That time of year again when my sleeping patterns begin to change, and my mind becomes more forgiving of time constraints, things begin to fall seamlessly into place.
The first wave of our Acousticjus launch is all but waiting for me to make the next move. I do need to make up a few more samplers, and proof the final press release, but we are ready to go with the stellar oil parfums. Over the weeks that follow and up until the end of the year we will release the stellar lips, stellar body mist and stellar soaps. So look for the news to drop by the middle of September.
Boxes are on my mind. I am still sitting with fingers cross (symbolically of course) that the news of their arrival last week is true and hold out that I will get an email tomorrow or Tuesday letting me know that they are ready to ship. As I had mentioned before this will ring in a season of change at soivohle online. I will be taking all new photos of our Soivohle line, and updating the website before the holiday season. I had been putting it off for so long. We will be making a few changes, for the better I think. Making the site easier to navigate as well as trimming the offerings to one collection. The rest will be available in our shop and through other online retailers. this also means that we will not be adding additional products. I want to focus attention to the liquid art, the parfums, and return to that original sub heading which celebrates our art in the bottle. How quickly it all gets away from me. good thing Autumn is on the drop, bringing me back to my senses once again. Off to work now, I have a long list for today and am determined to have everything checked off by the end of the day.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Nightjar
I woke up this morning, early as Mr. Z had to go to Kentucky and had me set the alarm on my phone last night. Both ringing, his and mine. a fail safe, and we were up.
I can smell the remnants of musk on my arm. I have been wearing my strange brew that I call NightJar. A tale of sorts, a vignette, an etude' ode to the whippoorwill, or something along those lines. How does one capture that fleeting feel of a haunting tug at the soul. The feeling of being completely isolated and one with the universe all in the blink of an eye.
I think about these kinds of things all the time, as I go about my business of making intangible things tangible. Scent is the perfect vehicle for transporting contradictory madness, and in that I feel right at home.
NightJar began with a bird, an unlikely bird passing through my neck of the woods. The Whippoorwill has such a distinctive call that it cannot be mistaken for anything else. To hear it (for me) brings up all sorts of musical references. The hauntingly famous Hank Williams, I'm so Lonesome I Could Cry, or even the homage: Midnight In Montgomery by Alan Jackson. For as long as I can remember I have been able to play the Hank Williams song on my guitar, yet can barely get through it without crying myself. Some songs are like that. Some songs I can never sing, because they are too raw or tender for my soul to bear.
So I am in my lab working out the details for this new perfume NightJar. I go back and forth with the intention. I decide on one thing and then another. It is a dirty business of emotion and I am stuck. So I put it down, and walk away, I need perspective. This is not one of those perfumes that falls fully formed into my head. This one I really have to work for. And what does that mean. Will it be better, will it have something the others do not. I have had to work for it before. I just don't know the answer. Lucky for me I discovered long ago that not knowing is ok. I can move on. I do not hold attachment to things I cannot change.
NightJar is not easy. It opens with a bundle of contradiction and confliction. An almost ugliness, that slowly evolves into a fine and delicate balance of floral notes, balsams and musk. It is like looking at a challenging painting, the immediacy evokes feelings of disgust and discomfort, yet on further examination it becomes like a beacon of truth.
Can scent do that. I believe it to be most capable.
I can smell the remnants of musk on my arm. I have been wearing my strange brew that I call NightJar. A tale of sorts, a vignette, an etude' ode to the whippoorwill, or something along those lines. How does one capture that fleeting feel of a haunting tug at the soul. The feeling of being completely isolated and one with the universe all in the blink of an eye.
I think about these kinds of things all the time, as I go about my business of making intangible things tangible. Scent is the perfect vehicle for transporting contradictory madness, and in that I feel right at home.
NightJar began with a bird, an unlikely bird passing through my neck of the woods. The Whippoorwill has such a distinctive call that it cannot be mistaken for anything else. To hear it (for me) brings up all sorts of musical references. The hauntingly famous Hank Williams, I'm so Lonesome I Could Cry, or even the homage: Midnight In Montgomery by Alan Jackson. For as long as I can remember I have been able to play the Hank Williams song on my guitar, yet can barely get through it without crying myself. Some songs are like that. Some songs I can never sing, because they are too raw or tender for my soul to bear.
So I am in my lab working out the details for this new perfume NightJar. I go back and forth with the intention. I decide on one thing and then another. It is a dirty business of emotion and I am stuck. So I put it down, and walk away, I need perspective. This is not one of those perfumes that falls fully formed into my head. This one I really have to work for. And what does that mean. Will it be better, will it have something the others do not. I have had to work for it before. I just don't know the answer. Lucky for me I discovered long ago that not knowing is ok. I can move on. I do not hold attachment to things I cannot change.
