Interview of an “Aromamedia” employee for Simply Well blog on using fragrances in everyday domestic life and offices.

1. Creating mood. Using scents in everyday domestic life and work
Interview of an “Aromamedia” employee for Simply Well blog on using fragrances in everyday domestic
life and offices.
Recently fate drove me in the path of a person from a very interesting professional background.
Maria Schemelinova is part of the “Aromamedia” team and deals with fragrancing of space. Naturally,
I could not help but try to learn all her secrets and then share it with you. How do you project air, how
these tasks come to life and what exactly can one do with the help of a scent in an office – these were the
topics we have discussed with Maria.
SW: Can we call your work aromatherapy?
М.S.: Aromatherapy is in fact treating with fragrances, and is full of purely medical sense, requires
following a number of conditions and participation of a specially trained medical worker. Aromatization
of space is a wider notion: using the sense of smell as a channel of communication. With the help of
scents one can pass additional messages that people will read on a non-verbal level. Premises can become
warmer or on the contrary colder, cosier or more luxurious – all these features can be installed on the
fragrance level as well.
SW: What are mixes made of?
М.S.: Each composition is a fragrant substance in a liquid form that shapes its own unique recipe made by
a perfumer-creator. They are composed of natural and artificial ingredients, the exact recipe is kept secret.
Most importantly, they are all safe for people and environment.
SW: How exactly are the fragrances spread?
М.S.: A scent is spread through natural mixing with air. A device, an aromamachine, is installed in the
room, a reservoir with aromacomposition is placed within, then the fragrance is delivered to felt (a special
filter) and comes from the aromamachine into the space. Due to the special contents of the composition
and current technology it stays in the air and allows the person to hear all of its notes simultaneously.
These technologies have appeared in Germany in 1990, but came to Russia only in 2005.
Aromamachines can be of various size, power and design for different premises.
This AMCube device is used for medium spaces: home, study, for spaces under 35 square metres.
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2. And that is a larger machine. AMD9000 can switch on 3 aromacompositions in turn, neutralize odours
and is fit for premises up to 200 metres.
SW: Who and how compiles new fragrances?
М.S.: The perfumer does that. The task for him is composed 95% by us and only 5% by the client
himself. New fragrances appear twice a year in spring and autumn. However we can sometimes have
special collections based on innovative research. For example, the Aqua D'or fragrance line: conceived in
joint work with the medics, it allows not only to decorate the air, but also to sanitize it (purify from
pathogenic bacteria).
SW: Do you use standard mixes for room fragrancing or are they formed anew every time
considering the clients’ requests?
М.S.: There is a lot of research to fish out the most effective and valuable fragrances that will solve
certain typical tasks. Thus the majority of fragrances exist in a ready line. Only in extraordinary cases the
client participates actively in the creation of a fragrance.
SW: What are the most popular fragrances and where they used?
М.S.: In different countries audiences have various preferences. Europe values sophistication and charm,
Russia – simplicity, naturalness and closeness to nature. Nevertheless we believe that “popular”
fragrances need not exist. Every fragrance must carry unique information within, evoke emotions in
accordance with the set task.
SW: Are Moscow offices and malls prepared to use your technologies?
М.S.: There are no problems on our end – we have over 50 types of equipment allowing to work with any
area and room conditions. The question is, whether managers of companies and tenants ponder over
functionality and safety of the air they breathe, as well as their employees, partners and clients.
Aromatization of space presumes the presence of clean air without side odours that distract you. What we
face is that many rooms have odours in them that irritate workers and visitors. In this situation we
eliminate unwanted odours with the help of eliminators. There are 10 of them and each is targeted at a
particular irritator.
SW: How can your services affect an office’s work?
М.S.: That would depend on what the office management wants to influence.
For example:
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3. - Sanitize air during the day (purify the odours from anti-sanitary, smoking) and alleviate tension with the
workers (especially those who work 12 hours a day)
- Lift attention concentration and effectiveness of work (when operating in numbers)
- The ability to grow creative activity (in creative and designer departments)
- Lower the level of irritation and increase loyalty (in negotiation rooms)
- Positive influence on the reputational component of the brand (in both external and internal
communication)
- Create a particular respectable atmosphere in the top-management zone.
SW: Can you hear fragrancing in a room?
М.S.: By all means. Every space contains a dozen scents, without preparation I can hear the most active.
However any person during the day hears over 1000 scents, though he accentuates only a few in his
attention span. It all depends on the degree of his preparation and on the number of scents his memory
stores.
SW: What are your favourite fragrances?
М.S.: All in all they are new every time and different depending on the situation. Today and still I love
the warm gastronomic composition “Bavarian apple” – red baked apple with cinnamon and raisins. Then
there is a very interesting composition from the new collection – “Tirol tunes”, composed of neroly,
sandalwood, meadow lily, watermelon, orange, alpine fir tree, freesia, bourbon, vanilla, musk and others.
There is more than one in fact. All of them change and affect my mood and linger in the memory.
SW: Can such mixtures be used at home? What will you recommend to the users?
М.S.: There are no restrictions in terms of use – all fragrances can be used in small spaces. Why not
decorate the air at home as well, there is even a direction called aroma-design that allows to project the air
according to a particular interior.
So my only recommendation - to stay within limits in everything!
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