A Monthly Update from The Olfactory Contractor
Hello and Welcome,
If you are new here—thank you for joining The Olfactory Contractor. I am so glad you have joined this growing community of museum professionals, educators, artists, and researchers interested in scent, storytelling, and a multisensory approach to cultural heritage.
This newsletter is a space where I share recent writing, projects, and learning opportunities related to the Olfactory Contractor. Below is a short roundup of what I have been working on this month, along with an update on upcoming courses.
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From the Blog: This Month’s Writing
This month, I published several new posts exploring how scent can function as an intentional interpretive medium in cultural spaces.
I started the month by sharing my newest collaborative paper, published in Frontiers in Environmental Archaeology: From Biomolecular Traces to Multisensory Experiences: Bringing Scent Reproductions to Museums and Cultural Heritage. The paper centered on Olfactory Museology was co-authored with Carole Calvez, Christian E. Loeben, Ulrike Dubiel, Steffen Terp Laursen, and Barbara Huber. It brings together an interdisciplinary team of researchers, museum professionals, and scent practitioners. MORE INFORMATION HERE.
Next, I shared a recent episode of the Internet of Senses Institute Podcast. I had the pleasure of speaking with Nils Lommerin, CEO and Co-founder of Olfactive Biosolutions, for a thoughtful and inspiring conversation about food innovation, sensory science, and the growing role of olfaction in the development of medicinal supplements.
Lastly, we released the second edition of my blog series, Notes from the Field: How Museums Use Olfactory Storytelling which featured the Stephen and Peter Sachs Museum at the Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis. The museum’s curator, Nezka Pfeifer offers us a behind the scenes look at how a botanical garden museum successfully integrated 34 scents into a public exhibition. The blog covers curatorial decision-making, scent distribution design, collaboration with perfumers, and lessons learned from an ambitious multisensory project. READ THE BLOG HERE. Are you working with scent in your work and wish to be featured? Let me know via my contact page!
Updated Courses & Teaching: Collaboration with the Fragrance Alliance Network
I am excited to be collaborating again with the Fragrance Alliance Network on new classes! The Scent & Culture Series: An Intensive in Olfactory Storytelling is a series of online courses starting this Saturday.
The three-part series explores olfactory storytelling from three perspectives: foundational sensory theory, practical application and design in GLAM settings, and historical scent research and sourcing. Each module is standalone and can be taken à la carte, or combined as a full series for a more comprehensive learning experience.
If you are looking for a more concise introduction to the topic at a shorter time commitment, the Introduction to Olfactive Storytelling and Olfactory Museology (crash course) is still available and may be for you.
SIGN UP FOR MODULE #1 ON FOUNDATIONAL THEORY HERE (February 28th)
SIGN UP FOR MODULE #2 ON PRACTICAL APPLICATION HERE (March 7th)
SIGN UP FOR MODULE #3 ON HISTORICAL RESEARCH AND SOURCING HERE (March 14th)
SIGN UP FOR Introduction to Olfactive Storytelling and Olfactory Museology HERE (April 4th)
Thank you again for being here and for your interest in olfactory storytelling. I’m looking forward to sharing more writing, case studies, and course announcements with you next month.
Make sure you subscribe for future newsletters here.
Warmly,
Sofia Collette Ehrich
Founder, The Olfactory Contractor
Questions? Interested in Learning More?
Do not hesitate to reach out via my contact page if you have questions.
Interested in learning more? Check out my blog post on Recommended Smell Culture Resources to dive deeper into the world of olfactory museology and become familiar with more trailblazers of this field.
