Name: Ellen Covey
Company: Olympic Orchids
Finalist Perfume: Blackbird
Category: Artisan

1. Where are you, right now?
I am in my office at the university [in Seattle.]

2. What was the last thing you searched for, in Google?
Pregnancy and hearing thresholds, for an article that I’m writing for my “other job”.

3. What's a song you are listening to, these days?
I don’t listen to music while I’m working, especially when I’m writing or working on perfume. I have a lot of writing projects going on currently, so haven’t listened to much music at all for the past few weeks. To me, music is not a background sound track, it’s an activity in and of itself that requires dedicated time and attention.

4. What led you to perfumery?
For many years I have grown orchids commercially and never ceased to be amazed and delighted by all of the different orchid flower scents. When I smelled orchid flowers, I always thought, “this would make a fantastic perfume”, so I started tinkering around trying to reproduce something like the orchid fragrances. From there, the perfumery just took off in all directions and has now taken on a life of its own.

5. What excites you about your finalist perfume, Blackbird?
I loved working with Blackbird owner Nicole Miller on a fragrance for her store. She grew up in the Pacific Northwest and I have lived here for over 15 years, so we shared a lot of impressions about the smells of summer, when the blackberries are ripe. My goal was to make a fragrance that evoked the magic of a hot, dry, sunny day with the sharp, resinous smells of woods and fruit all around. I think I succeeded in doing that. It’s always exciting when something works as planned!

6. Name three scents (other than your own) that you are a big fan of.
1. A swipe of good, genuine oud oil with nothing added. It is a perfume all by itself and every variety is so different, it’s always an adventure.

2. Real sandalwood oil or absolute. Like oud, sandalwood is a perfume all by itself.

3. My boxes and boxes of perfume samples. There’s something new to try every day, or every hour if only I had time. I’m a big fan of novelty and variety!

7. If you could give a few words of advice to a young person trying to do something in the world, what would you say?
Trust yourself, your abilities, your instincts, your gut feelings, and your taste. Stay aware of the real world and enjoy it to the fullest every day. If something doesn’t make sense, ask why. If the answer doesn’t make sense, try to change whatever it is, or find an alternative way.

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Learn more about ‘Blackbird’ and the other perfumes that make up the artisan category finalists by clicking here.

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