The LAB, interviu cu Mario Galindo

I appreciate the opportunity to have me on your blog and be able to tell things that very few people know about me and The Lab. Incredibly I am not a chemist, although these days I do a lot of chemistry, I never thought about dedicating myself to this, in fact I studied aviation , then design and business administration. I currently live in Cali Colombia, I have lived a large part of my life here, I run the company alone, so day to day is a little hectic. The lab is divided into 3, perfumes, olfactory marketing and hotel products. The 3 divisions have developed over time and allowed me to learn more about this beautiful art. My Day starts at 5 am, I workout and at 8 am I am already working in the workshop. Some days I leave them to mix perfumes, others use them for administrative tasks and other days I dedicate them to the production and development of all the products. So it has been for the last 8 years that I decided to start creating the brand.

Do you remember that I told you that I did not study chemistry? The reason why I chose to be a perfumer is precisely for that same reason. I never looked for it. The perfumes looked for me. My first encounter with them were when I was fifteen years old. When I left school I was very young, I was afraid to go to college at that age, so my mom decided to put me to work with a friend of her who imported perfumes from Panama …. And that’s how it all began … My father, my sponsor and his friends bought everything I had, I learned to choose the brands that sold the most and I was doing well, so I was excited to earn money selling perfumes … Then came the university and I couldn’t make it, I quit… I wanted to earn money not to study, so my father gave me a small place in the downtown to sell perfumes and I did it for several years … I learned from the market and trained my nose, which was key
But it was only until I moved to Miami USA. When I met a Colombian with a French grandfather. I rented a room in his apartment and although it was very private among them, I ended up finding out and after telling him that I had some experience selling he decided to teach me about alchemy …. It is a world full of tricks and secrets with many ways to achieve high qualities, but the way I learned was totally artisanal that was what caught me … In the 20th century and us doing perfumes as in the ancient era .. It was funny but for me it was special, full of mysticism. Initially it was a hobby. Nothing serious, then I began to make my mixes, they were very basic and little elaborated but I already had good quality. I was 25 years old at that time. I did not pay enough attention to anything obviously I was not ready to start my own brand, but at least I kept practicing and looking for strange materials while working on other things to be able to live. Never stop reading, researching and experimenting. Until in 2010 I participate in the creation and development of a perfume for a distinguished brand in my country and won the contract. They were the first 500 perfumes, developed by me! With the money I made I decided to start with the lab, which had always existed but I had never had the opportunity to try it as a business. Since that day I do not dedicate myself to anything else.

I will never forget the day I made my first perfume. It was a mixture of white sandalwood and a base of bergamot fixed with coumarin. It was not much, it was a strong mixture with oriental notes, where I was going they asked me what I was wearing . I started to understand that I had a talent and that it was something that could explode.

Now there are so many but in my country it is difficult to find them. I am a Vetiver fanatic, I use it a lot … the oak peel, the vanilla, the tangerines …… are my favorite I have to import almost everything I use.  I distill my own alcohol from sugarcane. I already work with the oud that was hard to get, now I’m working with amber gris and cannabis terpenes hard to find and use, I’m planning a good collection of perfumes with these ingredients.

The failure smells bitter and tastes salty it also hurts , I have had it many times, it is part of the day to day of the lab, you experiment with something, then you make mistakes and finally learn, and you repeat it until it is perfect, the failure must be learned to understand, when it happens … Why happens … What do you have to learn … what are you doing wrong? the lab started in 2011 and it was a very nice store to create fragrances and I bet everything I had to that laboratory and it broke 3 times in different sectors of my city .. every time I relocated I was worse off. That moment I felt that what I wanted to tell was not understood. So I closed the store and started working on the networks and exhibiting the work that had been done, I continued investing in myself and specializing in chemistry, I went to college to improve my formulations, develop products for big brands and assimilate the failure in a different way. And look here I am. But Everytime I fail in something it always smells bitter to me.

