Heritage
A house, in its own words
Piper & Perro emerged from the collaboration between Tom Jansen and Amanda Buhse, two Canadians who shared a vision for a more inclusive approach to fragrance. The name itself hints at the founders' playful sensibility, drawing from the Spanish words for pepper (piper) and dog (perro) to create something memorable and approachable. Rather than building toward mass-market appeal, the founders spent years developing their concept of 'Perfume for People' before releasing their debut fragrance. Arid arrived in 2018 as one of the house's earliest compositions, establishing the brand's appetite for unexpected olfactory territory. The subsequent years brought a steady expansion of the catalog, with Ruby, Lepus, Vine, Bound, Zest, Bon, Froth, and Berg each exploring distinct sensory territories. By 2024, the house had developed a devoted following among those seeking alternatives to traditional gendered fragrance marketing. The Atelier, founded by Tom Jansen as a space combining professional expertise with narrative-driven perfumery, became a cornerstone of the brand experience. Guests discover the space organically, blending fragrances and taking home their own creations. The queer-founded identity of the house informs its refusal to categorize or limit its audience, treating scent as a personal language rather than a demographic assignment.
Piper & Perro operates from a conviction that fragrance belongs to everyone. The founders reject the traditional binary of masculine and feminine scents, treating these labels as arbitrary constraints rather than useful categories. This perspective shapes how the house approaches composition, marketing, and naming alike. Rather than steering customers toward fragrances deemed appropriate for their gender, the brand presents each scent as an open invitation. The philosophy extends to geography as well. The house describes its fragrances as having no borders, suggesting an intentional cosmopolitan sensibility that resists regional or cultural exclusivity. Tom Jansen approaches each composition as a form of storytelling, embedding narrative elements into the structure of a fragrance. This method transforms scent-making from a purely technical exercise into something more emotionally resonant. The Atelier experience crystallizes this approach, offering guests the opportunity to participate in their own fragrance narrative through hands-on blending. The brand's social media presence reinforces these values, with content that treats fragrance as an expressive tool rather than a status marker.