When I was on my way to meet with Matt, I was nervous. I was about to interview the cat behind nooka. Dude oozes cool, is featured on all the “cool” blogs and here I was about to sit and chat with the cat. Well, an ease came over me when he greeted me in a regular ole white t-shirt and jeans. His office was filled with so many toys. I just wanted to reach out and grab a few. While we chatted, I sat on a swiss ball. I’ll admit now, my lower back started to hurt after awhile but I couldn’t let on.
Matt is passionate about design. He’s smart, funny but he really is a cool. He’s a big communicator as well. But it’s his non-verbal communication that speaks volumes. It reinforces his philosophy seamlessly.
It was refreshing to watch his matrix unfold as we kicked it. I could have spoken with him for at least another hour but the time we shared was well spent. Here is a snippet from our conversation.
While Nooka is known for its watches, what made you venture info fragrance?
Up until the fragrance, nooka was perceived as a watch company, which is understandable, since that’s the easiest way to describe the first product line. But to me and people who understand the brand, nooka has always been about universal language, communication and futurism. I wanted to create something that expressed my ideals, and fragrance really struck a cord – sure you can read the romance copy about a scent, but at the end of the day, it communicates to the user and environment without words – perfectly “nooka“.
Explain your belief that scent is the universal language of the future?
Well, it is a universal language at least on our planet for all living things large and small and will certainly be so in the future. I feel that with convergence, we will need fewer and fewer physical objects [for example, the iPhone eliminated the need for me to carry a laptop and a mp3 player]. This doesn’t mean humans will have a lessening desire to acquire new things. I see a focus on fashion and fragrance returning in a big way because of these trends.
Some brands either categorize their scents for men, women or label them unisex. Who is The Future Distilled catered to?
Well, I hate the word “unisex.” There is no “unisex” with people. We are not worms. We are men, or we are women. It is not my job to tell anyone I haven’t met what they should experience as “masculine” or “feminine.” therefore, it is for men if you are male, and it is for women if you are female.
Give us a little insight into the bottles design.
Glam-future! Man-made satellites, giant gemstones, chrome coated surfaces, shiny shimmering mystery!
What fragrances are you personally wearing these days?
nooka all the time now. I really love it. Sometimes Prada Infusion d’Iris
How often do you go out looking for something new? What specifically do you look for?
To me, something new is not limited to shopping. For example, I noticed recently that I rely too much on my right leg when bicycling, so as of yesterday I decided to make an effort to push off with and leave my left foot in the stirrup. It’s a body memory action, so very hard to change, but challenging myself to change small things somehow makes my mind sharper and has a halo-effect on other things. Does that make any sense?
Have you ever purchased the same fragrance more than once? If so, what was it and what about it made it worthy of a repeat buy?
Oh yes: eau de correges! It reminds me of being at summer beaches AND cut grass in a park all blended together.
How would you finish this statement? “My most memorable fragrant moment would be…?
The first things that come to mind are too dirty to print, but consistently, I love the way the city smells when I’m riding my bicycle in the rain.
What’s next for nooka?
We are adding to our accessory lines, just launched a cool belt called the nooka strip and a wallet called the nooka asset organizer, and more to come next year. I’m building what I like to call a mindstyle™ brand!
We are not worms…I couldn’t have said it any better Matt. Thanks for the time and the great scent.
fragrantmoments.net 