Follow your nose

An array of intriguing bottles can be found in Vero Kern's studio. The tools of her trade as a perfumer include flower essences, ancient smelling resins, and blends of her own design. Kern is stylish in a chemists' white coat topped with pearly cat's eye glasses and a shock of platinum hair. She pops open a fresh bottle of something that takes a visitor's breath away - jasmine sambac concentrate.

"Careful!" warns Kern. "You wouldn't believe it, it's like petrol. But when you dilute it the nuances of the flower really come out. You really have to know these things."

Vero Kern knows her ingredients well. She developed her scent line Vero Profumo over five years – carefully blending fine ingredients into heady fragrances inspired by traditional perfumery – and adding a dash of lived experience.

Kern was 60 years old when she became a perfumer. Even as a child, she knew she was meant to be creative... but that white coat is also significant, she says.

"I wanted to go to an art school, I wanted to do something from bottom to top - the whole thing," recalls Kern. "But my parents didn't like this idea, so then I went to the pharmacy, and so on and on and on."

From pharmacy to perfumery

Ten years passed in the pharmacy before Kern's desire for adventure and travel saw her join SwissAir in the early 1970s. It was a time when women were making headway at the company, and opportunities were good. She spent about 20 years there, rising though the ranks during a period of expansion and innovation that was exciting, but stressful. Kern says this background created the foundation for her financial independence and entrepreneurism.

"I would have never made it without the experience I made before. You have to be very tough and courageous to do something like this," she says.

Kern eventually became bored with her job though, and SwissAir started having financial troubles, so they parted ways. A trip to Turkey introduced her to aromatherapy, so she decided to learn that art. From there, her next step was to attend perfumery school in France and start her own line – cautiously.

When hobbies becomes business

Though modest, Kern's success has served as an example to others. Perfumer Andy Tauer met Kern through a mutual friend, Pascal Wehrle, who owns a Zurich bookshop called Medieval Art & Vie. Six years ago, Tauer was out of work and looking for possibilities. His hobby was blending fragrances for friends and family. Pascal asked him to create a Moroccan-themed scent for this shop.

The perfume, Le Maroc pour Elle, was the first of Tauer's 16 scents – and more are in the works. For Tauer, who is a self-taught perfumer, what's inside the bottle comes easy. The real challenge has been building a brand and dealing with taxes, export forms, packaging costs, and raw materials.

"Suddenly what used to be fun becomes serious, bloody serious," says Tauer. "Because it's your living, it's your rent that you have to pay at the end of the month. But so far, I did not regret it!"

Tauer has been lucky in this business. His fragrances are well-liked, and get attention from perfume reviewers, bloggers, and stores around the world. But his background, including a PhD in chemistry, a stint in innovation consulting, and work as an IT Manager didn't quite prepare him for what was to come.

"One of the problems was that we had no strategy," he admits. "We had no plan – how do I approach the market, where do I want to go geographically?"

Balancing freedoms with limitations

Tauer's diverse history helps him find creative solutions in his new profession. As he holds up a five-sided amber bottle, and rocks it back and forth, it makes a pleasing sound, reminiscent of seaside shells or stones. Gleaming glass beads share space with the rich scent, one of a special series made with expensive materials. The beads look and sound lovely. But that's not why they are there, explains Tauer.

"Actually they also perform a function – they reduce the volume," he laughs. "Because I am a poor perfumer and could not afford a smaller bottle and other packaging."

Going global adds complications

For both Vero Kern and Andy Tauer, working as small perfumers means balancing freedoms with limitations. The two sometimes share materials, and each has collaborations with artists in other media. These Swiss perfumers have a global customer base, and may be better known in Rome, Paris and Los Angeles than in Bern or Geneva, which have their own issues.

"It's so expensive to produce in Switzerland – people have no idea about the costs," Kern says. "So at the end you are glad when you can cover the whole expenses. People sometimes say 'Oh, it's so expensive.' But this kind of perfumery is already expensive to produce."

"We have to see what is happening in Europe," Tauer says. "We face a euro-crisis right now, which is making my products more expensive, and I have a lot of costs in Swiss francs. And then, you know, in the US there are some signs we may go into a second recession."

But after some reflection, Tauer adds that some things are not as important as they seem. "We sell enough to survive, and the rest - we'll see."

What's most important to Kern and Tauer is that the two continue to create, innovate, and and bottle their dreams for the rest of us to share.

Author: Susan Stone, Zurich
Editor: Sam Edmonds