Today, I invite you to listen to Vero Kern and me in a joint radio show in English, moderated and prepared by Susan Stone from Berlin. She met us in Zurich and is a wonderful journalist.

You can click here to the piece on the Deutsche Welle.

Enjoy!

There is not much you can do: Perfume is subjective. What is gloriously shining on your skin is bääh! for somebody else. No way to convince that bääh! is not bääh! But there is hope that (at least!) a bääh! perfume is recognized as a creative master piece. It will remain bääh! , but in the category of masterpieces.

Yesterday, I felt like Cuir de Russie, after a grey and wet day, and I reached for my perfume strength masterpiece in a bottle from Chanel. I love it. It is a masterpiece and a perfume that reaches back in time. So I went to bed with it, and I realized (again) how different these perfumes where, back then. Although perfume strength, it was not particularly strong, and you could feel how it was not glued together with the superglues such as Okoumal that fix any banality for eternity.

And it speaks a different language. It is much less loud. It is like reading a newspaper from the twenties and comparing it to tabloid of today. And then, suddenly, you realize what we have gone missing, while getting a lot of new treasures. So, I am totally taken, reading the lines of this old, past, fragrant story, when the W.-factor comes by and goes like “Bääh, I don’t like it!”

“But it is Cuir de Russie, perfume strength, a masterpiece. A classic!”, I go.

“I don’t like it”, the .-factor replied. “But look at this wonderful birchtar line. That’s like in Lonestar Memories, and then the animalic notes!”, I try …

“I do not like it, it smells odd!”

“Well, I guess, in a sense it does.

But it’s a masterpiece.”, I finally add in, and “yes, I can see that” is as good as it got yesterday.

I gave up, went to bed, fell into sleep, remembering a line from Woman’s Picture, where Miriam says “this stuff brings back memories”. Actually, this was one line that I found important to keep in mind when I saw the movie the first time. Miriam is a perfume that brings back memories, too. Memories of a time when perfumes were different. Own memories of times when we were different. I started remembering how I used to smell Cuir de Russie, going back in time, trying to understand how perfumes were done a century ago. In the mean time, I moved on, but I still love to go back to the classics, be it vintage versions or not. So much better than much, much, much else that drolls  around in pink bottles.

Sometimes, I feels good to go back in memory and look into the mirror of past days.

Today’s job: Filter Miriam. Open the 10 liter aluminum bottles and filter the juice. Everytime I filter a new juice for the first time it means a lot to me. It is, together with the first flacons poured, a moment where the work of months or years comes to an end.

I am on my way now to Milan for one day; doing a little video interview with Extrait.it for the upcoming launch of the Pentachords in Italy, where they will be available exclusively for 3 months in Campo Marzio in Roma. I will actually take the train forth and back to get there, but today’s picture nevertheless fits: A little road in the US.

It is a pathway through grassland, that we have seen and hiked for an hour or two  in the Great Valley State Park. We have seen about 10 Coyotes there and the equal amount of rabbits. It was a hike through a state park and we learned how a large portion of the region of the Great Valley must have looked like 200 years ago. Simply beautiful. With lots of yellow grass.

Imagine the sights and sounds in the evening!

Fragrant greetings to you all.

I am in London today and partly tomorrow for the 2011 UK FIFI awards because Orange Star is one of six proud nominees in the category “best new independent niche” which is cool. I am curious to see what this diner is going to be like: Another first in my life.

And it is basically a free lunch dinner. Thank you for your waiting for me until I am back….

Today’s picture: Dog waiting for someone, seen a while ago in Zurich.

Our old cherry tree blooms. It exploded in white yesterday. What a treat!

I wish you a lovely spring day.

Enjoy!

Contrary to what I told you yesterday: Here comes another short post dealing with the ZETA linden blossom. I will fill more flacons today to fill up the stock that is shrinking on a daily basis. Yesterday, when packing more of the Zetas, watching the sunlight play with the flacon, brining nice green patterns onto the labels  on the bench, then I realized that I did not talk about these labels, yet.

We came up with a different labeling concept for the COLLECTIBLES. You may remember that we use stamps to put on the Haiku and the obligatory EU allergen information. We stamp this onto the backside of each metal box, too. For that we use large, pentagonal stickers that provide the information that is not supposed to change, like where it comes from, that it is handmade and who imports it in Italy.

