The Award-Winning Perfumiers – Angela Flanders
Artillery Passage is always a treat for the senses: the bright window displays; the hum of busy streets; the cobbles beneath your feet.
But one sense really comes out top. Smell. Because if you just follow your nose, you’ll end up somewhere with award-winning aromas, and the warmest welcome to boot.
Opened here in 2012, Angela Flanders is an artisan perfumery with a 40-year history in East London. Kate Evans has followed in her mother Angela’s footsteps (both in terms of perfume and awards), and she sat down with us and store manager Oscar Rojas to give a fresh take on creating timeless scents.
What is the Angela Flanders story?
“Our story began 40 years ago on when my mother, Angela, opened a small shop on Columbia Road in the flower market. She started selling antiques and decorative painted furniture before branching into potpourri. This ultimately started a whole journey and fascination with perfume and fragrance.
In 2012 we branched out with this second store here, in Artillery Passage. The shop became available, and Angela fell in love with it. It was a cafe at the time, but she saw its potential. It was wonderful to restore and transform it with our homeware and fragrances.
What makes a good scent?
“The fragrance pyramid of top, heart and base notes is so important. When well composed, they blend together so that the scent evolves during the day. The lighter top notes will be experienced first and are often more fleeting, then the heart should open which carries the main aroma. That’s supported by the base notes which are like the bass in a song, gently opening out and adding structure to the perfume.
We also really felt a connection with the area and its weaving history. Our Flanders ancestors were wool weavers who were invited to this country to teach their skills to the Suffolk wool weavers. Both my mother and I had backgrounds in textiles and fashion, so the area just felt like a perfect fit.”
But it’s more than just the technicality – it’s the way the perfume makes you feel. Scent is the sense most strongly linked to memory, and so a bottle of perfume is really just a bottle of liquid memories. People will come in and they’ll try a scent, and something will take them back to a place or a time or a person in their life.
There’s no right or wrong with perfume – it’s there to add extra depth, a nuanced layer of emotion. It’s an accessory that projects both an expression and impression of you.”
Angela Flanders Perfumery has been described as creating some of the world’s “most captivating scents”. How do you do it?
“I think we stay true to our olfactory palette and traditions of making. Many of our fragrances have proved to be timeless bestsellers because we’re inspired by the base ingredients. We allow them to stand out and take centre stage in each fragrance, and by keeping that as our signature, you can still feel Angela alive in every bottle.
We’re obviously tremendously proud to have been recognised for our work, most notably winning Best Independent Fragrance from the Fragrance Foundation on two occasions. We won the award in 2012 with Precious One, and then again in 2023 with Leather Rosa. For a rather small, traditional artisan perfumery to be recognised by the wider perfume industry is a great accolade, a bit like winning an Oscar!”
How do you develop a scent or a collection?
“It depends. We have five collections and each was created through a different process. But I do love to have a structure or inspiration to surround the composition of a perfume.
Similarly, when we opened here on Artillery Passage we created the Artillery Collection, which is Angela’s interpretation of the classic colognes with aromas of neroli, citrus, classic vetiver and patchouli. They’re historic fragrances that have really stood the test of time, remaining so rich and evocative.
Our other collections each have their own personalities: Noire is exotic and sensual; Signature is our archive of scents; and Florale hones in on exquisite single note flowers to be wonderfully fresh, sweet and feminine.”
Why have you remained so classical in your approach?
“We’ve updated things very gently when it’s been the right moment, but as a business we’ve really remained true to our roots. We stock a selection of our Atelier Collection in Fortnum & Mason’s Perfumery in Piccadilly as well as online, but the real hub and heart of the business is still the shops. We believe that buying perfume is an in-person experience, and we’re delighted when people choose to come in and enjoy exploring the collection.”
You’ll find Kate and Oscar at 4 Artillery Passage, every Tuesday to Saturday.
Start finding your signature scent now.
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