My Métier d’Excellence
I’m International Education and Customer Events Manager at Maison Francis Kurkdjian. I develop our training strategy and implement it worldwide in liaison with our local teams, creating specific tools and content. I also work on different types of events for our customers to bring them an immersive experience as they discover the universe of our Maison. At the same time I work with our Master Perfumer, Francis Kurkdjian, to smell, evaluate and express in words his different creations for the Maison.
The most important things you need for this métier
Definitely a passion for the world of fragrances and for creativity, and an understanding of the underlying savoir-faire involved. You need to listen closely to all our partners and our customers too, and create a joyful experience when they discover a perfume. This means enabling each person to find a fragrance that is meaningful to them at a given moment. Because in addition to involving very unique and invisible expertise, fragrances are about emotions and quite intimate sensations. This is why listening to the person is essential in order to understand them, make suggestions and share stories. This also requires a certain amount of intuition, which is something you develop thanks to curiosity, experience and an ability to simply and authentically recount the inspirations that nourished the creation of the perfume.
What I love most about my métier
This is a multifaceted métier full of exchanges with many different interlocutors. I personally really love what I see as two extremes in my métier, on the one hand the exchanges with our perfume creator Francis Kurkdjian, which are extremely enriching, and on the other, sharing with people who might have little or no knowledge of perfumes, to invite them to discover, smell and feel the fragrance. It’s very rewarding to help someone discover this universe. In many ways I’m an intermediary between our perfumer and the people for whom he creates his fragrances.
The best compliment I’ve received
The best compliment is when the people I’m engaging with are moved by my approach to fragrances and the way I recount the stories that Francis Kurkdjian is telling through his creations. This is a process of sharing that is directly tied to emotions.
An anecdote?
I had a chance to join Francis Kurkdjian on a trip to the United States for a series of customer events. It was absolutely amazing, like being with a rock star! The department stores were packed, you could hardly get through the crowds! That was one of the moments when I realized how important fragrances are in people’s lives, and how the creativity and intrinsic savoir-faire in the Maison’s perfumes can touch so many people.