NightJar is not easy. It opens with a bundle of contradiction and confliction. An almost ugliness, that slowly evolves into a fine and delicate balance of floral notes, balsams and musk. It is like looking at a challenging painting, the immediacy evokes feelings of disgust and discomfort, yet on further examination it becomes like a beacon of truth.
Can scent do that. I believe it to be most capable.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Save
As much as you like to think so, you cannot save every stray animal, wandering soul, sick person, the planet and the Universe, so you may as well take a little time and save yourself. Words of wisdom from a dear friend. Truth ringing in my ears, but not quite convincing me to stop and smell the flowers; and yes I get the irony.
I should probably post this as well to Beacons blog, because it is he who has me thinking this early a.m. He could not sleep. Up and down all night. Nudging me to rub his head, cuddle with him, only to have him dart off the edge of the bed and to the door. Finally I gave in and let him go. Out the door and down the steps, like a dash, on his two front legs. This is only happening because I too am up. Otherwise he would realize that he was alone in the dark, and it would begin, an unending cry of epic proportions. Unending until I walk down the stairs, grab him in my arms and take him back to bed. This could go on many times throughout a night. When he is restless I am restless. So here we are.
Beacon is two years old this month, and looking back over our journey so far, I can say that I have become an expert at reading him. He goes through cycles which are primarily based on his body's digestive tract, and his ability to utilize food and process waste.
Later today he will be out like a light. Most days he is like this. The stress of getting around, the energy expended is much more noticeable now that he is fully grown. Yet that doesn't stop him when he is on a roll. He, can out maneuver all of the other cats, out run them and out fox them. The only thing he can't do is jump. So he has learned to pull himself up on furniture, maneuver onto table tops and on some occasions, get stuck, scaring the crap out of me. Which prompts me to make the rounds throughout the day, looking for him, making sure he is safe.
In all honesty, I do not believe that I can save the world, or myself. At least not in a way that would be efficient. I do feel however that I am saved. Not in a religious way, but in a way that allows me to be at ease in the world. For as much as I may seem restless, I am very much at peace with life. Adhering to the Tao Pooh philosophy I focus my attention to the present moment. Always observant, always taking it all in. It is amazing how much we are able to understand through calm and silence. Amazing how easy it is to let go. Knowing that the extraneous things that define me today, I can walk away from at any moment and be complete. Knowing that blood is thicker than water, and that beating hearts trump everything else.
I should probably post this as well to Beacons blog, because it is he who has me thinking this early a.m. He could not sleep. Up and down all night. Nudging me to rub his head, cuddle with him, only to have him dart off the edge of the bed and to the door. Finally I gave in and let him go. Out the door and down the steps, like a dash, on his two front legs. This is only happening because I too am up. Otherwise he would realize that he was alone in the dark, and it would begin, an unending cry of epic proportions. Unending until I walk down the stairs, grab him in my arms and take him back to bed. This could go on many times throughout a night. When he is restless I am restless. So here we are.
Beacon is two years old this month, and looking back over our journey so far, I can say that I have become an expert at reading him. He goes through cycles which are primarily based on his body's digestive tract, and his ability to utilize food and process waste.
Later today he will be out like a light. Most days he is like this. The stress of getting around, the energy expended is much more noticeable now that he is fully grown. Yet that doesn't stop him when he is on a roll. He, can out maneuver all of the other cats, out run them and out fox them. The only thing he can't do is jump. So he has learned to pull himself up on furniture, maneuver onto table tops and on some occasions, get stuck, scaring the crap out of me. Which prompts me to make the rounds throughout the day, looking for him, making sure he is safe.
