FRAGRANCE & CRAFT

Wabi-Sabi Meets The Lab: "Fragrance & Craft" Pop-Up Experience for Le Labo (conceptual).

by Sausan P (S-OTTH)

copencopter@gmail.com

Le Labo : Fragrance & Craft 

In this project, I designed a 2 x 3 meter pop-up store for Le Labo, a perfume brand known for its handcrafted and minimalist ethos. The pop-up adopts the theme “Fragrance & Craft”, combining industrial precision with wabi-sabi warmth, a sensory space where scent and imperfection meet.

The pop-up layout is fully enclosed except for its glass-front entry, evoking a boutique-like intimacy. Inside, visitors move through a calm, tactile environment that celebrates the artisanal perfume process, not through grand gestures, but through subtle layers of material, scent, and light.

This work is part of a series of 3D Pop-up and Booth Design Explorations under @copencopter projects. This design was created for study and exploration only, with no client involvement [conceptual/unbuilt work].

TABLE of CONTENTS:

Design Concept: Fragrance & Craft

Experience Zones: Intimacy in Three Steps

Design Process & Visualization

Reflection: Crafting Atmosphere through Scent

PART I. Design Concept: Fragrance & Craft

The concept draws from wabi-sabi philosophy, industrial laboratory precision, and Le Labo’s artisanal identity. It explores how a compact retail space can feel both raw and refined — embracing unfinished textures, aged wood, and honest materials.

A soft palette of muted cream and burnt/aged oak builds a quiet background where the hero materials — brushed steel and raw plaster — highlight the scent-making ritual.

Every element, from the handcrafted console table to the mixing station, evokes an understated sense of craft and imperfection — much like the perfume process itself: experimental, tactile, and deeply personal.

PART II. Experience Zones: Intimacy in Four Steps 

Although compact, the pop-up offers a complete sensory journey through four distinct yet continuous zones:

(a) Entrance Display (Candle Welcome): visitors are greeted by Le Labo’s signature candle aroma and a small curated setup introducing the brand’s scent identity. The warm light and subtle fragrance immediately establish the sensory mood of the space.

(b) Front Console (The Framed Craft Moment): at the storefront window, a half-circle wooden console combines organic warmth with industrial detailing. This area displays perfumes and soaps — visible both from inside and outside — creating a quiet “peeking moment” that draws attention without overt signage.

(c) Perfume Blending Station (The Heart of Craft): a central counter functions as a mini blending workshop, where visitors can personalize their scents. It reflects Le Labo’s artisanal lab ritual — raw, tactile, and intimate.

(d) Product Display Shelf (Industrial Warmth): along the inner wall stands a metal-look shelf (crafted from wood), showcasing a wider range of items: perfumes, soaps, candles, and decorative elements. The structure balances industrial precision with handcrafted texture, tying the experience together.

Together, these zones form a seamless flow — from scent introduction to tactile interaction, and finally, to aesthetic contemplation.

PART III. Design Process & Visualization 

The pop-up was modeled in SketchUp and rendered in Lumion, with lighting designed to echo warm tungsten tones often found in Le Labo stores. Subtle spotlights accentuate textures rather than highlight products, reinforcing the brand’s focus on material honesty.

Key design challenges included maintaining a sense of depth and zoning within a 2x3 meter footprint. This was achieved through asymmetrical furniture placement, material layering, and framed sightlines toward the storefront window display.

PART IV. Reflection: Crafting Atmosphere through Scent 

This project taught me that even a small pop-up can act as a sensory landscape, not just a retail point. Through Fragrance & Craft, I explored how materials, light, and spatial rhythm can carry the same care and precision as the act of perfume-making itself.

In the end, the pop-up becomes a quiet laboratory of emotions, a space where imperfection is not hidden, but celebrated; where scent becomes a form of design language.

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