Meet Your Maker: Winder Ton of Urania’s Children
Meet Your Maker: Winder Ton of Urania’s Children
We sat down with Winder Ton for a catch-up about his journey through fragrance, Urania’s Children, and some of the inspiration behind the fragrances we smell today.
Please can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your background?
I started my career as a dietitian and researcher in nutritional sciences. Then, moving to London, I got involved with a wellness brand where I created a line of nutritional supplements. However, alongside these, I had the opportunity to work with Anastasia Brozler, a nose in London that creates bespoke fragrances for Sir Elton John and royalty. So that was the starting point in my perfumery journey. Then, with my science background, I delved into aromachology, which studies the influence of smells on human behaviour.
How would you describe Urania’s Children to your friends? And what is the meaning behind the name of the brand?
Urania’s Children is a genderfluid perfume brand that creates unique fragrances inspired by the fluidity that disrupts the conventional. It’s cool, sophisticated and fun!
Urania is one of the Greek muses representing the celestial bodies. At some point in history, she conflates with Aphrodite, becoming Aphrodite Urania. They believed that she was more celestial than her counterpart, Aphrodite Pandemos and that from her, it is born universal love.
How long after the first spark of an idea to launch a fragrance brand did it take to get to where you are now?
It took me 9 months to create the concept for the product. I always wanted to be an entrepreneur, but you need to be very confident about the idea you are creating. I started with a different project, but because I wasn't really confident with it, it kinda evolved into what Urania’s today. That was the moment I fell in love with the concept!
Were there any unexpected hurdles you encountered? What part gave you the most joy, and which was the most frustrating?
As a creative person, creating is my thing! I love the creation of concepts and stories. The most difficult part was logistics. Especially because lockdown started, so delays and more delays were expected.
We’re so excited to be featuring Lance as our Take Me to Mars Fragrance this month; please, can you describe it in your own words?
Lance is inspired by the confidence and courage of Greek warriors. The concept was to create a unique woody scent that is comfortable to wear and to boost the sense of confidence. The woodiness and the smokiness give that sense. Woods, in general, are rich in terpenes, molecules that are able to decrease stress by lowering cortisol levels; improve breathing; increase the sense of confidence as by serotonin levels, a confidence booster; and even enhance orgasms…all about pleasure!
Lance has this name because of the spear weapon; it’s woody, smokey and metallic. On an interesting note, it also has its name because the Greek warriors used to call their penises “the lance of love”.
How did you meet your perfumer Julia Casanova?
Julia is a young talent from Grasse. We met during lockdown, and I knew she was perfect for the job. A young woman, open-minded and creative! Something that I feel the male-led perfume industry lacks.
How did you develop your fragrance collection? Did you start with a concept that you then worked with your perfumer to translate into a perfume, or were you able to select from a range of formulations your perfumer had available and develop your concepts to accommodate those particular scents?
As an aromachologist, I knew exactly what ingredients I wanted to work with. They were purpose-driven. From there, taking the direction we wanted for each fragrance, the ingredients, the feeling, the innovation, we could elaborate something unique and beautiful!
What do you feel sets Urania’s Children apart from other niche perfume brands? What do you hope your customers get from your work?
Urania’s Children is a very personal project that now I know is related to many. Life is a self-discovery journey, and being able to freely express yourself with identity confidence and celebrating that, using natural elements and science to create self-expression in a bottle, is what sets us apart from other brands. Perfume marketing is changing, but it’s still very tacky and very much based on the archaic idea of sensuality.
Before you developed your brand, was perfume a big part of your life? Did you ever encounter any fragrances that changed the way you thought about scent as a vehicle for self-expression, and, if so, what were they?
I remember my first perfume; I was probably 4 or 5 years old. It was a Looney Tunes perfume bought from the pharmacy, and I was obsessed with Bugs Bunny! I still have the bottle at home. That changed my life. Since then, I have been obsessed with perfumes. Wearing it at all times. I used to sneak to my grandma’s room, aunty's room, and my mum’s friend’s room to smell their perfumes on their dressing table. I was obsessed with bottles, shapes, colours and smells! And the excitement to discover a new scent!
There was a phase when I would only wear one perfume at a time for a year or two. So, people could associate that scent with me, turning it into my signature scent. Now, I wear perfume as a mood setter, whether I'm working from home or clubbing on late nights.
Do you have a favourite from your collection?
I don’t think it is fair to have a favourite, haha! But I wear them on different occasions. Lance, I wear it when I wanna feel like the most important person in the room, unique, rare and powerful. Queer Magic, I think, is the one I wear the most. It’s easy to wear any time of the day; I feel sexy and flirty with it. Mandorla I wear when I want to feel more grounded and serene. It’s cute and angelical.
