Life+ Meets: Maya Njie
From enjoyable experiment to perfume-as-a-profession
We had the opportunity to speak to Maya Njie (pronounced maia n-jai), fragrance creator based in East London. A self-taught perfumer, the artisanal scents she produces are inspired by memories of childhood, her Swedish- Gambian background, and interests in photography and design. Scent has the uncanny ability to unlock old memories and make us suddenly relieve vivid moments or re-experience feelings. I chatted to Maya about her journey into scent, starting up a brand, what keeps her inspired and the learning curve that comes with running your own company.
— Tell us a bit about you, how did you get into creating your own fragrances?
I grew up just outside of Stockholm in an industrial town called Vasteras. When I was 19 I moved to London and worked for Carhartt, after which I started a course at University of the Arts London (UAL) in Surface Design. After University, I worked as a front of house for a creative workspace, it wasn’t a particularly creative role but I always used to scent the space to make it feel welcoming and people would often comment on how much they liked the fragrance I had used. Scent can be like that- you can’t see it but it can completely catch you off guard.
— Have you always wanted to create your own brand?
For me, starting a business was not something I really thought about beforehand. Experimenting with scent was my creative venture, but building my interest into a full time business wasn’t part of the plan. I had no idea what it might entail and that’s probably a good thing on reflection. I learned on the job- I didn’t know anyone in the industry and had to research everything from bottle suppliers to manufacturing and sales. I designed everything from day one and really wanted to keep things like the bottle design and font simple to let the perfumes speak for themselves.
—I love the scent of Cardamom that runs through some of your fragrances, it reminded me a lot of Indian tea from when I was growing up. Where do you get your ideas for fragrances from?
One note in a fragrance can mean different things depending on your personal experiences. Cardamom in Sweden is used a lot in baking but I’m glad it made you think of your own memories.
My fragrances are inspired by memories of growing up in Sweden and my Gambian heritage. ‘Tropica’ which has a smoky, woody and earthy note to it is inspired by an incense in The Gambia that is made from grass that grows along the river, it’s soaked in spices and flowers and smells like nothing else. ‘Tobak’ is inspired by my grandad’s flat- the smell of tobacco and polished leather remind me of him. Photography is a real inspiration to me and each scent I have created has an image and colour palette that accompanies it. They are a visual description of scent, that tell the story of each memory that originally inspired the fragrance. Especially with so many of my sales happening through the website, people’s first interaction with each fragrance isn’t always smell, photos are the first introduction to each fragrance and spark curiosity and conversation.
— What has been an unexpectedly fun part of setting up your business?
The creative process of imagining and then bringing scents to life is a lot of fun. At the moment I would say the creative part of my work- the formulating, ingredient experimentation, sourcing, and designing- take up 15% of my time. The other 85% is spent on figures, production, training my growing team and admin things like VAT returns. I’d love to spend more time on the creative side but the small team I’m working with will hopefully let me do that.
— What advice would you give to other people who want to build a creative business?
If you don’t know about it already, taking time to learn about business admin, cost prices, hiring…will be invaluable. I ended up doing a lot of searching online for this advice and ended up in touch with some really helpful business mentors.
— How long was it before you went full time with the business?
I found a council-run scheme to help provide support for entrepreneurs starting their own businesses and that was invaluable as it enabled me to work on the company full time. I definitely have moments where self doubt creeps in, but I really believe that you have to believe in yourself to keep going. It also helped that I had a few friends who started their own businesses in creative industries. They’ve been a great support and made me feel less alone. Photography is a big inspiration to my work, so bouncing ideas with a friend who runs their own photography agency and studio is always productive. Having a listening ear when you are putting out fires in the business is extremely helpful.
— What resources were helpful to you when starting up?
Alongside the financial support through the scheme with my local council, I entered applications for grant funding and got small amounts that went towards extra stock, bottles, packaging. It was essential to get up to speed on the business side, to speak with accountants and ask about the basics. I found events at the British Library and Enterprise Nation meetups really useful. I went to an Enterprise Nation event for people who were running startups, some were already in the thick of it, and others were thinking about it and it helped with networking. I went back two years later and the main feeling I got from the event was the same- I wasn’t alone.
—You’ve been growing the your namesake brand since 2016- how are you thinking/ feeling about scaling up?
For the moment it has been great to keep things in house. I’ve got some help on production and fulfilling orders and starting to work with an agency to help with the wholesale side of orders. So far, I’ve got international stockists purely because those buyers discovered and loved the scents and liked what I was doing. The perfumes are stocked in the Nose Shop in Shinjuku, Tokyo because the person who runs it loved the brand and we got on so well.
—What is your biggest challenge right now?
I’m getting used to having employees and training them but, internally, there is always a tension of having time to work on the business and not in the business. What I mean by that is that I want to keep propelling the business forward and not simply working on what we have. We are at an exciting inflection point- we could go into full scale contract manufacturing instead of doing everything in house. There are pros and cons to that- manufacturing might mean alleviating the burden on the production line, but it also means sitting on 1000s of units of stock. In any case, it’s good to explore different avenues and see what feels right, right now.
— What is a big scent related source of inspiration to you?
Amongst the brands I like are a Swedish team called Agonist, they use beautiful bottles, and focus on a simple and crisp design. The founders also launched a new niche brand called Cra-yon which is more young and playful. I also like the brand Naomi Goodsir, it’s an interesting art concept where design, fashion and style meet scent.
— What are your biggest non-scent inspirations?
As well as photography, interiors and architecture are areas that inspire me. In general, driving around and looking at buildings, particularly brutalist architecture, makes me feel at home and starts that creative thinking process. I grew up in an estate in Sweden, which was a little rough around the edges, but close to a lot of fancy villas. Brutalist buildings in London remind me of that estate and I realise that they might seem harsh or ugly, but to me, I think of kids playing and the community in those estates. I love the work of Ricardo Bofill, an architect from Barcelona, and in London, the Trellick Tower by Erno Goldfinger in Ladbroke Gove and the design of Thamesmead seem like hopeful designs that aspired to create a renewed sense of community.
— How can everyone discover you and check out your fragrances and their stories?
More information on stockists and for more of the stories behind each fragrance check out my website www.mayanjie.com and follow on Instagram @maya.njie.perfumes
