Montgomery Taylor - A Fragrance Story

Montgomery Taylor developed his Ambra di Venezia fragrance with New York perfumer, Rayda Vega. The two approached their creative process inspired by Taylor’s glass making experience in Venice.

Taylor describes his sojourn in Murano with friends who operate their glass furnace on the island and offered him access to their workshop during his stay in Venice. On a typical day he traveled by water transport to Murano and took a seat in front of their furnace to draw, design and discuss the glassblowing techniques. Sometimes the artisans allowed him to have a turn with the blowing pipes. He and the team also exchanged their concepts for the art of glass making. In the evening, he returned on a boat to Venice.

At sunset, he walked to a favorite trattoria of the locals. His path to dinner was a memorable passage along canals and over the footbridges. It was a striking evening of Venetian atmosphere. At this hour there were echos of voices from shopkeepers and Venetian artisans. A canopy of amber skies overhead illuminated the end of a day full of rewarding mental and physical work.

On his return to New York he told Rayda Vega the story as the complex blending of his fragrance began. He was striving for that wonderful feeling from his daily experience in Murano, when he savored the images of sunset colors and the fresh breeze sweeping from the Venetian lagoon. The focus continued to be his witness of Venetian skills and of those artisans he met who were empowered by their age old techniques of excellence.

What was achieved in Ambra di Venezia is a 'freshness' reflecting that Venetian experience: a soothing breeze, the mango color of the sunset, and the majesty of Venetian palaces silhouetted in dramatic evening light.

For his bottle design Taylor instills the sunset color. The result is a glowing flacon where a divine fragrance, the art of glass making and the elegance of Venice are richly combined in Ambra di Venezia.