The olfactory system is a remarkable thing.
Serving as the body’s sense of smell, it is considered one of the oldest sensory systems with strong ties to the hypothalamus, amygdala, and hippocampus. The hypothalamus manages hormones, working to maintain balance. The amygdala is the overall emotional processing center. Lastly, the hippocampus is considered the body’s memory bank. In short, these parts of the brain (called the limbic system) translate body temperature, heart rate, and hunger as well as processing stimuli allowing perception of emotion, learning, and memory.
More to the point, the olfactory system reports directly to the limbic system. Because of this, and unlike alternative senses, smell can elicit emotional responses or solidify memories.
Prior to modern hygiene regimens, odor was prevalent, and scent was used to convey wealth, status or to punctuate a special occasion. Legend tells of Cleopatra dousing the sails of her ship in perfume prior to sailing to Rome to meet with Mark Antony.
The history of perfume is rich in places like Egypt and France, and it didn’t take long for perfumers to establish themselves in the US.
From Chemist to Pioneer Perfumer
John Blocki emigrated with his household from Prussia in 1850 at the age of five years old. They eventually settled in Chicago. Blocki apprenticed as a chemist when he was a teen and within about five years, he had established his own drug firm. Among other things, Blocki stocked chemicals, perfumes and essential oils.
Blocki established a reputation for his development of perfumes and soon he and his son opened the first retail perfume store in Chicago. Blocki was officially one of the country’s pioneer perfumers and an advocate of the industry, even establishing patents on perfume packaging. When Blocki and his son passed away, the business was operated by Blocki’s daughter for a few years. Eventually the business was sold and faded into the background.
Bringing Back the Base Notes
When Tammy met Tyler Kraemer in grad school, she noticed one small, endearing quirk. Tyler was always smelling things – and he would often say his nose got bored. She started ordering Demeter fragrances as gifts in order to keep his nose occupied. She eventually asked his mother about the origin of this quirk, and discovered the family had a perfumer in its lineage.
Tammy started researching. She soon found Tyler’s family members were not only perfumers, but premiere fine fragrance perfumers. It was not difficult to find information on Blocki; when she looked up fine fragrance in the country, Blocki was usually there.
Tyler and Tammy are established in Colorado Springs and had full-time jobs at this point, but resurrecting family heritage in the form of fine fragrance became too alluring to pass up.
The original fragrances were researched and in 2015, on the 150th anniversary of the original perfumery, Tyler and Tammy launched three modernized fragrances under the Blocki brand. These paid homage to the vintage nature of the original formulas, honoring the history and the story behind the inspiration of these fragrances, while modernizing them for a current clientele.
They work with a top fragrance house to create the perfumes and ensure extraordinary quality, and are mindful in formulating the foundations of their fragrances with scents that echo their conservationist spirit. Blocki fragrances are pyramidal in structure. The top, mid, and base notes allow the fragrance to evolve over the duration of the wear. Blocki released the most recent addition to its fragrance line in 2021; two more are on the docket for release in early 2023.
Local and family-owned, Blocki offers complex, fine fragrances to punctuate your presence and provide an immersive olfactory element as you draft life’s memories.
Website: blocki.com
Facebook + Instagram: @blockiperfumes