Jeff Miller and Todd Thurman, the founders of Free Yourself, work with esteemed perfumers in Grasse, France, to craft olfactory experiences that inspire self-reflection, mindfulness, and personal growth. The name Free Yourself embodies their mission: to help individuals liberate ourselves from conventional societal expectations and embrace our authentic selves through the power of scent. With Jeff's Master's in Applied Positive Psychology they have integrated emotion into fragrance as a powerful tool for connecting with yourself and others. Something we can get behind!
8 Questions (with Jeff Miller)
Describe the moment you realized art fed your soul.
At 14, playing Puck in a community theater production of A Midsummer Night’s
Dream made me feel alive, alive, alive– connected to something otherworldly. I didn’t yet have the words for it, but something DEEP stirred.
Later, Rilke’s Letters to a Young Poet gave me permission to turn inward and create from that space. Hesse’s Narcissus and Goldmund deepened that sense of purpose. But at 16, during a summer acting program, someone handed me The World According to Garp. I was transported. I’d felt that kind of immersion in films as a kid, but now I understood: storytelling could hold entire worlds– and I wanted to live there.
That’s when I knew art was how I connect, process, and come alive.
What themes do you pursue in your craft?
I explore dreamwork, ritual, shadow, and point of view– much of it rooted in my acting background. Every moment, idea, image, object, or scent holds a story. And every story matters. That’s where Positive Psychology comes in.
Tell us about what influences the direction of your craft.
Working with the perfumers on a more psychological level to elicit the emotional experiences of each perfume was surprisingly easy, because we approach everything through story– and that’s a language everyone speaks.
The perfumers didn’t need to be experts in Positive Psychology, and we didn’t need to be master perfumers. The same is true for anyone.
You don’t need to know anything about fragrance or psychology to engage with scent as a Positive Intervention. Just ask: How does it make you feel? What’s your intention? Then, act on that.
Perfumer Maud Chabanis
How has your work developed over time?
It’s become more accessible. And that’s truly exciting. Story, fragrance, creativity, and well-being shouldn’t be reserved for a select few; they should be available to all. That shift in my work has opened up new possibilities; not just for artists, but for the artist in everyone.
Creating work that invites people in– that connects, uplifts, and creates space
to flourish– feels more meaningful than ever.
What’s the most indispensable item in your studio?
The window.
Do you collect anything?
Books.
What’s the most inspiring thing you’ve seen, read, watched, or listened to
recently?
Anora.
What advice would you give your younger self about your artistic journey?
Don’t miss the moment. Savor it.
Bonus Question: What role does music play for you while you work?
Music is almost everything to me; maybe not quite everything, but close. What makes it so powerful is that I ask nothing of it. I don’t aspire to be a musician, so there’s no pressure or expectation. That freedom allows music to give so generously. It inspires, soothes, helps me focus or let go. It lets me dream, remember, forget, feel, and reconnect– sometimes all at once.
Music also deeply informs my craft, whether I’m acting, writing, creating a play, a film, or even a fragrance. It shapes tone, rhythm, emotion, and imagination in ways that words alone can’t.
I’ve loved music my whole life, in all its forms. I still love live shows, especially in smaller venues where the energy feels intimate and alive.
Perfumer Xavier Blaizot
Free Yourself is the art and science of luxury fragrance: blending unique scent profiles with neuroperfumery and positive psychology. In their first elements collection, you'll discover perfume and candles in four building blocks to well-being:
AIR (air) – an awakening scent
EAU (water) – a scent for serenity
FEU (fire) – a scent for passion
TERRE (earth) – a grounding scent
Free Yourself Perfume and Candles harnesses the transformative power of positive psychology to craft transformative scents. We're here for that!
Let us know if you have any questions about this collection available online and in our Mill Valley HQ.
~ Bonnie & Jeffrey
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