Clue Perfumery

Clue Perfumery is an independent American fragrance studio founded in 2022 by perfumer Laura Oberwetter and designer Caleb Vanden Boom, who have been friends since childhood. The brand grew out of Oberwetter’s pandemic-era experiments with scent after taking a class at the Institute for Art and Olfaction, and quickly evolved into a full line once Vanden Boom joined to develop the visual and graphic identity. Clue operates from a combined lab and studio in Chicago, Illinois, where its fragrances are composed, formulated, bottled, assembled, and shipped by hand.

Clue’s early catalog launched with three scents - Morel Map, Warm Bulb, and With the Candlestick - which set the tone for its offbeat, narrative style of perfumery. Later additions such as Dandelion Butter continue this direction, often referencing specific Midwestern places and details, including forests in Wisconsin and other regional motifs. The brand explicitly leans away from traditional French perfume tropes, instead using unusual visual and conceptual references such as cartoons and illustrated objects as starting points for compositions.

All of Clue’s fragrances are produced in-house, and the line is largely vegan, with Dandelion Butter noted by the brand as an exception due to the use of butter CO2 extract. Oberwetter has described her approach as a balance of experimental accords with the “wearable and beautiful appeals of modern perfumery,” aiming to depict scenes that mainstream fragrance often ignores or considers too mundane. Alongside its retail line, Clue also develops bespoke scents through its Clue Labs project, including collaborations such as a custom perfume for The Hoxton Hotel in Chicago.