general thoughts

magic realism

Today’s picture shows you my part of the stand at Pitti Fragranze, 5 minutes after 6 pm, Sunday September 14. It is empty as we started packing things after the fair was over. It is always amazing how this glitter world of Pitti falls apart within minutes when it is all over. All the golden flacons disappear. The high heels click clack towards the exit. What is left is the scent of a thousand perfumes, lingering in the air. The aftermath of Pitti is always, well: Troubling. After 3 days of living in a perfume bubble, talking, spraying, more talking, hugging, 3 days of taking pictures, of discussing notes and retail business, distribution factors, packaging, labels, after 3 days of living in the twilight between art and business, it is all gone within a couple of minutes.

All perfumers leave, friends, clients, hug buddies, all gone. It is a moment of relief, as it is a bubble and the conscious self knows that it can’t go on forever like that. It is a moment of sadness, too. A little abyss. It doesn’t last for long as there is work before Pitti, work during Pitti and the work-up after Pitti. There we are right now: Following up on the contacts. Trying to cluster what I have seen and experienced. Trying to remember what was said.

“Magic realism”, that’s what a client said when she smelled the Gardenia sotto la luna.

How cool is that? Perfect! I wish I’d come up with that. Magic realism is perfect. Shortly after the client left, I was talking to a befriended perfumer who visited. He brought it to the point: The problem with Gardenia in perfumery is the gardenia that sits on the shelves.

After Pitti is before Pitti. This perfumery year is (almost) over. Almost, as there is PHI-une rose de Kandahar, hopefully making another appearance in November. The only puzzle piece left there is the green flacon that should march into the factory end September; we hope so at least. Almost, as the work for Gardenia has just started. And for a few other things. We will see.

Today, I got up at 4 (am), to finish entering the soap “plush GARDENIA” winners into the shipment system of shipwire, my US e-commerce fulfillment service provider. The happy winners (20 of them) will soon find a little soap bar in their letter boxes. And yes: this soap is not for sales. Sorry. And I did not do an European draw: It was US only.

Why? Because I have the logistics and shipment infrastructure in the US that allow me to do so. I do not have alike in the EU. My company (Tauer Perfumes LLC), incorporated in the US, my warehouse: All not that easy in Europe, if you are not living in an EU country. Why is this?, you might ask. Well, I guess, one answer might be: What I did within 24 hours in the US, online, getting a company up and running, would take quite a while in many EU countries.

And, although we always talk about the “united” market of the EU, with the same rules everywhere: it does not exist really. Sending perfumes to Lithuania is different then sending them to Italy, and different compared to the Netherland or the UK. Different rules, different papers needed: You name it.

But still: It is somewhere up there, in my mind, to also build an EU Tauer logistics infrastructure. Why? Because I see the signs on the wall.