FOOD, FRAGRANCE MATERIALS, AND THE FUTURE

Living in the dense, damp, obscenely green Shangri-La of our sheltering mini-rainforest, it’s hard to imagine that all is not right with the world.  However, all too often these days I read articles like this one, describing how we humans are creating conditions that will lead to a future crisis, probably within our own lifetimes, or at least those of our children, sending humanity the way of the dinosaurs in the worst case scenario, or into some chaotic end-of-the-world bad science fiction movie scenario in the best case.

The polar caps and glaciers are melting. The last time I flew over Greenland, most of the land was brown instead of white as it used to be, so I’ve seen the evidence with my own eyes. Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has reportedly reached the highest level since humans have been on this planet, based on what current science can estimate from the historical record. The article I read this morning predicted that there will eventually be a massive collapse of our food supply due to drought, crop disease, and other factors.

These predictions are not bad science fiction, they are evidence-based and credible. Food is pretty low on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, so a struggle to obtain food would presumably eliminate most higher-level activities, including perfume-making. On second thought, maybe perfume would become more important, in order to mask the unpleasant odors of life in a chaotic society. Spices could once again be an important currency, with wars fought over them. Highly spiced food is more satisfying than bland food, so people could learn to eat less and not miss the vast amounts of tasteless, mass-produced calories that are currently consumed in the US.

Unfortunately, spices and natural perfume materials depend on the same agricultural conditions as food crops, so the factors that lead to disruption of food production would simultaneously lead to disruption of fragrance material production. In fact that is happening now. Sandalwood, rosewood, and agarwood are just about gone. They’re being farmed to some extent, but it’s a slow process, and one that could not be sustained in the face of major alterations in the world’s climate.

I don’t know what the solution to the problem is, and I’m not even sure there is one at this point other than to let nature take its course and restore homeostasis to the earth through means that will be, at the very least, unpleasant to humans. What each of us can do, in our own small way, is to think before engaging in unnecessary use of resources and the accompanying depletion and/or pollution of the environment.

The most egregious example I’ve seen recently was a mother in our neighborhood who parked her hulk of an SUV by the school bus stop, motor running, waited for her child to arrive, and drove him less than 200 meters to their house. I stopped my run to watch the unfolding of this real-life scene that would have been unbelievable if presented as a comedy skit. If people would stop engaging in this sort of absurdly lazy behavior, it would at least be a start in the right direction. 

[Photos of Texas dust storm and dead corn adapted from Wikimedia]

DESIGNING THE IDEAL FRAGRANCE EVENT

After participating in all four of the West Coast Fragrance Salons organized by Taste TV, I have seen one model of how a perfume show could be organized, with many pros and cons from both the point of view of the exhibitors and the attendees. It seems that in future these events will be organized and sponsored by the perfumers themselves, at least for the time being, so we have an opportunity to build on and improve the current model.

I’d like to solicit some feedback from everyone out there so that we can make the events the best possible experience. To that end, I’d like to present a general questionnaire that you can answer in whole or in part in the comments section. Even if you’re not on the US West Coast and/or even if you’ve never been to a fragrance show, you are encouraged to respond. The more feedback we get, the higher the probability that events will be attractive to the public. Your participation will automatically enter you in a drawing for a 30 ml bottle of any Olympic Orchids EdP, with the drawing to be held on Saturday, May 18. Here are the questions:

1. Would you prefer a stand-alone fragrance event, or would you like to see it combined with other products that engage the chemical senses, such as chocolate, wine, etc?

2. If there were an entry fee, how much would you be willing to pay and what would you expect to get for it?

3. What would be the optimal number of exhibitors so that you experience maximal variety without being overwhelmed?

4. What factors are important with regard to venue (e.g., parking, accessibility, ventilation, appearance, location?

5. Would you prefer a one-day event or two-day event (e.g., Saturday and Sunday so that there’s more flexibility in when you attend)?

6. What additional features would you like to have included with the show (e.g., Lectures? Educational exhibits? Hands-on demonstrations or workshops? A social gathering with the perfumers?)

