I was utterly thrilled with the news of my upcoming meeting with Emily Bodenham, ninth generation family member and Managing Director of Floris. While I was eagerly preparing my interview questions, I arguably valued the honour of being granted such a special meeting; it felt as if the Royal House Warrant would materialize into a royal visit and opening. In fact, what turned out to be truly regal was how a prominent member of the Floris family indulged me so amicably and sharply into the family story. Emily surely knows the historic House mysteries, but she can also address all current company affairs as her responsibility covers wide business functions, finance, strategy, the Jermyn Street property, international commercial expansion, and retail operations. I am quite simply mesmerized by how she skillfully builds on the family legacy with a high dose of modernity, and in such a lovely manner. It seems that at Floris, grace, and elegance go beyond fragrance; they permeate the scents, every aspect of the House and everyone’s demeanour.

The History of the House: Beauty and Modern Simplicity.

For Floris, building on a family legacy means going back to 1730 when Juan (John) Famenias Floris, originally from Menorca (Spain) became the barber at the St James Hotel in Jermyn Street, London. This is the milestone date when Juan and his wife Elizabeth founded ‘J. Floris Limited’ and the beginning of the story of ‘British Family Perfumers since 1730.’ Emily explains that Floris remains entirely family-owned and is represented by a mix between the eighth and ninth generations today. There are three main members in the present company structure; her father, John Bodenham – eighth generation, is Chairman; her brother, Edward Bodenham – ninth generation, is Perfumery Director and herself, Managing Director. For the family, legacy entails that all Floris fragrances and toiletry products are manufactured in England to this day.

Jermyn Street. So much more than one flagship boutique.

Emily describes how 89 Jermyn street is the original location, absolutely essential for the company; in the front, one finds the flagship boutique; in the back, the Floris archives museum and perfumery lab; above, the office floor. Beyond a business address, Jermyn street was Floris’ historic home as the family lived in parts of the current premises. This historical juxtaposition of commercial, creative, and customer-facing activities preserves a special situation where every team remains unusually close to one another. This unique combination of functions, of proximity to the client and other areas of the company create an ‘exponential’ set up; one where the focus is all about maximising the experience, profiling client preferences and reaching excellence in fragrance; ultimately defining a new formula - with exponents based on scents.

Jermyn Street is the heart and soul of Floris and the company’s only flagship store: it would be almost impossible to replicate elsewhere. Floris therefore reaches customers beyond Jermyn Street, in the UK and internationally, through its e-commerce business, selected department stores, specialist retailers and distributors.

The extraordinary resilience of Floris fragrances.

Remarkably, the business had to withstand difficult times, such as the heavy bombardments in London during the Second World War during which the St James church opposite was half destroyed; yet trading never stopped, the family steadily carried on its business, made progress, and shaped its success.

Resilience shapes the spirit and clear mission handed over to each new generation; to protect the family heritage while ensuring a high level of relevance with the current universe of fragrance, commercially and artistically. To tackle such an ambitious mission, requires strong passion and a thoroughly planned education. For the young, talented, and motivated, the ‘elevation’ path starts with an informal preparation, working in the Floris flagship shop, interacting with the customers, getting to know the fragrances. Then, a professional curriculum follows with expertise gained in different parts of the company and external experience. Emily explains that after her master’s degree, she worked outside of the company for significant years before joining Floris. Edward first learnt about fragrance from his father and grandfather and then formally developed his knowledge of raw materials as well as technical and creative formulation; he is a member of the British Society of Perfumers. Naturally, the company employs experienced professionals from outside the family to create a solid organization.

Floris perfume creations are under the creative direction of Edward. When he develops a new composition, often his first inspiration comes from the family formula books which hold close to three hundred years of olfactory story. He has access to carefully selected high-quality natural materials and modern perfumery ingredients to obtain a superior performance of the whole fragrances under his responsibility. The finest ingredients are responsibly sourced from producers all over the world, suppliers in regions renowned for their excellence in cultivation. All ingredients must meet the House requirements for quality, consistency, safety, traceability, and responsible sourcing.

Without a shadow of a doubt, Floris appears to master the complexity of continuing the House history, while preserving its beauty with modern simplicity.

Floris, Quiet Opulence, Sheer Radiance, Pure Elegance.

Floris can be defined as a House of fine craftsmanship in the art of creating perfumes, in an understated, elegant, and quietly unconventional style. Luxury for Floris – under the Floris roof - is quiet rather than overt, quality is to be experienced rather than announced.

