Published 07 June 2017 • Inter IKEA newsroom
IKEA to explore the power of scent with Ben Gorham of Byredo
We can all relate to the sensation of being transported to another time and place when we experience a particular smell. It might be a childhood memory of your grandmother’s cooking, newly cut grass or the perfume of a loved one. Why? Smell is the sense with the most powerful influence on memory, mood and emotion. Together with Ben Gorham from the fragrance company Byredo, IKEA will explore new ways of adding scents in your home.
From our Life at Home research, we know that smell is the sense with the most powerful influence on memory, mood and emotion. Yet it’s perhaps the one we value the least. This made IKEA curious to look further into the dimensions of scent and smell in a home, and how that varies both in different parts of the home and parts of the world. And trying to find unique ways to integrate and add scents in your home.
“At IKEA we are curious about the senses and the importance they play for people to feel at home. We know that scents can help us create a feeling of safety and intimacy, but what does home smell like? And how can smell be communicated beyond scented candles? Collaborating with one of the best in the world, Ben Gorham at Byredo gives us the opportunity to explore this further," says Marcus Engman, Design Manager at IKEA Range and Supply.
The collaboration aims at looking into both the role of scent in the home, the carriers and the products as well as exploring innovation in scent, how we can integrate scents in completely new ways. But we are also curious to explore the scent of IKEA, if there is one, what does IKEA smell like?
“We live in a very aesthetic world. Design is more accessible than ever, we learn as children about the names of colours, shapes, how to count, how to read. You learn about apparel and furniture, we use the internet every day which is endless in terms of altering our visual perception. I feel people just don’t reflect enough when it comes to scent, but smell is a very relevant part of our life and also the home. To collaborate on this idea of “invisible design” with IKEA, getting people to think about smell is very exciting. I enjoy their openness to new ideas and the experimental nature of what we’re doing," says Ben Gorham, founder of Byredo.
Byredo was founded in 2006 by Ben Gorham. The company offers a range of exclusive scents for people and homes. Their scented candles and perfumes have been developed with an understated approach, using simple composition of the highest quality raw materials.
The collection is planned to be launched during 2019.