RO

Apreciez oportunitatea de a aparea pe blogul tau si sa le spun oamenilor lucruri despre mine si despre marca mea TheLab, lucruri putin stiute. E poate incredibil, dar eu nu sunt chimist, desi in vremea asta am multa treaba in zona chimiei. Nu m-am gandit vreodata ca o sa ma dedic acestui domeniu, de fapt am studiat aviatie, aboi design si administrarea afacerilor. Acum locuiesc in Cali, Columbia. O mare parte din timp aici am trait si acum ma ocup aici singur de afacere. De asta programul e uneori haotic. The Lab este impartit in 3 parti, parfumerie, marketing olfactiv si produse dedicate hotelurilor. Am dezvoltat fiecare parte treptat si asa am invatat acest mestesug minunat, Ziua mea incepe la 5 AM, la 8 AM sunt deja in atelier si lucrez. Intr-o zi ma ocup de parfumuri, in alta zi de treburile administrative si in alte zile incerc sa dezvolt produse noi. Asa a fost in acesti 8 ani de cand am creat marca.

Ti-am zis ca nu am studiat chimia.? Ei, motivul pentru care am ales sa fiu parfumier cam tot asa e, nu am cautat asta, parfumurile m-au cautat pe mine. Prima mea intalnire cu parfumurile a fost la 15 ani. Dupa scoala, imi era teama sa merg la liceu si atunci mama m-a pus sa lucrez cu un prieten de al ei care importa parfumuri din Panama. Si asa inceput, tatal meu, prietenii cumparau de la mine, eram asa de incantat ca puteam castiga atat de bine vanzand parfumuri. A urmat facultatea, dar nu m-am tinut de ea. Tatal meu mi-a dat un loc unde sa imi fac mica mea afacere si asa mi-am antrenat nasul, practic asta e cheia. La un moment dat m-am mutat la Miami, in USA. Acolo am cunoscut un columbian care avea un bunic francez, locuiam in casa lui si i-am castigat increderea. M-am invatat din tainele alchimiei. Suntem in secoul XX si noi faceam parfumurile ca in vremurile de odinioara. La inceput a fost amuzant pentru mine, mi se parea fascinant tot acest misticism, nu luam chestia asta prea in serios, dar era deja un hobby. Incepusem sa fac tot felul de amestecuri, erau simple, dar incepusem deja sa fac lucruri de calitate.  Aveam 25 de ani, nu ma gandeam atunci sa incep eu o marca, o afacere in acest sens. Munceam si altceva ca sa imi castig existenta, dar experimentam materii noi, ingrediente ciudate, faceam experimente si citeam foarte mult pe tema asta. In 2010am participat la crearea si dezvoltarea unui parfum pentru un brand cunoscut din tara mea si am castigat contractul.  Au fost primele 500 de parfumuri facute de mine! Din ce am castigat acolo, mi-am inceput propria afacere si asa am continuat pana azi. De atunci sunt dedicat laboratorului meu.

Nu am sa uit niciodata ziua in care am creat primul meu parfum. A fost un amestec de lemn de santal albcu o baza de bergamota fixata cu cumarin. Nu era mare lucru, era un amestec de arome orientale si atunci pe unde mergeam oamenii ma tot intrebau ce parfum port. Atunci am realizat ca am talent si ca treaba asta poate sa insemne ceva.

Sunt multe ingrediente si in tara mea e dificil sa le gasesti. Imi place la nebunie veitverul. Imi place insa si coaja de stejar, vanilia. mandarinele.Imi plac ult si trebuie sa le import. Folosesc in distilat alcoolul facut de mine din trestie de zahar. Lucrez si cu oud, desi a fost mai greu de gasit. Acum lucrez si cu amber gris.  cu cannabis terpenes, greu de gasit, insa am in plan sa lansez parfumuri noi cu aceste materii noi.

Esecul miroase amar, e sarat si doare. Au fost multe momente de acest gen si chiar sunt dureroase aceste momente. Si in laborator experimentez, uneori nu iese, iar repet, invat si tot asa. La inceput am avut ghinion cu locul unde mi-am facut laboratorul, magazinul, am schimbat locul de 3 ori. Mereu parca mergea mai rau si aveam senzatia ca ceea ce spun nu este inteles. Am inchis magazinul o perioada si am lucrat doar ca sa arat ce pot sa fac. M-am reintors la studii ca sa invat chimie, sa imbunatatesc formuele, am facut produse pentru alte marci si iata-ma astazi. Dar de fiecare data gustul esecului este amar.

Sursa poze: Mario Galindo, The Lab