Celest, the most recent release perfectly reflects the modern scent style of Floris. A radiant, contemporary, and opulent composition with British chamomile and honey, bergamot – the citrus elements a memory of the family Spanish roots - Davana, cedarwood, ambergris, moss, musk, and Opopanax notes. Like the other fragrances of the collection, it feels refined, smooth, imparting clarity into a charming complexity.

The harmony of the fine fragrances collection extends to the home scents, bath and body products, hand care, shaving, and grooming preparations. In addition, from the original foundation, Floris offers a bespoke fragrance creation service; this is when upon special request, a tailor-made personal scent is designed by the three perfumers based at the Jermyn Street perfumery. The customization process entails various private consultations and results in a unique personal creation. Sometimes, for a special occasion, an original collaboration is designed and this year Lock & Co. hatters chose to offer a Floris perfume edition for its 350 years anniversary.

Quintessentially British. Unmistakably Stylish.

Upon entering into the Floris House, ‘Britishness’ appears evident in a distinct balance of formality and warmth in service, elegant fragrances, memories of British places, family heritage and last but not least the Royal Warrant.

As you know, obtaining a ‘Royal Warrant of Appointment’ is no small feat and Floris received its first "By Appointment to His Majesty the King" in 1820 from King George IV as a manufacturer of “Smooth Pointed Combs”. Since then and for more than two hundred years Floris has proudly held numerous warrants which for an independent British family company is a significant recognition of continuity. For Emily, the renewed Royal Warrant represents a longstanding relationship of service, of craftsmanship, quality and discretion. In her opinion, it also carries the responsibility to maintain the highest standards across the business with consistency.

In fact, most of the current bestsellers have been in the catalogue for decades which proves the character of the House’s fragrances: made to last. Limes launched in 1790, possesses a citrus freshness with an enduring appeal. Released in 1951, No. 89, the Jermyn Street address number, is Floris most acclaimed gentlemen’s fragrance with its refined notes of orange, bergamot, nutmeg, sandalwood, cedarwood, and vetiver. From 1980, Elite is truly iconic with a distinctive green, aromatic, and woody vibe. Originally created in 1860, Bouquet de La Reine relaunched in 2002 is the leading women’s fragrance, an enticing combination of peach, jasmine, rose, tuberose, and vanilla, very appealing to the new generation.

Similarly to how the in-house generations hand down the family tradition, the customers of Floris share their favorite fragrances with younger generations. Choosing a Floris perfume becomes a family ritual passed from hand to hand, or nose to nose, as each person starts a tradition of their own. What is stunning in Floris’ customer base today is a shared admiration for its fragrances, from longstanding clients as well as from newcomers, international and local clients.

Floris demonstrates how historic scents can be relevant, and how the classic can be modern and timeless.

Floris is classic, never nostalgic, always unique.

Within the House, instead of a nostalgic reminiscence of the past, there is an energetic effervescence about fragrances from the present and about paving the way for what will come next. To be inspired by the past, helps Floris to be rooted in the present and focused on the future. Most importantly, it allows Floris to stay true, knowing where one started gives the right route moving forward. The specific path is set with a pace, at a fair price, with refined style and proper tone of voice. The House takes the necessary time for a precious communication to take place with its fragrance community made of loyal clients, shop visitors, local and international admirers, and its sizable 89,000 Instagram followers. In fact, there is such a level of trust in the House that many Floris clients buy ‘blindly’ without smelling, expecting ‘love’ surely and unsurprisingly.

Now, Floris is in the midst of quietly preparing for a happy celebration that will be happening in the near future; 2030 will mark the 300 years anniversary of the company's foundation. I asked Emily to reveal to me the nature of this grand upcoming venue:

“In 2030, the House of Floris will celebrate its 300th anniversary: a remarkable milestone for our family and everyone who has contributed to the story of Floris across the generations. The anniversary will provide an opportunity to honour our heritage, family values and enduring passion for fragrance, while reaffirming our role as British Family Perfumers since 1730. Together with our loyal supporters, we look forward to celebrating all that has shaped Floris and sharing with future generations our vision of understated luxury, timeless elegance and, above all, a passion for modern British perfumery.”

– Emily Bodenham, Managing Director

I look forward to mesmerizing new fragrance experiences in the inviting world of Floris.

Floris will carry on embracing new generations of customers - and offer stunning fragrance experiences. The House of Floris will continue to create new scents with talent and fierce motivation building further the respected richness with renewed freshness. There is so much happiness ‘in store’ with new chapters, members, and treasures as per the story line ‘they lived happily ever after….’ Yes, Floris is more than ever an open space, where anyone is welcomed into the House magnificence and offered the chance of a royal audience with...a fragrance.