Joseph Erwin, the founder and perfumer of Onycha Fragrance Co., was born in the Deep South, on a larger quarterhouse and cattle farm. He grew up riding horses and swimming, climbing trees and baling hay in the country.
After studying vocal music at a local university, Joseph joined the U.S. Army. He worked in the labs and learned the art of measuring, a vital skill that would later aid him in perfumery. A near-death experience, following a car accident, gave him a new perspective on life. He spent a year in a wheelchair, and after recovering, he turned to studying spice blending and fragrance composition.
Joseph’s journey took him to the tropics, where he spent three years researching florals and local aromatics. After a year in Mexico, he knew it was time to return to the U.S. and start Onycha Fragrance Co.
In Chattanooga, he found a workshop and began bringing his vision to life.
The Perfumer
The Materials
Joseph Erwin begins each fragrance with a concept built around color, structure, and movement. He works within a three-part arc from top to heart to base, often mapping a visual transition, such as blue into green, green into gold, and down into earth - a beautiful tension-filled story arc that goes from top to heart to base.
Rather than working inside traditional fragrance categories, Joseph creates new families designed in the Onycha style. Many of these families feel like familiar places, inevitable, and any fragrance made within such a family has a strong sense of that place.
Fragrances within a new family share a common thread but remain distinct, like variations on the same landscape. This method forms the foundation of Onycha, and reflects Joseph’s effort to craft a modern, distinctly American approach to perfumery.
The Onycha Method
Joseph Erwin begins each fragrance with a concept built around color, structure, and movement. He works within a three-part arc from top to heart to base, often mapping a visual transition, such as blue into green, green into gold, and down into earth - a beautiful tension-filled story arc that goes from top to heart to base.
Rather than working inside traditional fragrance categories, Joseph creates new families designed in the Onycha style. Many of these families feel like familiar places, inevitable, and any fragrance made within such a family has a strong sense of that place.
Fragrances within a new family share a common thread but remain distinct, like variations on the same landscape. This method forms the foundation of Onycha, and reflects Joseph’s effort to craft a modern, distinctly American approach to perfumery.
Join Us
Perfumery is an art, and it’s meant to be experienced, experimented with, and enjoyed on a personal level. As we continue to refine and play with new concepts, we’ll be sharing our discoveries along the way.
You can follow us on Instagram and TikTok for quick updates, or dive deeper into the world of perfumery on Joseph’s Substack.
