making of

ramping up

Today, I am ramping up production. Packing scents mostly, getting bottles ready to ship later this week. I informed all my retailers that I am on a vacation a couple of weeks before actually leaving and everybody was nice enough and waited to place orders until I was back from the bike trip. But now: No excuse anymore. It will be a busy week, and, mentioned here many times before, it is the price to pay for doing everything perfume related myself: I have to spend quite some time doing this hand made in Switzerland thing.

Although I talk about it quite often, many of my perfume loving clients actually do not know: I am one of the very few who still does it all himself: Designing scents, producing scents, filling scents and packing scents. It is one of the major differences and one of the factors why I can still keep my products in a moderate price range. Not cheap, but moderate. It is also the main reason why I can do experimental things, games, scented games from time to time, like the Pentachords, as I can still produce in somewhat low numbers. A freedom that you loose as soon as you start working on a different scale, using external packers and bottle fillers. Then things get different.

For how long this will remain like that, I cannot say. There are factors out of my control making it the longer the more difficult. Like increasing regulations, especially in Europe. But for the time being: Factory work-out ahead. While packing, there is time however. Time to think and reflect about what to do next and what not to do. And what to cut and rearrange in the house of tauer. This is one of the many fascinating aspects of running an artistic house/company these days: Everything is changing so fast that you constantly have to evolve. On a daily basis almost.

And there is time to dream of a few wonderful hours spent on the beach not long ago. Hence, today’s quick sketch. Done yesterday, using Corel draw, on my cintiq with emulated water colors. A technique that -one fine day- I need to practice a bit more. Enjoy the start into your week, and sweet dreams of beaches.