Scentual Artistry News

Once again our Final Friday opening was a success, and the interest continues to be  across the board. From essential oils, perfumes, teas and herbal blends.  It didn't seem as busy this month, and the interest in the giveaway was met with a bit of confusion. The idea was to have three different essential oil essences under scent globes. Guess the essences and win a bottle of perfume. I had assumed that people knew what essential oil were. Many did not, and thought the essences in the globes were actual perfumes. They were easy by most standards. Lavender, Anise and Geranium. Most people guessed the Anise, but the others were not as easy. One person wrote on their entry form the names of three commercial perfumes as their choices. Unfortunately no one guessed correctly.
I think I will stick to the Olfactory Installations. The next one is at the end of August. Not sure what it will be yet.
I am starting to get more people in during the week, and the interest in our blended and perfumed teas is very good. I am in the process of creating a set of teas for an area eatery, and am planning on doing a class on tea. I am still looking for my tea books. I have several that I had collected over the years. Stored away somewhere in boxes. Still not able to find them. We have so many books. One of our spare bedrooms is stacked full of books. Mr. Z can't resist bargain books and is always coming home with a stack of them. Over time they add up. But on the tea front, I am working on a new collection of perfumed teas, and have some new teas, Organic Fair trade on the way to me now. Can't wait to try them all.
We will be open this week and for the next few weeks Tuesday and Thursday 11am - 3pm.

The Original DAWG

 

When my dad was a boy he had a pet Bulldog. One day while he was at school the dog was hit by a car and died. He told this story many times as I was growing up. About how Grandma broke the news to him, and how much he love that dog.  Bulldog was my dads nick name, given to him by his  childhood friends, and even on the day he was laid out in the funeral home at his death, many of his old friends were there, still calling him Bulldog, laughing about all the crazy pranks he used to pull.  My dad was a one of a kind. Crazy complex, contradictory. He loved animals. At one point he had two pet ducks that he had trained to walk on leashes. Always had cats and dogs, pet rabbits. It was really a sight to see, this big burly man, holding tiny baby rabbits in his hands. Sweet talking to them in his smooth baritone voice.
I think about my dad a lot and wish he were still here. The world could use a few more pranksters, story tellers,  kick ass shaman, common sense medicine men, who can trick out your car, make you the perfect Rum Rickey and sing you a tune all in the same breath. Yep............

Here's Looking At You dog.......
Image: Me and daddy 

New Studio Scents Now Available

Fig Amarette - Peche et Vert - Vanille OTR, now available at soivohle.com

Fragrance of Our Fathers

If you are not following this wonderful series here is a link: cafleurebon.com

ACOUSTICJUS

It seems like a zillion years ago that I had this crazy idea to launch an off shoot brand of ethanol free natural products. After sending in the latest Office Action on our trademark, I am hopeful that this will be the end of the nitpicking. Originally I played around with the idea of launching it as a separate entity within the Soivohle Brand, but realized that this would be too confusing so I set out on a new adventure. Unlike the labor intensive Soivohle Naturals. Acousticjus is a more mainstream natural line consisting of oil or water based products, such as body sprays and toners, oil perfumes etc.  I am going ahead with the relaunch of this line, and will have several things available at Scentual Artistry within the next few weeks.  I will also have a list of items on the acousticjus.com website, available y special request.
ACOUSTICJUS IMAGE/DRAWING: C. LIZ ZORN 2008

In The News

Fragrance of Our Fathers thank you to Michelyn @cafleurebon for including me in this wonderful series. I was my fathers first born child. He was the youngest of six and the only boy, so to say that he was spoiled would not even scratch the surface. He was the little darling and could do no wrong. As an adult he was a very complex creature. He died eighteen years ago, and I am still unable to wrap my head around it. I guess we never get used to losing loved ones.
Also thanks to Mark @cafleurebon for the nice write up on our new Studio Collection scents. These will be available online Friday.

