
Of our senses, the sense of smell is perhaps the most romantic and nostalgic. A fragrance can recall memories so precisely and poignantly, and perhaps better than any other method. In this column, friends of Ellis Brooklyn share their favorite scent memories. We kick off with Siggi Hilmarsson, founder of Siggi's Skyr, the addictive Icelandic yogurt carried at Whole Foods and other natural grocers. I met Siggi (above), who hails from Reykjavik, when he was first starting his company and stocked his yogurts in a fridge at his Tribeca loft. Suffice it to say, I was happy to play guinea pig—the orange and ginger flavor was an early winner. Here, he shares his favorite scent memory.
If you grow up in Iceland, winter is very long and dark. So when the summer comes, everybody becomes so happy. One of the first things you smell announcing that summer is really here is freshly cut grass. It's a smell that I relate to and perhaps think about the most often. Also, when I was a teenager, I used to work during the summers for the electric-utilities company in Reykjavik, and what we'd was take care of the company's lawns. It from when I was 15-17 and it was a bunch of us, all high school and college kids. I met some of my best friends through that job. In fact, we're still best friends even now to adulthood.

Photos: Courtesy of Siggi's Dairy (top), Jinx, Creative Commons (bottom)