Recipe to Ritual: Behind Our New Incense

Hone Letter XXI: A special installment about Coil + Drift's new incense including an interview with John Sorensen-Jolink and Jeffrey Monteiro of JM Generals.

Painted Horses Incense | petitgrain, spruce, patchouli, peru balsam, frankincense

The presence of an original scent is one of the most powerful tools to anchor and define a space. As long-time scent enthusiasts, we are delighted to introduce Coil + Drift’s new incense.

This past fall, Coil + Drift’s founder and principle, John Sorensen-Jolink, created an original scent in collaboration with Jeffrey Monteiro of JM Generals. Then we infused incense with it. We received warm feedback after gifting the incense to our inner circle over the holidays, inspiring us to make a limited batch (repackaged and double the quantity) available for purchase on coilanddrift.com.

Here, we sit down with John and Jeffrey to discuss all things incense.

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COIL + DRIFT: Jeffrey, how long have you been making scents? How did you first start learning about it?

JEFFREY MONTEIRO: I first started experimenting with scents after taking workshops in scent development well over a decade ago. I have long been intrigued by the process ever since reading the books Essence & Alchemy by Mandy Aftel and Perfume by Patrick Suskind.

When you’re creating a new fragrance, how do you begin?

JM: There are a multitude of elements that initiate the process of creating a scent. Mostly for me it’s an olfactory memory that evokes a feeling or expression and leads to the curiosity of seeing how that can be captured in the alchemy of mixing scents. Ultimately to ignite and inform all of one’s senses.

Do you have a memory, be it childhood or other, that you are grateful to have been able to capture and translate into a scent?

JM: I have an early memory of encountering the scent of Jasmine flowers (which is especially fragrant at night) and crushing Peppercorns straight from a tree in the palm of my hands while walking at night. I was able to emulate that experiential memory in the Sambac scent that I have developed - which has notes of Jasmine and Black Pepper.

John, what was the initial concept for this scent?

JOHN SORENSEN-JOLINK: I wanted to create a deep and complex fragrance that would activate warm memories for people. Something that, like Coil + Drift, lives in reverence of the natural and wild world. I love horses and they’re part of my most cherished childhood memories. We talked a lot about the scents we experience when we’re with horses: grass, hay, manure, saddle leather, horse hair.

How was this process new for you?

JS-J: I’ve never had the experience of blending scents to create something new and I found it both challenging and thrilling. I thought the challenge would be around selecting the ingredients but the more difficult aspect turned out to be refining the recipe. More of this, less of that. My nose got tired quickly and taking breaks to reset myself was important.

What was the biggest creative challenge in translating Coil + Drift’s identity into scent?

JS-J: The process of using language to find a scent that you are calling up from memory is very challenging. I wanted to evoke the experience of being in a pasture and none of the ‘grassy’ scents we pulled were working. One day it hit us that the sweetness of grass was what I was craving. I had expressed to Jeffrey that I didn’t want the fragrance to be sweet so he’d omitted many options based on this verbal direction. I just hadn’t realized that grass - especially hay - smells sweet. Once we realized this I stopped speaking and let my nose do the work. We found the perfectly sweet - almost molasses-y note in a beautiful Peru Balsam essential oil..

Jeffrey, how would you describe this incense to someone smelling it for the first time?

JM: I’d describe the scent that we created for the Coil + Drift incense as woodsy, calming and enlightening.

What does this collaboration say about Coil + Drift. Why incense?

JS-J: Everything Coil + Drift does is an exercise in crafting a beautiful home and we do this using our four values: exploration, clarity, gathering, and nature. Exploration as in continuous play. Clarity meaning we are honest and direct about what we’re doing. Gathering meaning we’re always stronger and more alive when we’re together. And nature as the thing we’re always drawn to. Thinking about these values, engaging in projects outside of lighting and furniture makes perfect sense for us as long as they’re in service of crafting beautiful homes, and scent is such a powerful element in that.

What do you hope people feel when they use the incense for the first time?

JM: I would hope they feel a sense of warmth and experience the light complexity of the scent.

JS-J: I hope the challenges of their day fall away and for a few minutes they slow down and take in some quiet.

Do you think this scent would lend itself well to any other mediums (i.e. perfume, soap, etc.)?

JM: I think the Coil + Drift scent would translate well in many products like a room fragrance, soap or a perfume.

JS-J: Without giving too much away, I will say that we are indeed exploring other expressions of this scent. Watch this space for more

J.M. Generals is a collection of home & body essentials from Jeffrey Monteiro. Find out more about John and our new incense at coilanddrift.com.