Natural perfumery built mostly on American materials, many of them co-extracted.
Folkwinds smells like the edge of a forest after weather has moved through it. Formulas over 90% natural, from white ambergris and deer musk to floral absolutes and sandalwood, leaning strange and beautiful rather than polite. Expect fermented fruit, cold resins, damp bark, smoke, and orris so dense it reads as a texture instead of a note. Some scents return as numbered reworkings, like Jasper no Kodō II and III, and others are fixed limited editions, like Midwinter Storm at 50 bottles.
- Known for American-sourced naturals, co-extractions, agarwood
- Here 7 fragrances
Quiet, woody, hand made
Folkwinds works in a restrained natural register, incense and resin and clean woods, with none of the loudness the indie category is often accused of. Jasper no Kodō II and Crimson and Clover are the usual entry points.
Small house, small batches, poured to order in 1ml, 2ml, 5ml and 10ml. Worldwide shipping with duties included.
The Folkwinds guide has the full picture.
- Founder
- Jono Bornstein
- Concept
- Natural scent-scapes of North American places
01
One nose and a few close friends
Jono Bornstein founded Folkwinds in 2022 to put North American materials, design and artwork first, and he is usually both its creative director and its nose. Two releases, Sleepy Hollow and Devil's Garden, turned that around: Dr Rajesh Balkrishnan led the direction and sourced the materials, and Bornstein composed. Poison Ivy, a chypre of 33 bottles, was made with Mathew Schmuelian of Lost Tribe. Jasper XXX goes back to a drive down Maligne Lake Road, his favourite memory of thirty years.
02
Mountain passes and alpine meadows
Each perfume is a scent-scape of a real place. Smuggler's Notch is the northern Vermont pass where Prohibition liquor came down from Canada, rendered with Vermont apples, red spruce, sugar maple and Nha Trang agarwood. Jasper no Kodō sets the Canadian Rockies beside kōdō, the Japanese art of appreciating incense, and has become the flagship, now in its third version. Crimson and Clover turns Vermont apple cider, cranberry, clove and green tobacco into an apple tabac. Midwinter Storm is an orris soliflore over Malinau and Thai agarwood.
03
Co-extracted, capped in machined metal
Formulas run above 90 per cent natural, with white ambergris, deer musk, floral absolutes and sandalwood. Bornstein works towards closed-loop perfumery, blending materials before and after extraction, an idea he traces to Indian attars: Jasper no Kodō began as one co-extraction of blackberries, copal, cultivated kinam, palo santo, Kentucky blue lotus and poplar. Caps are machined from solid metal, patches cut from American veg-tanned leather, and editions such as Midwinter Storm stop at 50 bottles.
Who founded Folkwinds?
Folkwinds was founded by Jono Bornstein.
Where is Folkwinds based?
Folkwinds is based in United States.
When was Folkwinds founded?
Folkwinds was founded in 2022.
Who composed the Folkwinds fragrances we carry?
Jono Bornstein.