In this new episode of On Tour with Nose, Florentine perfumer Sileno Cheloni welcomes us into his workshop — Omani incense burning, a wooden rose slowly smoldering — to introduce his house and Sangueblu, the fragrance from the Venenum collection that he considers his most personal creation.
A Perfumer Trained by a Sufi Master
Sileno Cheloni did not follow the traditional path into perfumery. His mentor was a Sufi master — someone with no direct connection to the world of fragrance. Yet it was through this spiritual relationship that he met a perfumer who taught him the craft. This unconventional journey shapes his entire vision: perfumery as an experience, a connection, a ceremony.
The house was founded four years ago. Two years later, Cheloni entered into a partnership with Daniele Cavalli. The founding intention remains unchanged: to create an experience around perfumery, not merely a product.
The Venenum Collection
The Venenum collection is Cheloni’s favorite. Its blue bottle is far from an arbitrary aesthetic choice: in ancient pharmacopeias, this particular shade of blue was used to identify bottles containing poison. The collection embraces this visual code — and the tension between danger and seduction that comes with it.
It is within this collection that Sangueblu lives, the fragrance that occupied two years of Cheloni’s life. Two years of work devoted to a perfume he describes as a progression: lemon and lemon leaf in the opening, rose at the heart, and woods and amber in the drydown.
Creating in Motion
Behind the Florentine workshop stands a bus. Purchased ten years ago and completely redesigned, it was built to travel with his essences and allow him to create fragrances through direct inspiration, wherever in the world he may be. A nomadic laboratory, reflecting a practice that places connection — to oneself, to places, to raw materials — at the heart of the creative process.
Discover the world of Sileno Cheloni in our selection below.
