No. 24 Jacinta Lombardozzi
It was a thrill to work on a scent design project with multidisciplinary artist and designer, Jacinta Lombardozzi of Calico Whore. Her fragrance has a unique, high-quality mix of focus, empowerment, and peace with delicious grounding notes. Some of the notes are Sandalwood, Tobacco, Leather and Cedarwood. It’s a collision of art and nature and we loved it!
Jacinta, tell us about yourself? (This doesn’t need to be confined to what job you do – feel free to share anything that paints a picture of who you are and how you feel in this world).
I think my work and my Self are really one in the same thing. They breathe each other and to know one is to know the other. As a multidisciplinary artist I feel very connected to what I do and create, everything comes from a place of deep intimacy within myself and in relation to how I perceive the world around me. I think it is a combination of that and all my combined influences that have contributed to where I am and how my aesthetic came to be. I care a lot about detail and the authenticity of craft, with a lean towards the artisanal. Quality and longevity often comes with that as a result of care taken in the process and maintenance of what I acquire and keep in my life. I feel a sense of balance and peace when I am surrounded by beauty and thoughtful consideration in terms of spaces, experiences and relationships. I just want everything to be beautiful and enriching. I think the way I live and feel about my life is echoed through my artistic practice [or brand] as an ethos I sort of live by. Modern antiquity, antique modernity – a balance of opposites, old and new. This is what brings me joy and makes me feel whole.
Can you share what a day-in-your-life is like?
As a self employed person [essentially running two businesses and chasing two dreams], most days differ from each other quite a lot, there isn’t a regimented routine I currently live by. I love my mornings, they just have such a feeling of freshness and possibility. I like to take these slowly and ease into my day. Music is always on in my house, as well as at least one scent burning or purifying. It usually starts off with a coffee on my balcony and some light admin on my phone, maybe breakfast. Weights / cardio, grooming, cleaning and then dress up. I usually take my time with getting myself ready for the day even though I work from home. The effort is important to me and I like the experience of walking into my wardrobe and putting something together head to toe. It’s my armor for the day, and in a way almost a small intention setting for how I want to feel throughout it. I usually get dressed a few times a day depending on what I’m doing. I begin my work at 10am and usually finish at 10pm. I try not to book more than a couple meetings in a week, once a week I have my intern Sophie in, and I usually take lunch time to run errands or relax in the sun on my balcony [my work rooms are downstairs away from it so I take any chance I get to be in the sun]. When my work day is over [I run a small scale clothing production house full time called five.one.six] I prepare some dinner, usually with jazz or live NTS in the background. In the evenings I either paint in my studio, read, put on a show or continue with admin. If I’m not out at an opening / music event or hosting friends / family of a night time, I’m home working on projects. Any spare time I have is usually reserved for this as running five.one.six takes up quite a bit of space in my life. This is the time of day I feel most inspired and able to tap into a creative headspace, so it works for me.
What scent family do you gravitate towards most?
For me it’s definitely the woody and amber families, as is evident in my scent ‘Home’. Sandal and cedar woods, aromatic spice blends, smokey tobacco… mmm.
How does your fragrance affect your wellbeing?
I think anything that sets or alters a mood has to be closely related to a sense of wellbeing. I know I definitely feel affected when a space is scented, especially when I resonate or take a particular liking to that scent. I use different scents for different spaces in my home and studio just as I have different lighting and furnishing arrangements in them. I think also knowing you’re wearing a scent that supports a certain feeling before you head out to interact with people gives you a sense of confidence which contributes to your wellbeing.
In your view, what’s the most underrated scent note?
Leather, black pepper, coffee ~ I would love to see more use of these.
How did you become a multidisciplinary artist and what is it that motivates and drives you?
I think the common outcome of studying fashion design is to become a fashion designer, if not work for or with one in some way. This was definitely what I saw for myself when I was studying my degree, but it wasn’t until I left it that I began to question that and look at other options for myself, and what I could be within my own skill set. Then I came to understand the real differences between a designer and an artist. Design always needs functionality, whereas art only has to exist. Design is produced within a brief, to solve problems and meet needs, it is rational. Art’s purpose is to provoke thought and emotion, it is for oneself and need not be replicated or produced in quantity. These key separations are how I made sense of what I create and how I operate as a maker / creative, as well as locate where I sat within that realm. It makes much more sense for me to operate as an artist producing glacial one-off releases of mixed medium work rather than as a designer producing products for a label in order to move that work, and sustain a continuous sellable output. There are definitely crossovers, this scent being one of them. I really like the direction it’s moving in though. It became multidisciplinary when I stepped outside of garment making to explore other practices such as shoemaking, silverware, publication, sculpture, painting, performance, sound and now scent design.
I think my motivation comes from outcomes and a very strong feeling of wanting to execute something I’m excited by. There’s this feeling I get of wanting to push and prod at something until I get it right that just makes hours go by. I really love the process, and for me that’s become a huge drive for me in my practice. The process informs the design almost always, and it’s that time spent in the developmental stage of a project that feeds me enough to want to continue. I love the feeling and I love watching something grow. This is the area of my life where I exercise the most control and allow myself to hyperfixate as much as I like. I like to look back at old work a lot [very into archiving] from both mine and others, and that always inspires me to move forward. For this next show I’m putting together for the scent, I’m thinking a lot about my first one with Andy.R. Everytime I think about that night I feel like I can tap into the energy of what it was like to piece it together and to be in the ‘performance of two’. That feeling gives me such a rush of energy, I like to use that as fuel to keep going. One thing I’m really grateful for is those sporadic feelings of just knowing something has clicked internally, and I remember why I started. I think for me this usually means something has worked in achieving what I set out for it to, like it has served a purpose. In those moments I feel so satiated.
We love a great scent story! What’s your favorite scent memory?
I think it has to be my trip to Rishikesh in India a few years ago, I am so in love with that place. The smell of sandalwood and chai was everywhere. The way they burned it was actually with raw sandal dhoop which is made from cow dung. It sort of has a clay texture and is molded into long thin cones before lighting. The way this was presented along the streets reminds me a lot of those Moroccan spice temples where the spice barrels are filled up to a fine point – so beautiful. I brought a huge log of this home which I have now sadly finished. It was like having a little piece of real India in my home every time I lit it.
We know you have some exciting things in the pipeline, tell us about it!
I do! My whole focus right now is on my upcoming showcase, Return To Self. This will be my first solo show and a very special one because it will also be launching my new scent, Home. It will be on from February 23rd – 24th hosted by At The Above gallery in Fitzroy. I cannot wait. The campaign has come together so beautifully and the accompanying body of work as well as a performance I’m planning is going to make this night really special. It’s a project that I’m really proud to be putting forward and some of the most exciting and fulfilling work I’ve had the privilege of doing.
After this I’ll be working on another joint show with my jewelry collaborator Marlie from Vincent. I am so thrilled to be working alongside them on what will be our fourth collaboration together.
After that… an artist residency at At The Above [!!!] bloody excited for that one.
In future I’d like to take my scent to Paris. Samantha and I have also been talking about coming out with a lube version and some candles.
Anything else you would like to share with us that might inspire others (you could even tell us your life’s motto!)?
I’ll list a few things that have been significant for me:
/ Remember why you started.
/ Know when to say no.
/ Enjoy the process.
/ Do what feeds you.
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