Fragrant Beginnings
Angela Flanders established her original perfumery in East London, in the heart of the famous Columbia Road Flower Market, in 1985. She set about to restore this perfect example of a Victorian shop. After a successful career in television costume design, she first indulged her lifelong passion for perfume by turning her skills to designing elegant Pot-Pourri, gathering rare and exotic materials, creating subtle perfumes, decorating with fragrance.
1985 - The Start at Columbia Road
'I suppose I loved doing it because I’d always enjoyed making things and transforming things. With the pot pourris I think I was enjoying conjuring up atmospheres for rooms – scents that might suggest the past or a mood.'
1995 - Aromatics
After Mitchelle Beazley published her book Aromatics in 1995, and further inspired by her fascination with the history of perfume and the beauty of natural ingredients, Angela Flanders began to work with fine personal fragrance; creating scents from her imagination and her skill as a perfumer.
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1997 - Mr Severs house
Mr seversInspired by potpourri from the 18th century, Angela created this cult fragrance for the Silk Weavers House in Spitalfields.
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2007 - Noire Collection
Collection NoireFigue Noire & Oudh Noire were Angela's entrance in darker, more intense notes from ambers and oudh, introducing the Noire Collection.
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2011 - Precious
Precious OneAngela created Precious One for her daughter Kate and then won Best New Independent Perfume at the FiFi awards in 2012.
2012 - Cult Perfumes
Recognised in the book Cult Perfumes by Tessa Williams as part of the 'world's most captivating scents'.
2012 - Expansion
2012 saw our first expansion to our second location to Artillery Passage near historic Spitalfields Market.
2012 - Aqua Alba
In 2012, Angela created Aqua Alba after meeting with Johhnie Walker Master Blender Jim Beveridge.
'It really was the meeting of two worlds. The parallels between the blending process, despite the vast difference in production scale, was surprising. My starting point was the evocative aromas of malt whisky – it was the very essence of the peaty Scottish landscape, honeyed heather and woodsmoke that I sought to capture with Aqua Alba.'
2015 - 30 Years
Cult favourite fragrance Columbia Rose celebrates 30 years on Columbia Road.
A tradition evolving...
While our packaging still resembles the originals, we've continued to evolve as our brand grows.
The Legacy Continues
As our brand continues to grow, we are conscious of how relevant our heritage remains to our future. Kate Evans, Angela's daughter took over the business in 2017, continuing the tradition of crafting high quality fragrances for the perfume connoisseur.
2018 - Lawn
The first fragrance for the Atelier Collection created by Kate captures the calm sense of renewal inspired by a dewy summer’s morning, as evoked by Vicci Bentley’s meditative poem.
2019 - Taffeta
Kate's second perfume for the Atelier collection was inspired by the elegant dry and mysterious quality of silk taffeta, which appears to change with the light.
Taffeta was a finalist for the 2019 Fragrance Foundation Awards for Best New Independent Fragrance.
2023 - Leather Rosa
The latest addition to Kate's collection, Leather Rosa won Best New Independent Fragrance at the 2023 Fragrance Foundation Awards.
