The Barnes Fragrance Fair is an event held in the inner suburbs of London, dedicated to niche and artisanal perfumery. A far cry from major events such as Paris Perfume Week or Esxence, this annual gathering—which is free to attend—is aimed entirely at the general public. Meet Amanda Barnes, the creator of this joyful fragrance village!
Could you introduce yourself and tell us what inspired you to create the Barnes Fragrance Fair?
I’m Amanda Carr, fragrance journalist and trend forecastor. I have been writing about the fragrance industry for around 20 years, for WGSN, We Wear Perfume and others. While observing the global fragrance market, it was clear that British independant fragrance brands were becoming very good, but due to a lack of shelf space from traditional retailers, there was also a giant gap in the market where they could meet the consumer.
Barnes Fragrance Fair was launched as a joyous retail touchpoint where this fast growing wave of talented artisans creating beautiful and interesting fragrances could reach a growing and ultra-engaged audience of scent buyers.
What sets the Barnes Fragrance Fair apart from other events dedicated to perfumery today?
Barnes Fragrance Fair is full of under-the-radar British independent brands with exciting scents, but it’s also bursting with enthusiastic consumers who are thrilled to be part of a growing fragrance community. They’re also keen to learn and immerse themselves in the schedule of workshops, talks and our fragrance walks around Barnes.
Our fair is also very lo-fi and slightly nostalgic in atmosphere, we are ‘real life’ rather than ‘AI-driven’, ‘village fête’ rather than ‘corporate glossiness’. People travel from all around the country to come because we are the only consumer fragrance fair in the UK and we’re only open for one day a year, you could say it’s a limited edition experience. Fragrance isn’t like buying socks, so we try to make the discovery journey to purchase as memorable and exciting as the fragrance itself.
Could you tell us more about the “scented walks” you organize and the experience they offer participants?
We have two types of scented walks this year. The first is our walk around our village of Barnes with scent historian Olga Petrouchenko, from Perfume Daze. Olga curates an olfactive walk around the village, stopping at fragrant spots such as the village pond, the wilder green areas, the Victorian houses, churches and various stores on the high street, and matches them to fragrances that can be found at Barnes Fair. It’s both a lovely experience ( both sessions sell out very quickly) but also another way to discover scent, one that’s a long way from the beauty counter!
Our new Scent Walk, created this year by Aromaco and Edge Retail design studios, will feature eight colourfull scent booths, positioned along the pathway connecting Barnes Fair’s two locations – Barnes Green Centre and Barnes Methodist Hall. Visitors will be able to lean in for a covert puff of scent – via a clever motion sensitive scent spray – which will keep visitors entertained as they walk from one hall to another, again offering a new way to discover scent.
What highlights will mark this edition?
Well we are of course thrilled that Nez will be selling magazines this year at Barnes Fair! This will be our fourth year and we’ve increased our brand offer to over 47 – up from 22 in our first year and we’ve got new additions that range from Gen Z’Alpha inspired collections ( Spots & Stripes) to sponsorship from the UK’s oldest niche brand, Yardley, via a brand that uses the UK’s pottery heritage from Staffordshire for its ceramic scented matchboxes (Gallia Rae) to brands launching new fragrance collections at the fair (Meadow Farm). We have more talks this year too as our visitors are increasingly interested in learning more about fragrance, including an ingredients workshop with Mane and talk on how to use fragrance as a wellness support, hosted by Alice du Parcq.
Visuals: @anniemackinart
- Barnes Fragrance Fair – 16th May
- Visit www.barnesfragrancefair.com
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