Interview with a Local: Frederick Bouchardy, Founder of Joya Studio
Joya Studio is a New York City-based fragrance design studio founded by Frederick Bouchardy. They opened their flagship location in 2016, in a retrofitted 19th century garage in the Clinton Hill neighborhood. It is Brooklyn’s first industrial perfumery. They host tours, events, workshops and interactive art installations. The hybrid studio space launch was featured in Vogue, The New York Times, WWD, Wallpaper and Hypebeast.
Read on to learn more about the person behind it all. PS – you can visit Joya Studio with us on our Brooklyn Maker’s Experience!
“Since 2006, Joya has designed and produced distinctive scented artifacts with an ethos of balance and beauty: simple, locally-sourced raw materials, sustainable packaging and design, ethical production practices. A perfumer’s full palette is used to paint an indelible image on the senses. Fragrances blend both essential oils and aromas that synthesize molecules found in nature. The essence of living flowers, plants and herbs is captured at their most vivid.”
Frederick Bouchardy
How did you come to open Joya Studio?
A design project became a consumer product, which fortunately was met with a favorable consumer and editorial response. Also luckily—my parents have experience with design and manufacturing, and an exceptional team was assembled.
Can you tell us a little bit more about your background?
I’m a native New Yorker and studied English and poetry my entire life. Thought I had found my calling as a journalist, but—as it turns out—there is another creative outlet altogether that allows me to tell all kinds of stories. Joya, aside from being a global brand and industrial maker of scents for other artists and companies, is a team—and we get to express ourselves daily.
What do you love about owning Joya Studio?
Learning and storytelling.
What do you think makes Joya Studio so special?
We work in art-forms (perfumery, ceramics, for instance) about which people are extremely passionate. And we are addressing the fragrance industry’s hot button topics—natural versus synthetic, transparency of ingredients, user experience and retail challenges—head on. So, in this way—in addition to producing beautiful objects and hopefully helping to provide moments of beauty—we are also directly involved in a dialogue that I believe one could consider important.
I know you work with lots of well known companies designing special candles or fragrances. What’s been your favorite collaboration?
Honestly, I appreciate them all or we wouldn’t get involved. This is the truth. Right now, I am excited about our new signature scent identity for the AC Hotels and a cute candle collaboration with Camilla Engstrom.
