Fragrances with a Northern Soul: Conversation with Nōrtean Founder Arturs Petersons

Written by Eveline Nagajeva

Few would dare to launch a niche perfume brand in a country with virtually no fragrance industry, like Latvia. Yet for Arturs Petersons, founder of Nōrtean, it was a dream he was determined to realize.

Arturs Petersons / Photos provided by the brand

Since its debut in 2023, the brand has grown into a collection of five fragrances, each rooted in northern spirit and personal inspiration. Blending the wildness of Baltic nature with the symbolism of myths and dreams, Nōrtean is already carving out its voice in the world of niche perfumery.

I had the pleasure of speaking with Arturs about the beginnings of Nōrtean, the vision behind his work, and the story of Serpense, his newest creation.

To begin, could you introduce Nōrtean in your own words and tell the story of how it all began?

The story of Nōrtean began as a search to capture the northern spirit in a scent. It is the result of a journey that had been unfolding in solitude for years, with perfumery becoming a language through which I could reveal my identity and allow my creations to express the visions I had in mind.

What led you to create a perfume house — was it a professional background in fragrance, or more of a sudden spark of inspiration?

My relationship with scent has always been instinctive. I have navigated the world through scent for as long as I can remember and that instinct eventually grew into passion. I am a self-taught perfumer, and that freedom has allowed me to wander into unexplored territories, shaping my own way of creation. In the learning process I became fascinated by the hidden architecture of scent, as if it were a secret language to be decoded. About ten years ago, I started collecting aromatic materials, teaching myself their language, and learning how to translate emotions and stories into scent. Nōrtean grew out of that gradual process, from countless revelations, years of obsession, patience and discovery.

Latvia isn’t really on the map yet when it comes to niche perfumery. Did that make the start more difficult, or did you see it as a chance to stand out?

When I started, I didn’t think too much about Latvia’s place in the world of perfumery, I was focused on creating and finding my own voice, in a way, that gave me the freedom to offer my perspective on the craft.

Being both founder and perfumer must be quite a journey. What has felt harder so far creating the perfumes or building the brand around them?

I see these things as inseparable. The perfumes shape the brand, and the brand reflects the perfumes, they evolve symbiotically as storytelling mediums.

Latvia has such dramatic seasons and beautiful landscapes. Do these elements influence your work? And is there a place — a forest, a meadow, or even a hidden corner of the city — that feels especially powerful or inspiring to you, maybe even one you’ve wanted to capture in a perfume?

Absolutely. My earliest memories are of the garden at my family’s countryside house, a place overflowing with fragrant flowers and herbs. The summers I spent there felt like living in a sanctuary. Those impressions became part of my inner being and eventually found their way into the perfumes I create.

Let’s talk about the creative process. When I smelled your scents, I found them very evocative, almost nostalgic. Where do you usually draw inspiration from?

For me, inspiration is never fixed to one source, it shifts with each project. My first three creations — Ertale, Ashen, and Herbaria — were inspired by the Baltic flora, as I sought to express its raw beauty through perfume. For my later fragrances, I began with a story to be told in scent, which led me to approach perfumery as a narrative, using ingredients that reveal the meaning of the perfume. For example, when I was entrusted to create the perfume Liblium for the release of Biblihigianse’s book, I was asked to make the scent of the book. Rather than creating a single olfactory snapshot, I approached this dark academia inspired perfume through the life cycle of the book: its birth in the press, its presence in the paper, and finally, its lasting essence held within the shadowed shelves of an ancient library.

Do you work more intuitively, following your instincts, or do you map out a formula in detail before you start? Could you share a little behind-the-scenes about how you create? And do you have a favorite ingredient that you’re always tempted to use in all your creations, one you almost have to stop yourself from adding every time?

Usually, I work guided by intuition, experimenting with aromatic materials and exploring different combinations and balances between them. Planning the structure of a composition is also an important part of my process, so I prepare formulas before blending. When choosing materials for a composition, I consider the purpose of each one, aiming to reduce unnecessary noise and create blends where every ingredient carries meaning relevant to the perfume. Sourcing materials is also an essential part of my creative process. I am always seeking new and unusual ingredients to incorporate into compositions.

One of the ingredients I find myself returning to is patchouli. There are many nuances to this wonderful plant, and it carries a lot of complexity and depth. Its darkness tempts me constantly, and I often have to restrain myself to ensure it doesn’t dominate the composition.

This year you launched your fifth fragrance in the Nōrtean collection — Serpense. Congratulations, I find it truly unique! Could you share the story behind it, and how that surreal vision turned into a perfume? What were the key notes or accords that felt essential to bring it to life?

Thank you, I am very grateful to hear that. The story of Serpense is very personal to me, as it was inspired by a dream I had in my early youth in which I was bitten by a flower. The perfume became a way to bring that dream to life. In the composition, I tried to evoke it, balancing beauty with danger and allowing the floral radiance to reveal its venomous side.

I chose the calla lily as the symbol of the perfume because, to me, this flower represents a botanical version of the serpent in the Garden of Eden. To further emphasize this allegory, I created an apple accord for the composition. Ivy was used to reflect the perfume’s venomous character, while absinthe to symbolise intoxication and the hallucinatory, almost surreal nature of desire. I also used rose, whose hidden thorns merge purity with subtle menace. Another important element in the composition is boswellia extract, historically, frankincense from the boswellia tree was so precious, because snakes were said to guard the tree. All of these references come together in the perfume Serpense.

How personal are your perfumes to you — do you always weave your own memories and stories into them?

Each creation carries fragments of my life, memories and dreams. They are deeply personal, but once released into the world, they take on new meanings through the people who wear them.

Looking ahead, what do you imagine for Nōrtean’s future? Do you see the house staying small and artisanal, or do you have plans to expand? And where do you see your brand’s place in the wider world of niche perfumery?

The most important thing for me is to keep the artistic vision of the house alive. I am grateful that more people are discovering Nōrtean, and I will always strive to stay true to its soul. In the world of niche perfumery, I see Nōrtean as a voice seeking to express the poetry of scent, authentic and personal. That said, there is much on the horizon, new creations and ways to tell stories through scent, which I hope to reveal in time.

Thank you for sharing your story. I wish Nōrtean a bright future, with creativity and inspiration that never fade.