Mehr über Sora Dora
Sora Dora has been a respected perfume brand for four generations and is named after Antoine Soradora, a Portuguese immigrant. The seven fragrances in the collection capture all the power and emotion of Antoine's arduous journey, leaving his country and loved ones behind to fulfil his dream.
The story of Sora Dora
Antoine Soradora was born on Wednesday, 16 July 1902, in Loulé, in the sweltering heat of this small town in southern Portugal. On this headland, where the cliffs seem to break under the crashing waves, the spray from the rising sea swirls in the wind, reminding us how fragile life is.
Antoine Soradora's parents had been farmers all their lives. As they were very religious, the young man accompanied them to Saint-Clément church every Sunday. Antoine Soradora was a loner. The older people saw in him the makings of a future priest, so clever and thoughtful was the child.
But secretly, the young man felt an intimate and mysterious stirring. The intoxication of scents and smells. And for God's sake, in the plains and undergrowth he traversed throughout the seasons, they swirled incessantly in his head, awakening his senses and his inspiration. He paid particular attention to each of the scents that defined the contours of his daily environment. From the lavender hanging wildly by the roadside, from the fusion of earth and water, from the bubbling of a spring at the edge of the undergrowth, from peat and hay, from freshly mown grass in spring, from flowers and fruits.
The year is 1920. Although his father had taught him to love his country, at the age of 18, Antoine Soradora faces a dilemma: should he follow the path laid out for him, or should he leave his country and enjoy life to the fullest?
As the wet and mild winter drags on, the young man receives news that will change his life: ‘France is recruiting foreign workers for its large mines,’ his friend Sandro tells him on a street corner. Without a backward glance, Antoine Soradora decides to leave his homeland.
The journey was arduous, but he finally arrived in Bouches-du-Rhône, more precisely in a small village called Gréasque. There he was taken in by a French family who gave him a modest shed at the bottom of their garden to live in. The young man was very happy. His first sign of gratitude to the family was to transform this unspoilt land into a little paradise. A Garden of Eden in Provence, filled with flowers, fruit trees and hundreds of varieties of fragrant plants. During this time, he spent his days working in the mine and tending his garden. In his spare time, Antoine Soradora explored the region. During his visits, he fell in love with the town of Grasse.
On the hills above the town, the young man had a chance encounter with Etienne, a jasmine grower who had come to admire the view. The man, tall and slender and 20 years his senior, had retained a childlike soul that made him sensitive and warm-hearted. The two men quickly became friends, and their shared passion for plants led to a natural bond. Antoine Soradora showed him his garden and amazed the farmer. The boy from Loulé had now become the head gardener at the jasmine farm. In secret, he began working on a new project with his friend. Antoine Soradora and Etienne used their knowledge and sensitivity to experiment with perfumes. Thanks to the capital gained from jasmine cultivation, the two men had the freedom to order all the raw materials they needed for their work. After his friend's death, responsibility for the project passed to Antoine Soradora.
He put his creativity to work in the world of fragrances and produced his first perfume just one year after taking over the workshop. Then the young man discovered the small bars of the city of Aix-en-Provence. There he met Rose, a Gréasquerin, who would become his wife. With her, he had three daughters, to whom he passed on all his knowledge with prudence and great care.