7. What would be the best way for you to find out about the event?

8. What do you think the best hours would be?

9. What categories of fragrance products would you like to see represented (e.g., all-natural? Mixed media? Strictly artisan (i.e., everything made by the perfumer him/herself)? Larger indie brands based on the West Coast? Home scent products/candles? Bath and body products?)

10. What else would you suggest to make a fragrance show attractive to you?

I’m really looking forward to seeing what you have to say!

A PERFUME SHOW ON HOME TURF AND WINNERS OF THE DRAWING

Today I’m recovering from the Seattle Artisan Fragrance Salon, unpacking bags and boxes, downloading photos from my camera, taking care of university stuff that fell through the cracks last week, and updating my website with the three new fragrances that I launched at the show. While I was posting this, a review of two of the new fragrances came out on Cafleurebon, along with a drawing for a full bottle of your choice! 

Today was also the day of the drawing for samples of the three new fragrances along with a small box of chocolates to go with Seattle Chocolate. 

I decided to draw two winners: Nadja and Miss Conduct.

If you are a winner, please e-mail me and send me your correct full name and mailing address. You can find my e-mail here under the profile section. I worry a little about the chocolate truffles melting during shipping, so if you think this might be a problem, let me know and I’ll just send the samples.

Not having to travel to get to the show had its pros and cons. The good thing was that we could load everything into the car and bring more items than if we had to travel. Best of all was the ability to bring some live orchid plants to decorate the table, and the ability to procrastinate on packing until the night before. The down side was that, not having to factor in shipping time, I did wait until the very last minute to prepare everything.

We had a perfect day to be on the pier overlooking Puget Sound. The sun was shining full force, and the outside temperature was actually warm enough to be comfortable in short sleeves, sandals, and no winter coat! I had two new banners that really made the display look nice. Attendance wasn’t as good as it could have been, but those who did attend all seemed genuinely interested. There didn’t seem to be as many walk-ins from the chocolate salon as there had been in San Francisco, possibly because the two events were in separate rooms.

I launched three new fragrances, California Chocolate, Tropic of Capricorn, and Seattle Chocolate. All of them were well-received at the salon, and are now listed for sale on my website. I’ve written about California Chocolate and Tropic of Capricorn before, and will write about the making of Seattle Chocolate within the next day or two.

For now, I’m happy to be home with no travel coming up any time soon.

RECALIBRATION AND A GIVEAWAY TO CELEBRATE THE SEATTLE FRAGRANCE SALON

Yesterday I made my first full production batch of Tropic of Capricorn, the all-natural tropical floral perfume that I’ll be launching a week from today at the Seattle Artisan Fragrance Salon. With more-than-sample-size bottles of frangipani, osmanthus, and tuberose absolute lined up on my work table along with New Caledonian sandalwood absolute and three different kinds of jasmine, I realized how my perception of the cost of materials has changed over the years.

When I first started out dabbling in essential oils, I avoided anything over $30 an ounce, but have gradually pushed this boundary ever-higher as I’ve added more materials to my palette. Now I don’t bat an eye when the cost of a tiny bottle of an absolute or other rare material is in the triple-digit range, or when an order that comes in a relatively small box pushes toward the 4-digit boundary. What has happened? Have I become a materials snob?

I think the answer to these questions is complex. When I first started out, before I was selling my perfumes and before I was selling many plants, the materials I bought were all coming from my paycheck, and I was understandably cautious. Now that I have a reasonably steady cash flow from both the orchid business and the perfume business, I have been putting everything I make from sales back into buying more and better materials. As I sell more perfumes, I need to make larger batches, so the amount I buy at any given time has been steadily creeping up.  I’m now the proud owner of a good many 1 kg bottles of various things. Space in my nice new studio is once again getting crowded, illustrating the principle that everything expands and multiplies to fill all of the available space.

