The Journey
How Spiritus Florum came to be — and what drives every fragrance I make.
Spiritus Florum
Latin: 'Spirit of the Flowers'
I'm Clare Jones, and I formulate, blend, and bottle all of my fragrances by hand. I thought about paying for a standard photoshoot — scent strip and all — perhaps surrounded by rows of tiny bottles. But this little micro house was built on a foundation of unrelenting perseverance and the unwavering support of my husband, who therefore belongs here, even if he thinks this picture should just be me. 😊
My journey began with a simple desire in 2022 — after collecting fragrances during the pandemic, I wanted a violet oud scent I couldn't find anywhere else.
The Beginning
My desire became an obsession. Creating my first perfume took two years, three major revisions, and over 200 iterations to complete. Rhapsody in Violet was first sketched out in August 2023 and was completed in June 2025.
Learning the Craft
To learn the art of creating perfumes, I completed a two-year course at the Perfumery Art School UK under the lovely Isabelle Gelle Merchant, focusing on all-natural fragrances. This gave me a deep appreciation for the beauty and complexity of natural materials and isolates from all around the world, as well as a grounding in what is needed to produce and sell fragrances legally and safely.
My Hope
Every fragrance I create carries the same passion and dedication that went into my first. I create slowly, inspired by movies, music, video games, and places. Italy has a special place in my heart — I think often of creating a perfume inspired by Rome that would be worthy of that association.
Perfume is a luxury, especially in these times. It can transport you into the past, lend you armour in the present, or make you dream of the future. I hope you love wearing these fragrances as much as I loved creating them.
Imagery & AI
How Spiritus Florum is made and shown
Every Spiritus Florum fragrance is formulated, batched, bottled and packaged entirely by me, by hand, in small batches.
The images on the product pages are photographs of the real thing, shot on a DSLR, with only standard post-processing like sharpening and colour correction. What arrives in the post is what's in those photos.
Campaign and editorial imagery works differently. Those images begin with photographs of the actual bottle, which I use AI to place into the settings I imagine for each fragrance, such as a sprinkle of violet flowers. The finished scenes are then AI-rendered, because many tools have to create the entire image including the bottle, and can't change only the background. I would like eventually to be able to commission more of this work from human professionals; for now, AI lets a one-woman studio create campaign imagery that would otherwise need professional studio, location and post-production resources.
Fragrances still in development are shown with concept imagery only until their final packaging exists.
I mention this because I don't want to sell any product by omission if knowing this information would affect your purchasing choice. When the studio has grown to accommodate the costs of professional photography and creative production, I will very happily amend this statement. 😊
"Every fragrance tells a story. Mine began with a dream of violet and oud, and continues with each new scent I create. I hope these fragrances become part of your story too."