The rest, the perfume specific information, is put on by hand stamping each box. This approach allows to change from vintage to vintage information such as the allergens for our beloved EU administrators.

Right now however, I am not stamping but I am doing the filtration. Number 2. Double filtration of ZETA is necessary as some of the naturals (especially the Vanilla CO2 extract) are rich in waxes and diluted in ethanol these precipitate. Needless to say that this filtration takes forever …

Today’s picture shows you the ZETA flacon, and the stamped information on a label.

I continue showing you spring teaser flowers: The first tulip that showed its shy red head a few days ago. Today, it is proudly showing it all…

The last few days have been amazing: An explosion is taking place right in front of our eyes and noses.  And fitting with nature starting another circle we kind of start another circle, too. I sent the papers off for the new office and storage place. I signed the lease. A little signature translating into a major step for me. June 1 is the date when I can get in there, and I look forward to moving there. Not that it would not be nice sitting on my bench here, in our little room, close to tulips with a view. But it is getting narrow here. Yesterday, when packing the first ZETA’s into boxes, later in the evening, the W.-factor and me realized again how little space is left in this room.

Thus, by June 1 we can start moving.

And until them, we continue in our little room. And as it is the last weeks in there: I suddenly enjoy it more than before.

I will continue packing ZETAs today. And will start shipping the first ZETAs to retailers. And tonight, I go for a burger, meeting friends, old friends, that worked with me and helped me a lot in a previous circle that I luckily left.

yes!

The real estate rent agency and me agreed on the price and conditions and now I just wait for the contract papers and by May 1 I will be a proud renter of two rooms, 15 min biking distance. The rooms will need some painting and I can’t wait to show you pictures and share all the details.

The two rooms are connected by a door and we will use one of them as storage room for boxes, bottles, labels, paper and all the other stuff that fills my place here. And the second room will be a boxing, packing room with space to dance a tango.

Well, almost.

Actually, not really. Maybe a slow Waltz might work.

The picture to the left shows you one of the reasons why we need to move out of our little farm into a place with more space. This shipment goes South right now and I can only say: Yes, I love you all, my dear Italian fans and friends.

And now: Off to the train station. I need to travel to Bologna on Sunday, 5.5 hours forth by train, the same time I will need to go back by train and in the middle I will visit a stand or two at the Cosmoprof exhibition.

I am back from Rome and – as you might  imagine – have a plate on the table that is pretty full. About as full as our home here in Zurich: We got the 5000 inlays delivered and the green flacons for the COLLECTIBLES and the flacons for the PENTACHORDS. And now we are full. This afternoon, I can go and fetch all paper labels for the COLLECTIBLES and PENTACHORDS from the printer. And then we are over full.

Thus, you will read from me soon more on design and colors. And I look forward to sharing some impressions from Campo Marzio at Via Vittoria in Rome and the event that we had there. Think: The biggest reunion of artisanal noses that I have ever attended.  But first, I share a few pictures of Rome, a city that I love so much. The picture to the left shows you Hadrian’s column early in the morning.

Enjoy!

Early in the morning…

Beauty everywhere

A room with a view…..

An Italian car….Spring in Rome. Finally!

today’s picture is a teaser, showing you the first samples I did yesterday of the ZETA – a linden blossom theme- fragrance. In reality, the color is even more honey yellow sun like. Amazing. I feel it is the rose absolute that renders the fragrance so bright and sunny.

I put them in bright sunlight for the picture. But now they rest in the dark, as all perfumes should.

Tomorrow, I take the train and travel to Rome. I look so much forward to these three days. Although, I have to admit it right now and here: I will go to Rome soon again , in April, for 100% private reasons. Thus, as the W.-factor mentioned yesterday, I am truly blessed.

I really am and I try not to forget.

Thus, my next post will be early next week, I guess. For those of you who have not left a comment but wish to participate in yesterday’s draw: Here’s where you have to go…. click here. I will pick the winners later tonight (Swiss time).

And here is my reading hint for you: Giovanni from Fragrance Scout did a lovely interview with me. You find it here  (English version click here). Thank you for your interest and have a lovely time!