Lola Tillyaeva enjoys a diverse range of interests including entrepreneurship, philanthropy, film production and publishing. However, one of the causes closest to her heart is environmental activism. Lola is deeply concerned about the issue of water scarcity, and she has good reason to be. According to the United Nations, the water crisis not only impacts every continent on Earth but the situation is worsening rapidly.
Raising awareness about the water crisis is urgent, but the challenge for Lola Tillyaeva was how to get people to pay attention. Her solution was to harness the power of art that resulted in the art installation The Droplet. As she explained it:
“I believe that art has an incredible capacity to inspire, encourage and unite people around a cause, due to its ability to touch the human soul. That is why we harness the power of art as a means to raise public awareness of issues relating to global warming and climate change.”
The Droplet is a show-stopper. Constructed from polished aluminum tubing, the art installation is 12 meters in height and 6 meters at the base. Forming a stylized droplet of water, it is designed to shroud itself in a fine mist, creating “a unique multisensory art installation.”
Created by artist Marcos Lutyens and fabricator Scott Froschauer from the Institute for Art and Olfaction, The Droplet turns heads wherever it is displayed, with recent host cities including Paris and Barcelona. At every stop it inspires debate and encourages action. Lola’s intention with the creation of the installation was that “by engaging the participants through sound, smell and touch as well as visually, The Droplet would pave the way for discussions on water conservation and management.”
But Lola Tillyaeva’s commitment to sustainability runs deeper. Concern for the environment informs her business decisions at her perfume house, The Harmonist. She ensures that her products make use of recyclable materials. Refills are also available across the entire perfume range. Her team travels the globe to source the finest quality ingredients for the scents to guarantee they are ethically and sustainably produced. Actions like these help minimize the carbon footprint of The Harmonist. Lola said:
“For a small niche brand, this was a challenging task, and we are very pleased and proud that we were able to achieve these results. We hope that with the new collection The Harmonist will ascertain its position at the forefront of sustainability in the industry.”
The entire ethos of The Harmonist is underpinned by the philosophy of feng shui and its desire to achieve balance between the Earth’s five elements. For Lola Tillyaeva, water is a resource to be valued both for its practical applications and for what it symbolizes about our place in the biosphere.
