EMOTIONAL TIES

Fragrance creator Jo Malone on her little red book, her forever scent and the key to her dreams

with fragrance creator Jo Malone

This letter rack is the only thing I have of my mum Eileen’s. It was expensive – a lot of money for a family living on a council estate – but a source of great pride for her. It reminds me how beautiful she was and how she wanted to be so much more than life had allowed her. These are some of my favourite films – Chef reminds me of my family and how we club together to make things work. I love movie storytelling so much that I now act as an ambassador for the British Film Institute. This key sits on my office desk. It symbolises the front door key of 42 Elizabeth Street, London, the location of my Jo Loves boutique. Starting Jo Loves has been tough and I’ve come close to giving up, but this key reminds me I’m not a quitter. Recently, everything feels as though it’s finally falling into place. My dad Andy painted these for me about 17 years ago as an apology after a big falling out, because he didn’t believe in what I was doing with my life. They’re precious. Whenever I look at them, I imagine what type of fragrance would be in each one. I was about four in this photograph with my grandmother and mum. My family say I’m very similar to Gran – she was an amazing lady, cooked like a dream and was very strict, but I adored her. This red leather folder, a gift for my 50th birthday, goes everywhere with me. It houses all my notes – from scribbled ideas when I’m on a train or in a café, to bullet-point cards when I have to give a speech. It’s my safety net. As my husband Gary [Willcox] handed me this Tiffany diamond star necklace for Christmas in 2013 [the year we opened Jo Loves], he said: ‘You’re a complete star, I love you.’ I haven’t taken it off since. My dear friend and great supporter Joseph Ettedgui’s wife Isabel gave me one of his handkerchiefs after he died in 2010. It used to smell of his cigars and orange blossom. Now it’s my lucky hanky, which I carry in my leather jacket pocket. This Prada handbag was a ‘well done’ present to myself when I finished chemotherapy in New York [I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2003]. I remember walking into the store on Fifth Avenue, feeling so void of being a woman after all that treatment. Buying this bag helped me to feel great about myself again. Pomelo was the first scent I created for Jo Loves [and the first since leaving Jo Malone London in 2006]. It’s my best friend, I wear it every day. It encompasses all the fragrance memories of a wonderful holiday we once had in the Turks and Caicos islands – my son Josh says it smells ‘like home’.