As I’ve experimented with both natural and synthetic materials, my tastes have changed, and my confidence in using expensive materials without the risk of “wasting” them has increased exponentially. Making a high-end all-natural perfume may have been a turning point in the process, pushing some of my fragrances into a different category where I feel justified in charging a little more for the product. However, by selling in small quantities (5 ml or 15 ml) those perfumes that are expensive to make, I can still keep them affordable by people like myself and my academic and artist friends, who have more skills and education than disposable income.

After the Seattle show, I plan to work intensively on the perfume business, reorganizing categories, doing a pricing analysis, upgrading my packaging, labeling, branding, and website and, most importantly, sending samples out to those people who should be getting samples. I love making perfume, but tend to be lazy about promoting it.

Here’s a question for you, dear reader. How has your perception of perfume purchasing changed over the years that you’ve been doing it? Has there been a change in your perception of how much you spend? Have your tastes changed? Leave a comment and be entered in a drawing to win 1 ml carded samples of Tropic of Capricorn and California Chocolate, a 3-ml spray sample of the newest gourmand scent, Seattle Chocolate, and a small box of handmade edible confections in an unusual flavor (not coffee!) that matches that of Seattle Chocolate. The drawing will be held on May 5, the day of the salon. 

[photos of frangipani, osmanthus, and tuberose adapted from Wikimedia]

KEEP PORTLAND WEIRD AND MIXING ORCHIDS WITH PERFUME

We’re back from Portland, so I’ve been dealing with the demands of my university job, an internet connection that was down most of yesterday, and the beginnings of panic about not being prepared for the Seattle Fragrance Salon on May 5.

The good news is that we survived the first orchid show in which we also displayed perfumes and, most importantly, survived driving in Portland. As soon as we crossed the bridge into the city, we saw a car with a bumper sticker that said “Keep Portland Weird”. It’s weird, all right, but probably not in the fun and funky way the bumper sticker people meant it. What’s weird is trying to navigate in a city where almost every street is one-way, the direction is randomly assorted rather than alternating, and there are very few functional signs indicating that streets are one-way. The standard “one way/do not enter” signs used at intersections elsewhere seem to be unheard of in Portland.

Whenever I’d visited Portland before, it was on the train from Seattle, then on public transportation around town. The times that we drove, we parked the car as soon as we arrived and took public transportation. That was simple. You just get on a bus or a tram and it takes you where you want to go. Easy enough.

Driving around Portland in a car jam-packed full of orchid plants, looking for an unfamiliar address, was a very different experience. The worst incident was when we turned onto an unmarked 4-lane street that looked as if it should be 2-way and found ourselves heading straight for an oncoming tram. I suppose people do this all the time because the tram driver and other oncoming cars saw us and slowed down to avoid a head-on collision, allowing us to not so gracefully find our way off of that street.

The orchid show was at a venue in the Convention Center-Rose Garden stadium district, a weird combination of hotels, motels, fast-food and stop-and-rob chains, an inordinate number of Starbucks (standing at one point we could see three!), and public buildings of all sizes. The good thing was that our hotel was only two blocks from the show venue. Setting up, we were a little uneasy about how perfume would be received at what is essentially an agricultural show. It was reassuring to see that some vendors were also selling bromeliads, begonias, and other non-orchid plants, and that there were framed orchid photographs and a few orchid-theme tchotchkes for sale as well.

Before the public even came in we had exhibitors and organizers coming over to smell the perfumes. In the rush of packing I had forgotten to bring sniff glasses, so we made do with disposable coffee cups from the hotel. They actually worked quite well, providing just the right blue-collar touch to the display.  I had also forgotten to bring the Just Orchids discovery sets that I had set out the night before, but we did manage to bring a lot of individual small sprays and some soaps. By the end of the show we had sold out of the orchid-line sprays and had made a dent in the Devil Scents!

It was a very good show, both in terms of perfumes and in terms of orchids. From now on, the perfumes are coming to orchid shows. In Seattle, some orchids will come with me to the fragrance salon, to serve as props and to be given away at the end. I’m starting to really appreciate the crossover between the two domains. 

[Portland landmark photos from Wikimedia]