Soivohle, Week In Review

It's raining, and my plan to have my tea by the pool this morning was a bust. My favorite thing about summer is my morning meditation and being able to sit by the pool while engaged in the so called process of enlightenment, getting in touch with the now, etc. etc. etc...
This past week was a busy one as we are getting ready to launch three new scents in our Studio Collection. I had expected to have our new snap closure boxes this week, but received an email Friday telling me that they had not come in yet, so it's up in the air.  We receive so many compliments on those snap boxes that I went ahead and ordered them in two new sizes, and will continue to use them for the Natural Collection, as well as the new Vignettes (oil parfums) coming out later this year. I thought long and hard about the bottles for the oil parfums and instead of sourcing something new, decided to go with the tapered HeinzGlas bottle that we use for our Natural Parfums. It is such a striking bottle, and the perfect size for an parfum. I plan to use this bottle for all parfums in the future.
Scentual Artistry - Wow what can I say, our new studio/boutique in the city is just lovely, and the first two scent installations were very well received. I have been invited to create a scent installation for an arts event next summer, and am very excited to be putting this new art form on the map. I have thought about applying for a grant, which would give us national exposure for scent art if we could get the funding and take it on the road. I have a couple of friends who are Arts Administrators, and can help with the grant process, which is a bear. Filling out tax forms is child's play in comparison. Otherwise we are doing well in all areas and have several new customers. The teaching question still comes up a lot, and as I have said in the past I am not a teacher, at least not in any organized way. I see people all the time and am always sharing information about perfumery. I have thought about creating a series of perfume making kits with instruction, but have not found the time to devote to it. I do however have several of my accords ready to launch as a series, and will be adding these soon.

Soivohle in the news: The launch of our Lilacs & Heliotrope and Lilacs & Roses was a huge success. There have been two reviews of the L&H, one by Abigail of I Smell Therefore I Am and One by Patty at Perfume Posse. If there are any more I am not aware of them. I love big beautiful floral notes and find that Lilacs are perfect for peddling my tendencies to excess. At the same time I have been secretly (no secret anymore) working on a Lilac version of the Violets & Rainwater formula. A lot depends on the hyacinth note that I am adding to the mix, but all looks promising and smells divine.
New online retailer: For those who like one stop shopping, many of our Soivohle perfumes are now available at Rei Rien They also have a sample program and ship internationally. Speaking of samples, we are going to revert back to the small tube vials for most of our samples (online) and reserve the use of the screw top minis for the small Coffret that holds 16 of the tiny bottles. We will also be adding a 5ml pocket spray to the Studio Collection, and offering a slight price break on all of the 5ml sprays. With the purchase of a new 5ml bottle at a savings over the one we were using we can pass on this savings to our customers. Look to see this price change in the near future.
That's about it for now, everyone have a safe and fulfilling weekend. ZZ

Soivohle Studio

We are updating our Studio Collection with a new look and the addition of a few new things.  We have been listening, and are adding a new larger (2 ounce) spray. We are also adding a light spray lotion in some of the scents. And........ Are adding three new scents due to launch on the 18th of this month. Included will be Vanille OTR, Peche et Vert and Fig Amarette.

REVOLUTION

REVOLUTION
I’m still young enough to be a revolution, but too old to change my new point of view,
about the things that matter most and the reasons why I live my life the way that I do.
A REVOLUTION
I am sitting down by the lily pond listening to the world
A REVOLUTION
My mind is here, now; I feel the warmth of the sun against my shoulder.
A REVOLUTION
I hear angels, I see visions, I have dreams.
A REVOLUTION
A REVOLUTION
A REVOLUTION

I resurrect myself, over and over again - the wise men cry out
FREEDOM IS THE LAST FREE RIDE
Catch it if you can, catch it if you can.
A REVOLUTION
I imagine myself walking on hot coals without burning my feet.
A REVOLUTION
My heart tells me that I am surrounded by grace that comes from a place
beyond the place that it is most associated.
A REVOLUTION
What belongs to me belongs to the Universe, there are no distinctions.
A REVOLUTION
A REVOLUTION
A REVOLUTION

The night air is cool, the breeze wraps itself around me like electric skin.
A REVOLUTION
The yellow stone Buddha and the white washed statue of Jesus sit
side beside in my garden, neither seem bothered by the others presence.
A REVOLUTION
Worms turn into butterflies, newborn babies smile at strangers.
A REVOLUTION
The earth mother sings her song, hauntingly familiar,
hauntingly unfamiliar the uncertainty of being uncertain takes a toll.
A REVOLUTION
A REVOLUTION
A REVOLUTION

