The birth of American niche perfumery (part 6) : MONTGOMERY TAYLOR

After Bond N°9, CB I Hate Perfume, Seven Skies, YOSH and Agraria, here is the sixth and last episode of ‘The birth of American niche perfumery’. I’m going to tell you the story of Montgomery Taylor, and especially their cult fragrance ‘Ambra di Venezia’.

I am attracted to anything that is related to or has the word 'Venice' in the title. So when I walked into Takashimaya* in NYC about 10 years ago and saw a man proffering a silver tray with a glowing fragrance bottle entitled Ambra di Venezia (‘Venice amber’), I had to sniff and examine immediately!
It turned out that the man was Montgomery Taylor, and he was the fragrance designer, along with perfumer Rayda Vega, of the gorgeous floral fragrance on the tray. Montgomery had worked in the fragrance and cosmetic industries for years, and he had a personal love of fragrance. He also had studied glass-blowing in Venice**, Italy, and in New York, and he and Vega approached the creative process for their perfume with Montogmery's glass-blowing artistry in mind.

The notes of Ambra di Venezia are narcissus, jasmine, mandarin, orange, sandalwood, lime, and mango... inspired by the mango-colored sunsets Montgomery remembered from his days in Venice.
He also hand-blows limited-edition, signed and numbered golden glass flacons as part of the line, which reflect the amber sunsets of Venice with their glowing reflections on the city's waterways and palaces.
Ambra di Venezia symbolizes for me a melding of artistry of many things I love - fragrance, art, & Venice - and inspires me every time I wear it.

Ambra di Venezia also exists in silky body cream and home candle. And Montgomery Taylor propose another fragrance, Paratus. A refreshing cologne designed for men, Paratus was inspired by another beautiful Italian city, Rome.

See you soon for other fragrant stories…