Scents and smells, as we are all aware (at least, when we are aware) can be very, very intoxicating–not just for their own sake but for that magical ability they seem to possess to provide us a magic carpet ride through time.
Think about accidentally catching a whiff all these years later of the perfume your high school sweetheart wore.
Bam! Fast as a rocket ship, you’re back there!
Cities, like ex-girlfriends, have their smells and scents as well. Lots of them, depending on the neighbourhood.
So as Montreal begins its celebration of it’s 375th anniversary, it’s perhaps fitting that scents–as in perfumes–are being created on top of the city’s naturally occurring scents.
Claude André Hébert, a Montrealer born and bred, creates and sells perfumes at his boutique on trendy St. Denis Street.
So, when he was asked by the city to create a perfume to mark Montreal’s birthday, he did what most Montrealers do: he went all in, creating five….to celebrate five different Montreal neighbourhoods.
As a result of Hébert’s artistry, anybody visiting Montreal this year–to say nothing of Montrealers themselves–will have something special to hang on to to remember this 375th birthday celebration.
I spoke by phone with Hébert at his boutique on Tuesday about why and how he accomplished his contribution.
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