Article in San Francisco Chronicle

A reporter for the SF Chronicle visited me for an interview a few months ago, and she’s written a lovely article about Sonoma Scent Studio that is in this weekend’s Home and Garden section. The freelance reporter, Sophia Markoulakis, is a great writer and a real people person; she did a wonderful job tying together the personal and perfume sides of the story with the home/garden aspects. A photographer visited two weeks ago to take pictures for the article. You can see that it looks like fall here now with the trees dropping their leaves and the garden at season’s end (Sophia came earlier when it was much warmer, hence my quote about loving the late summer sun).

I want to mention something about myself that is in the article but that I’ve not brought up on the blog before. Years ago I had a spinal injury in a riding accident, and although I was not paralyzed, I currently use a wheelchair. My Dad is a retired architect and designed my cottage to be wheelchair friendly when we built it in 2005; it works great for me and is a perfect spot for me to live.

The article ends with a quote about how much I enjoy the scent memories that many customers share with me via email after they receive their orders. I really do treasure the emails I receive and love the chance to connect with people all over the world from my little corner here in Sonoma!

I’m still working on the new scents. I added pages for the first two all-natural blends so that people can see what is coming, but it will be a bit longer before they are released.

Quick update, and some new reviews

Thank you, Portia, for your lovely review of Incense Pure today on Perfume Posse! I’m so glad you liked it! (The Posse has had some problems after switching servers, so if this link doesn’t work you might try it again later.)

And thank you, Robin, for the review of Forest Walk last week on Now Smell This! And Dee, I am so glad Champagne de Bois is one of your Scents To Keep Me Sane! That’s a category I think we all have, lol.

I just updated the Fragrance Page to add the beginnings of the Naturals Collection. I wanted to give a preview of what is coming. I plan to do most of these scents in both edp and oil form, but I’ve not decided yet whether it will be a parfum oil or a body oil or both. I’d like these to have an oil option because oils are so much easier to ship overseas than alcohol-based perfumes from a regulation standpoint. I’m having fun staying in a natural palette for a different challenge. I will get back to the mixed media scents in progress after I complete a few of the naturals. The first two naturals are ready for testing.

We’ve been having a gorgeous mini heat wave. Feels like summer in October! Rain is due Mon-Wed though, so we’re enjoying the sun while it’s here.

Update

I realized I hadn’t mentioned that Sonoma Scent Studio tied for 4 bronze medals in the SF Fragrance Salon in July (Top All Round Product Line, Best Gift Set, Most Seductive Scent, and Best New Product). Many categories had multiple winners for the Bronze. The judging was informal and just for fun; it was not meant to be taken too seriously, but was intended to be a low-key secondary part of the show. I was also included in the bronze winners in the Naturals category, but that was a mistake because I hadn’t brought any all-natural scents to the show (the organizers hadn’t let the judges know which brands were natural, so that unfortunately led to some mistakes in that category).

Fall is here! Mornings are cool and often foggy, and the late afternoon shadows are long. The oak trees around my cottage are dropping leaves and acorns. Last night two foxes ran laps around my deck, keeping me awake. Their playfulness can be amusing by day, but not so fun in the middle of the night.

My younger niece’s birthday is today. Happy Birthday, Kate! She turns 9 today.

I’m working on some new scents and will talk more about the whole project soon.