S12 Ep3: Jo Malone CBE: Founder & Creative Director of Jo Loves
Sep 23, 2021
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Jo Malone CBE, the founder and creative director of Jo Loves, is renowned for her iconic fragrances and remarkable entrepreneurial journey. In this engaging discussion, Jo shares her extraordinary sense of smell, revealing how it has aided health diagnoses and sparked her passion for scents. She recounts nostalgic memories tied to childhood Chinese meals and highlights her resilience through adversity, emphasizing the power of self-belief. Jo's story showcases the intersection of creativity, perseverance, and the emotional connections we have with scents and tastes.
Jo Malone's inspiring journey highlights resilience, proving that anyone can achieve their dreams despite early setbacks and negative expectations.
Her extraordinary sense of smell, enhanced by synesthesia, not only fuels her creativity in fragrance but also serves as a profound health diagnostic tool.
Deep dives
The Journey of Jo Malone: Resilience and Success
Jo Malone's journey from a challenging childhood to becoming a successful entrepreneur is a testament to resilience and determination. Despite being told by teachers that she would never achieve anything, she has built two global fragrance brands, showcasing her belief that everyone can succeed regardless of their background. Her story is marked by a keen sense of smell, which plays a crucial role in her fragrance creations and personal experiences. Jo emphasizes that dreams belong to the individual and it's up to them to make those dreams a reality.
The Power of Smell and Synesthesia
Jo Malone has an extraordinary sense of smell, which has been compared to that of medical detection dogs, allowing her to identify health issues in others. Her unique ability is enhanced by synesthesia, where her senses intertwine, causing her to associate smells with colors and even sounds. She recounts a pivotal moment when she detected a severe health issue in her husband long before doctors could, demonstrating the importance of her heightened sensory perception. This connection to smell informs her creative process, as it serves as a powerful memory trigger for her, allowing her to draw inspiration from past experiences.
The Comfort of Food: Childhood Memories and Celebrations
Food plays a significant role in Jo's life, often associated with comfort, celebration, and family traditions. Chinese food stands out as her childhood favorite, symbolizing good times spent with her father after market days, fostering a sense of joy and togetherness. Even now, Chinese cuisine serves as a touchstone for family gatherings, evoking nostalgia and happiness. Jo's approach to food is rooted in simplicity and ingenuity, as she emphasizes the importance of minimizing waste through creative cooking, demonstrating her frugality and respect for ingredients.
Overcoming Adversity: A New Beginning After Cancer
Jo's battle with breast cancer and subsequent loss of her sense of smell marked a significant turning point in her life. Initially given a grim prognosis, she faced the challenge with resilience, but the loss of her superpower was deeply disheartening. After getting through treatment, she came to terms with her decision to leave Jo Malone London, which she believed was a mistake at the time. Ultimately, this experience led to the creation of her new fragrance brand, Jo Loves, where her passion for scent and creativity was reignited, resulting in the successful launch of her fragrance Pomelo.
Wow! Can't believe we have reached the 100th episode! A very exciting milestone - thank you for all your support and for listening each week.
My guest today is Jo Malone CBE. I’m sure most of you listening will be familiar with her name. Your mind is probably instantly transported to a world of delicious scents and candles – two things synonymous with Jo.
Jo Malone CBE is responsible for creating some of the world’s most-loved fragrances ever since she launched her cult namesake brand in 1994. After leaving Jo Malone in 2006, Jo launched Jo Loves which is about ‘all the things that makes her heart beat’.
But what you might not know is the incredible story of how she got to where she is today. A story which involves a magician, a famous Countess and her incredible sense of smell that took her from life on a council estate, leaving school with no qualifications to becoming one of the biggest success stories of recent times by creating two global brands . Her story really shows the resilience of a person who was told by teachers that she would never get anywhere in life.
Jo believes that her story proves that no matter what life throws at you, if you continue to get back up again you can succeed. She has said that she wants people to hear her story, and to think “if she can do it, I can definitely do it.”
Thank you to our sponsor Cooks Matches. Find them on Instagram @cooksmatches and head to their website www.cooksmatches.co.uk to find out more.
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