Smell & Tell | Inside the Writer's Study (A Mystery in Seven Scents)

Une collaboration visuelle avec l'intelligence artificielle qui n'a donné lieu à aucune « hallucination » grâce à Nano Banana ; un phénomène pour le moins rare. Cela n'aurait pas été possible sans les principes mathématiques du cubisme et écouter la musique d'Angine de Poitrine tout en donnant des consignes à l'IA (vivement recommandé). Et voilà! Apologies if I butchered the French language; I'm a non-French Michelle.

EVENT

What: Smell & Tell | Inside the Writer's Study

Where: Ann Arbor District Library (D/T Branch, 4th Floor)

Evening: Tuesday, September 8th, 6:00 PM-7:30 PM  

Daytime*: Wednesday, September 9th, 1:30 PM-3:00 PM                                  

A study door in the museum is left ajar. Curiosity gets the best of you, and you decide to enter the room. The first thing you notice is a cloisonné box sitting on top of a meticulously organized desk. The room is immaculate. Everything is in its place except for the box. There's something different about it. 

You lift the lid and discover seven glass vials. The wood-lined box smells familiar, but you can't quite place the smell. The atmosphere in the room speaks to your senses as you consider whether to open the vials and smell them. After all, you weren't exactly invited. 

It's then that you notice a small note card beneath the vials that reads, "Each of the seven vials contains a specific memory from this room. Take good care of them and allow them to breathe once in a while. When you're done smelling them you'll understand why." 

With an invitation like that, how could anyone refuse? Especially you, dear reader. Step into a writer’s study for an evening of olfactory intrigue as we evaluate the essence inside each of the seven vials on fragrance blotters and solve a mystery. 

The Smell and Tell series of art+science programming is led by Michelle Krell Kydd, a trained nose in flavors and fragrance who shares her passion for gastronomy, sensory evaluation, and the perfume arts in Glass Petal Smoke. Smell & Tell builds community through interactions with flavor, fragrance and storytelling.

Notes & Curiosities: 

Daytime Smell & Tell events at the Ann Arbor District Library are new in 2026. The addition was sparked by growing interest in Smell & Tell programming across ages and life stages in the Ann Arbor community. Smell & Tell debuted at the library in June 2012. It's been many trips around the sun since then.

Smell & Tell Event | Inside the Olfactory Mind of Steffen Arctander

Mark your calendars! Steffen Arctander is
the focus of an upcoming Smell & Tell 
at the Ann Arbor District Library.

Inside the Olfactory Mind of Steffen Arctander 

Date: Wednesday, October 18, 2023 

Time: 5:30PM -7:30PM 

Location: Ann Arbor District Library (Downtown) 

Address: 343 S 5th Ave, Ann Arbor, MI 48104 

Phone: 734-327-4200

Steffen Arctander was a renowned chemist, perfumer and flavorist. He is best known for authoring Perfume and Flavor Materials of Natural Origin (1960). The encyclopedic book contains more than 500 monographs on natural materials inclusive of aromatic descriptions and classifications to help the user evaluate sensory impressions. 

Arctander’s legacy reaches beyond the pages of his book. He participated in the Danish Resistance when he was a student and worked for British Intelligence during WWII, narrowly escaping capture by the Gestapo. Steffen Arctander appeared on To Tell The Truth in 1964, a gutsy and taboo move for someone in a famously secretive industry.  

The fragrance flight for this program includes novel natural materials. We’ll use Arctander’s descriptors for guidance after blind smelling each one to get a better understanding of ourselves, and Arctander’s enduring legacy as the author of a magnificent “dictionary of smells”. 

The Smell and Tell series of art+science programming is led by Michelle Krell Kydd, a trained nose in flavors and fragrance who shares her passion for gastronomy, sensory evaluation and the perfume arts on Glass Petal Smoke. Smell & Tell builds community through interactions with flavor, fragrance and storytelling. 

Notes:

Locating the footage from To Tell The Truth featuring Steffen Arctander was complicated by the fact that his name is misspelled in the YouTube video as "Contestant #3: Stefan Octander (Perfume expert)". Google search started directing traffic to Arctander's television appearance after I posted a story about it on February 17, 2021.  The transcription on YouTube was worth correcting for posterity. I provided a proper transcription in the article. 

The image that accompanies this post is Spring Garden by Omoda Seiju (1917).