Making dollars from scents

These jobs are a little bit on the nose — but in a good way, writes David Wilson.
The average office's strip-lit sterility can drive you crazy. Imagine, however, if you could swap death-warmed-up corporate drudgery for sensuality. Imagine if you could work amid a swirl of intoxicating aromas.

It happens. Prepare to meet some Aussies who live that dream, professionally operating in the exhilarating realm of scent. None of the case studies makes big bucks from working with the sense locked into that seat of emotion, the brain's limbic system.

Many scarcely make a living. Still, all exult in their fragrant field, whatever dynamics nudged them into it. Memorably, in one case the spark was a bad smell in a tight space.

Spice blender: 

Angela Pnini When she began her aromatherapy career in 2007, Angela Pnini, 39, already had a passion for herbs and spices, which she describes as "nature's gifts". Pnini is drawn to their history, mystical connections and healing properties, plus their tastes that enable you to make "magnificent" dishes.

Now, she makes and markets aromatic blends, deploying freshly roasted spices and herbs, nuts and seeds. She says she loves her products' smells and textures - their "personality". Her job demands "a raw passion for the product", self-motivation and "vision". The hardest part, she says, is keeping accounts.

Nurseryman: David Muller
David Muller, 40, moved into nursery work after years working indoors as a consultant weakened his back muscles, leaving him with a herniated disc. Now, Muller grows frangipani trees in Noosa.

To do the work, you need to be hardened to the summer sun and prepared to get dirty. The scent of a frangipani flower is a big perk, though. He compares it to an expensive perfume.

"It feels as healthy and soothing as the fresh country air itself and energising like the smell of coffee," he says. "It's as exhilarating as seeing a kangaroo jump through the nursery or a 2.5-metre python curled up near the greenhouse."

Perfumer: Belinda Cook
Belinda Cook, 42, designs and sells fragrances for men and women. Cook was partly inspired by a perfumery course that she "absolutely loved".

"There was also a fart in an elevator that catapulted me into action," she says, adding that she decided "to reclaim personal airspace for the better". After she started trading, the learning curve was huge, she says.

Her work demands passion, focus and meticulous record-keeping, among other things. But she revels in the evocativeness of scents. Like a song, an aroma can magically whisk you back to a particular memory, she says.

Another perk is the feeling of fulfilment she gets when a fragrance she is devising "comes together". A cold, however, can cause havoc with product design.

Incense vendor: Kim Wood
Kim Wood stocks more than 80 kinds of incense from Japan, Indonesia (Bali), India and North America. Wood, 49, first cottoned on to the power of smell when her son was hospitalised with a serious illness.

One day, when she was roving the hospital corridors, a passing cleaner sprayed a floor stain with an orange oil solution.

"That smell of orange was so familiar and comforting, I took to stalking the cleaner just so I could smell the orange spray," Wood says.

She wound up starting her own business that she hopes will eventually support her travel habit.

Meanwhile, if an incense is good, she finds it "peaceful, relaxing, uplifting".

Cheap incense, by contrast, gives her a headache. The worst thing about working with burning sticks is the constant immersion. "Olfactory fatigue sets in," she says.

Aromatherapist: Julie Nelson
Never a nine-to-five type, Julie Nelson, 53, always disliked routine. Nelson discovered aromatherapy two decades ago when a friend introduced her to essentials oils by heating some in a burner.

Hooked, she began experimenting with patchouli, geranium and bergamot and applied her knowledge to help her daughter, who has a chronic illness.

Among other qualities, a practising aromatherapist needs empathy, understanding and patience, according to Nelson, who loves concocting personalised products and teaching.

She has lectured widely on aromatherapy, fuelled by enthusiasm, which is vital. "When we love what we do, we do it well," she says.

The worst side of her work is the admin, in particular that common bugbear, tax. A perk is that she can use aromatherapy on her pets.
mycareer.com.au