August 22nd 2023.
Welcome back to How I Made It, The Agency's weekly career journey series. This week, we have the privilege of speaking with Michelle Feeney, the 60-year-old founder of Floral Street Fragrances.
The Londoner is no stranger to the beauty industry, having worked in fashion and beauty PR, as well as launching her own business in both New York and London. She's had a glamorous career that wouldn't be out of place in Sex and the City. During her time as a PR, she had the opportunity to work with some of the world's biggest stars and even lived in Kate Moss' old house.
Now, she's focusing her energy on Floral Street, a sustainability-focused fragrance brand based in London's Covent Garden. Their fragrances are vegan and packaged in reusable, recyclable boxes. Moreover, they are committed to supporting local communities and ethical practices. Michelle is so passionate about scents that each room of her home has a different smell, which she described as ‘a scented hug’ when guests walk through each door.
Michelle's career path has been an interesting one. She started off working in fashion show production and PR, which was a brand new industry in the '80s. She then moved to Lynne Franks PR, the agency that was the inspiration behind Absolutely Fabulous, to develop the beauty division.
When we asked Michelle about her journey into fragrances, she told us that smells have always been important to her as they evoke emotions and memories. Her first perfume moment was seeing the Charlie commercial in 1976, which made such an impression on her that she later got to be the same confident, free-spirited person in New York in the '90s.
Setting up Floral Street wasn't without obstacles. As a small company, they had to develop new technology, but it's expensive. Michelle is determined to find ways to do things differently and more sustainably. Her training has been mainly 'on the job' and she's never actually applied for a job in her life.
In addition to all this, Michelle has an incredible story to share. She moved to New York without a job and ended up launching her own PR agency. Her first client couldn't afford to pay her as much as she wanted, so he offered workspace within his office. This enabled her to build a successful business and work with many bands, celebrities and creatives in Manhattan, including Prince, who she organised an after-show party for!
When it comes to her personal preferences, Michelle doesn't have a favourite fragrance as she likes to match her scent to her mood and style. Her current favourite is Sunflower Pop from Floral Street, which she collaborated with the Vincent Van Gogh Museum.
Certain smells take Michelle back to her childhood and her grandmother's cottage in Ireland. The scent of gardenias remind her of spending summers there, while coffee, vanilla and cinnamon bring back the good memories of her time in New York.
Each day is different for Michelle, who says her days are so varied that there is never a typical one. From being on business Zoom calls to working on new product development, her work-life balance is rich and diverse. What she loves most about her job is the creativity, as well as educating and liberating people with their Scentschool classes.
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