Heritage
A house, in its own words
The story of OSM begins with Kyle Mott-Kannenberg, a self-taught perfumer who spent years studying the craft before launching his own house. According to interviews, Mott-Kannenberg previously operated Centric Scents, another fragrance venture that served as his entry into perfume creation. That experience gave him the foundation to build what would become OSM. In late 2018, he released the first fragrances under the OSM banner, choosing the name Our Scent Memories as a direct statement of the brand's thematic purpose. The name reflects his belief that fragrance operates as a direct conduit to memory and emotional recall, more powerfully than visual or auditory triggers. OSM emerged from the independent fragrance community rather than traditional fragrance industry channels. Mott-Kannenberg has described his journey as building a fragrance house brick by brick, learning the historical context of perfumery while simultaneously pushing against its established conventions. The brand's experimental nature stems from its outsider position, unencumbered by the expectations that shape releases from established luxury houses. Rather than adhering to seasonal release cycles or traditional olfactory families, Mott-Kannenberg creates based on personal inspiration and thematic obsessions. This approach has produced a scattered but cohesive catalog of scents that resist easy classification. The house has remained a small, creator-driven operation throughout its existence, with Mott-Kannenberg maintaining direct involvement in every aspect from composition to community engagement.
OSM operates from a conviction that scent and memory are inseparable. Mott-Kannenberg believes fragrance should function as a trigger for personal recollection rather than merely a pleasant accessory. This philosophy shapes every composition, where each scent is built around an emotional or experiential core rather than a simple olfactory profile. The genderless positioning reflects a deliberate rejection of the fragrance industry's traditional male/female segmentation. Mott-Kannenberg has spoken publicly about the limitations of marketing fragrances by gender, arguing that scent preference should be unconstrained by demographic assumptions. His approach treats each fragrance as an individual artistic statement that exists outside conventional marketing categories. The brand's experimental label stems from this refusal to follow industry norms. OSM fragrances are not developed with market research or trend forecasting in mind. Instead, Mott-Kannenberg follows creative impulses, cultural references, and personal memories as they arise. This methodology produces scents with unusual combinations and unexpected narratives. The titles carry significant philosophical weight, functioning as conceptual frameworks that guide the wearer's interpretation. Rather than abstract fragrance notes, OSM invites wearers to engage with the emotional and cultural associations the names evoke.