Heritage
A house, in its own words
The story of FRAMA starts in 1878 when a small pharmacy opened its doors to the residents of Nyboder, a historic quarter of Copenhagen. The apothecary, known locally as the Apotek, served the community for decades before the building was repurposed as a creative studio in the early 2000s. The transition from medicine to perfume reflects a broader Scandinavian tradition of treating scent as a form of well‑being. In 2015 the brand’s founder and creative director, Niels Stroyer Christensen, launched the first fragrance under the FRAMA name, positioning the studio as a laboratory for olfactory experiments. The following year, St. Pauls Apothecary arrived, drawing on the aromatic heritage of historic European apothecaries while interpreting a modern urban landscape. 2017 saw the release of 1917, a tribute to a pivotal year in Danish history, followed by a pair of 2019 launches – Beratan, inspired by the Indonesian lake, and Deep Forest, an ode to woodland ecosystems. The 2021 addition, Komorebi, references the Japanese term for sunlight filtering through trees, underscoring the brand’s global geographic curiosity. Throughout its evolution, FRAMA has retained the original pharmacy’s address, allowing visitors to experience the continuity between the past and the present. The studio’s open‑plan layout invites collaborators, perfumers and designers to work side by side, echoing the communal spirit of the original neighbourhood shop. Each milestone has been documented in independent fragrance publications, confirming the brand’s steady growth from a local apothecary to an internationally recognised niche perfume house. FRAMA’s creative vision centers on the idea that scent can map a place as precisely as a photograph. The brand’s statements, echoed in interviews with founder Niels Stroyer Christensen, describe each fragrance as a response to a specific landscape, whether it be the arid expanse of the Painted Desert or the quiet hush of a deep forest. This spatial approach treats perfume as a three‑dimensional experience, encouraging wearers to imagine themselves within the environment the scent evokes. The brand values authenticity, opting for transparent ingredient lists and clear sourcing narratives. Sustainability appears in the choice to develop formulas in Denmark, where environmental regulations are stringent, and to produce them in Italy, where traditional perfumery methods minimise waste. FRAMA also emphasizes education, offering scent workshops that explore how geography influences olfactory perception. By grounding its creations in real places and measurable sensory cues, the brand seeks to move beyond fleeting trends toward a lasting dialogue between scent, memory and environment.