anyone seeking to follow their creative side?

As I’ve written above, is very important to be attentive, to try to catch what is around, trying to be permeable. I didn’t think to be creative, I’ve discovered my expression of creativity with the perfumes and now I love to look at everything in a different way, with the curious eyes of a kid.

• Can you speak on your companies and brands?

We’ve 3 companies. Two are distribution companies, Kaon, and Kaon Cosmetics. The Kaon is focused on niche perfumes and Kaon Cosmetics in skin care. Then we have the Kaon Lab that creates perfumes. Actually, in Kaon Lab, we create Laboratorio Olfattivo, Jacques Zolty and one private label for an important Italian store.

• Finally, how may we find your brand and is there anything else that you would like to say?

Well, the brand now is in 30 countries in the world. We’ve distributors in Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Holland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Russia, Ukraine, Japan, South Korea; we work with agents in France, Spain and Portugal and we sell directly to stores in many other countries the USA, England, Ireland, Thailand, Philippines, Romania, Poland, and others. We’re present in perfumeries, concepts stores, fashion stores, where the passion of the perfume can make love our creations.