In all honesty, I do not believe that I can save the world, or myself. At least not in a way that would be efficient. I do feel however that I am saved. Not in a religious way, but in a way that allows me to be at ease in the world. For as much as I may seem restless, I am very much at peace with life. Adhering to the Tao Pooh philosophy I focus my attention to the present moment. Always observant, always taking it all in. It is amazing how much we are able to understand through calm and silence. Amazing how easy it is to let go. Knowing that the extraneous things that define me today, I can walk away from at any moment and be complete. Knowing that blood is thicker than water, and that beating hearts trump everything else.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Finishing Touches
How is it that no matter how many things get checked off, the to do list keeps getting longer. We are getting down to the wire, and are on for a sneak peek of the Acousticjus stellar oil parfums next Friday at the Open House. I have been boxing for the past few evenings and have quite a few of them finished. I also realize with the busy fall and holiday season coming on I will not get another day off for at least six months. Thanks to my special spinach tonic and a ton of green drinks I should breeze right through it. As you can see from the images the boxes are not your typical fare. I decided early on that I wanted to flex my artistic muscle bit with this line, and do something more whimsical and original with the packaging so I ordered plain cores that could be wrapped in handmade paper. Purple was the color ofchoice from day one, a throw back to the days when I had a line of bath and body products under our Peace Angel Farm label. My husband still uses the purple boxes for his gourmet garlic gift packaging, which should be available soon (I think) for the fall/winter gifting season. As it is now we are each so focused on our own things that if we are lucky we say hey in passing every day or so. But anyway that's how it is sometimes. I will also be boxing the stellar lips (gloss and lipstick/stains) over the next few days. They will be in this same style box. The stellar body mist will be in a white spray bottle with purple label. I had a sample of a purple spray bottle, but it was too much. The contrast of the white bottle is just right. I have not decided yet on the packaging for the soaps. They are round, so maybe a larger round core that could hold for our five bars. They are mini soaps with a dragonfly motif. The soaps will be the last thing we add so I am not so concerned about it just yet. I have been doing a little foot work, via phone as well, trying to line up a few folks as reps. for the new line. So far so good, and I still have some more to do on that. If anyone reading wants to contact me about being a rep. in your area please do so by email: liz1 at lizzornperfumes dot com. I will have more info. on this soon with press kits and introductory packets. I am off to clear my work table and start boxing lip gloss. totally love blending the colors for these. I have ordered samples of quite a few more pigments, and plan to get very creative with the lip colors as we go along. Art is the most funnest thing...
Monday, August 16, 2010
Big Week
After a not so productive week, I am ready to get things going today. Sinus, allergies, asthma, are not getting another minute of my time. I have been bottling acousticjus oils and have the accords (soivohle) ready to put on the website. By the end of this week it should be done. I plan to have a sneak peek of the Acousticjus Stellar Oil Parfums at our open house at the end of this month. August 27th. This will not be the official launch, but we will have a sampler card available of all six scents, for the online community. I am also working on our Stellar Lips, Lipstick/stains, which got a last minute makeover. I receive a lot of emails about our Soivohle perfumes. If they are vegan or not, etc. and decided this would be a great opportunity to offer a vegan alternative to traditional lipsticks, which often contains lanolin and beeswax. We will not be using lanolin or beeswax in the Lipstick.stain formulation. These will be available in 5ml glass pots. We also have a liquid roll-on lip gloss which is not vegan, so a choice for folks who find this a concern.
I had mentioned this before, and will begin work on it this week as well. I will be moving my large blending unit downtown to Scentual Artistry. We will do a bit of furniture rearranging, and be set up for custom blending. I was not sure if I wanted to move everything into that space, but since I am already taking appointments and having to drive down there anyway, I am now thinking why not.
We will be changing our hours from tentative to regular hours Tuesday & Thursday 11-3 in September and thru. the holidays. Lots to do, so I will stop here and get to work. LZ
I had mentioned this before, and will begin work on it this week as well. I will be moving my large blending unit downtown to Scentual Artistry. We will do a bit of furniture rearranging, and be set up for custom blending. I was not sure if I wanted to move everything into that space, but since I am already taking appointments and having to drive down there anyway, I am now thinking why not.
We will be changing our hours from tentative to regular hours Tuesday & Thursday 11-3 in September and thru. the holidays. Lots to do, so I will stop here and get to work. LZ
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Soivohle (LZP) Accords
I have been diluting and bottling them this week. So far I have around eighteen finished. Enough I think to go ahead and make them available on the website. These if you remember way back when, are custom accords that I have created. They are not finished perfumes, so a bit of creative layering will bring them full bloom. For example there is one called Creamy White Flowers. Alone it is nice, but can be enhanced by a layering of Vanilla Musk or an Oriental Amber. If you like it green, I have an accord called Leaf & Stem, which is green city. A green top paired with a heavy base works well too. With accords and bases there is usually a cross over from top to middle notes, middle to bottom etc. It isn't necessary with accords to always think you need a top, middle and bottom to have a finished perfume. These are designed to eliminate the guess work. I will also be adding to this a few single notes. Notes that can add a unique element. My intention when all is said and done, is to have a complete palette, that will allow folks (with minimal effort) to experiment and create their own custom scent.
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