Michael Carby
“There's no one port of access for inspiration; it comes from life.”
After studying biology and chemistry in college, Michael Carby started working in the fragrance industry to save money for medical school. Instead, he fell in love and never left. “It's not a process — I would describe it as an existence,” Michael says. “For me, perfumery is more of a lifestyle than an obligation or even a vocation.”
Michael believes the best scents aren’t found in bottles. “Nature is perfection, nature is balance,” he says. One of Michael’s favorite examples is the Jamaican rainforest. His first visit to his mother’s homeland as a seven year-old had a powerful effect on him. “The [smell of] the rainforest is very particular, a combination of sweet tropical, open fire pits combined with the coffee grown in the Blue Mountains and the smell of hibiscus.”
