GLYPHS Letter Parfum

“Everyone who can write must know the origin of our alphabet,” says artist Rob Stolte. When Stolte grew up, he had difficulty reading and writing. He would rather draw something than write it down. It frustrated him and he started to wonder where the shape of letters comes from.

When Stolte discovered that letters are abstract images, this all changed. Take the historical origin of our letter A, for example: it is actually the head of an ox. Turn the letter A upside down and you can still see the horns and head. Stolte realized that the way a word is displayed can convey much more than just the letters. “It offered me the opportunity to turn my weakness into a strength: express myself through typographic images and letters,” says Stolte.

It made Stolte wonder if our alphabet could be transferred in other - sensible - ways. Wouldn't it be exciting to smell a story? Or to 'read' by eating? Through these experiments, writing and reading enter the realm of intuition, memory and new ways to use our senses to make connections that enable us to communicate: a holistic and synesthetical approach to our alphabet.

This fact was the startingpoint for the creation of the perfumes (together with masterperfumer Mark Buxton and David Chieze). Since the first alphabet was carved in stone, the name GLYPHS was given to the project. It means 'to engrave, to carve'. “Now we know where our letters come from, we also know how they smell,” says Stolte. “For the first time in history we can create a scent-based writing system.”