Lyn Harris: Fragrant Ideas

Lyn Harris was a 15-year veteran of the fragrance industry before founding her own company, Miller Harris, in 2000. Lyn's education includes five years of training at one of the most prestigious perfume schools in Paris, followed by an apprenticeship at Robertet, a 150 year old company, among the best in the perfumery industry. It was during her tenure at Roberte that Lyn Harris learned about the rare materials that form the souls of her scent portfolio today. Completing a very strict and detailed training, Lyn has become one of the few classically trained noses in Britain today. Behance caught up with Lyn to discuss the work behind developing her unique style and the process of idea generation.

Patience is a critical ingredient to pushing ideas forward. Some ideas take years to develop, especially in such sophisticated industries as perfumery. As Lyn recalls, "I worked day and night for many years on my ideas, crafting and perfecting my art until I found my style, which took a long, long time and I had to be patient! But it is this patience that has allowed me to finalize my style and work today…Sometimes the ideas come very easily and instantly. Sometimes they can take a year to evolve. On a level, this can be very frustrating. Creativity demands a tremendous amount of patience and resilience."

Lyn finds that getting off track sometimes helps her get on track! As she explains it, "when it comes to creating a new fragrance, what really helps me is to set out doing something completely unrelated. This actually helps to get me on track. I like to go shopping before working on a new project. Or I go for a walk in the park with my son…"

As for conventional wisdom, Lyn has chosen her own path despite the industry norms. "Design-wise I have always done my own thing. I haven’t followed any set rules or codes.  And I made the unusual decision not to work in a fragrance house. I chose to do my apprenticeship in Grasse but didn’t want to work there. I always wanted to be an independent perfumer. I believed in my work so much so that I suffered it [the start-up woes] alone. I have a great mentor as well, Richard Melchio. Having a mentor has given me an enormous amount of strength, courage and conviction. Although very strict, he has also been incredibly supportive, almost like a second father to me. He taught me to go with my instinct even though others might be against it."

Lyn’s parting advice for the broader creative community? "Passion and belief will enable you to succeed. But there is also no substitute for hard work."

Lyn Harris' Company: Miller Harris