Modern day prophets, peace keepers, shot down before their time,
everyone remembers goodness.
A REVOLUTION
Forty thousand people died today, they didn’t have enough to eat,
the word karma means action.
A REVOLUTION
Planting seeds for the next generation, the next generation times seven,
the native wisdom resonates like a slow humming in my head,
the duty of my heritage calls me up out of my chair and into the field.
A REVOLUTION
A REVOLUTION
A REVOLUTION

I strike the bell, order falls down on me like cold rain drops,
awakening my senses, one by one, drop by drop.
A REVOLUTION
The mourning dove sits atop the fence, the rabbit nibbles on
new peas in my patch.
A REVOLUTION
Life moves at a snails pace, a mad dash....
either way nothing remains  the same,
we all take notice of our mortality sooner or later.
A REVOLUTION

Sitting here counting the lilies in the pond, six red, two yellow
fourteen white; watching from the corner of my eye a big green frog
his body floating just under the water, his head barely visible
camouflaged by the reflection of the world.
A faint smile gradually forms on my expressionless face, and I am
once again reminded that we are all floating just under the water,
our heads barely visible, camouflaged by the reflection of the world.
A REVOLUTION
A REVOLUTION
A REVOLUTION

I AM
still young enough to be a revolution


LIZ ZORN 1997

I found this poem a couple of weeks ago in my art storage building. It was part of a series of interactive game boards, sculptures, paintings and poems I created for my one woman show at the Suzanna Terrill Gallery in 1999 titled: Revolution.,

Everything is always so close. Finding the poem, remembering the exhibit, receiving an invitation to Suzanna's show this week. I think the truth about string theory is that everything is connected by one amazingly huge string. In fact I am certain of it, as it reveals a little more of it's elegant truth to me each day.

Living Well

I had a long talk the other night with an old friend. It was the same day that I received an invitation to an Art Exhibit from my once Art Dealer Suzanna Terrill. Suzanna closed her Cincinnati Gallery around 2002-3, and moved to a small town in Tennessee near Knoxville. I have been longing to drive down there to visit her, and even with the temptation of this exhibit, I am unable to get away. For years she worked as an art dealer, for others and then for herself. She is also an exceptional painter, and is now able to devote her time to painting. I have a little painting of hers, a work on paper that she created years ago at a painters retreat in Maine. I have several small works by other artists, and cherish each of them. All for different reasons.

I have wonderful memories of many beautiful people who have touched my life. Most if not all, artists, working in one media or another. I think about how these interactions have impacted my own life and work, and must say that it has all been a blessing.

After deleting my perfume blog a few months back, I have had several emails from readers urging me to start writing again. I thought that writing through our Facebook Fan Page would make up the difference, but find that very few of my original readers have Facebook pages, so it has been somewhat of a bust in that respect. During that time, a lot has happened. We closed our Morrow Boutique and relocated to downtown Cincinnati. The new space is called Scentual Artistry. We have a perfume (scent) bar, all of the perfumes/brands of Liz Zorn Perfumes, essential oils, bath and body products, gourmet organic teas, and the thing that I have been dreaming of for years, an exhibition area for scent installations. Yes you read that right. Scent Art. We have had two installations so far, the current being "The Spice Road" featuring natural spice notes. After this installation goes down next week, I will take some time off for the summer. Our next exhibition will be at the end of August, it will be called "Ambrosia" an installation featuring sensual erotic essences from around the world. Also natural materials. It is not set in stone that all installations will be of natural materials, I do plan to devote an installation to molecules in the future, but am planning something much larger than what we currently have space for.

Right now I am still getting adjusted to being in the city, and juggling it with the time it takes to fill orders from our online store, supply other retailers with our perfumes and work on new things.

I will use this blog space to jot down my experience, thoughts and meanderings on all things arty in my life, as well as the lives of others who are doing amazing things.

Speaking of such, my friend Suzanna's opening is June 12,Townsend Artisan Gallery, Townsend TN