If you design it, they will sniff it.
That’s the hope held by Bond No. 9, the high end perfume company that released a scent called “Brooklyn” last month.
“Brooklyn’s” bottle, covered in graffiti-like street art, generated so many strong opinions that the company decided to give the public a shot at designing it.
“We realized we’d better offer more options, if we knew what was good for us,” the company said, tongue in cheek, in a statement. Throughout March, Bond No. 9 will be holding a “Brooklyn” bottle design competition, asking anyone and everyone to design the vessel that will contain the scent of borough, a heady amalgam of cedar, leather, grapefruit and cardamom, to name a few of the notes.
“If you feel you have a different vision, submit it to us, company founder Laurice Rahme recently told this paper.
Two winners will be chosen in April, and both designs will be put in production, with the winner’s names displayed on the bottles. Additionally, each winner will receive one bottle of “Brooklyn” per month, for a year.
According to Sophia Panych, Bond No. 9’s public relations coordinator, contestants are being asked that the design fit with the outline of Bond No. 9 distinctive flacon, including the circular subway token logo. Any style, figurative or abstract “is fine with us,” she said.
The scent is said to capture “the vibe of edgy new Brooklyn.” Rahme said it is “unconventional and audacious.”
Inspiration can be localized, deriving from a neighborhoods like Canarsie, Midwood, or Park Slope, or more global, deriving from the idea of Brooklyn itself.
Any medium is acceptable, the company noted, including oil, acrylic, crayon, pastel, or make-up. “Even a ballpoint pen or pencil will do,” she said.
Completed designs should be submitted to contactus@bondno9.com, or by conventional mail, Bond No. 9, 9 Bond Street, New York , NY 10012 by March 31, 2009.
