New Blog: The Artisan Insider

I wanted to post an update and announce the transition of this blog, Perfume in Progress, to a new blog called The Artisan Insider. I have transferred all of the old posts from Perfume in Progress over to the new blog and will continue my blogging there. This older blog will remain here for a while, but I will eventually remove it since everything has been moved to the new blog. I tried to better organize all the posts and categories to make information easier to locate for readers with differing interests.

The new blog has a fresh new format and will take on a broader purpose now that I have closed Sonoma Scent Studio. The Artisan Insider will feature artisan and indie businesses of all kinds (local here in Sonoma County and non-local) and will also explore topics of interest to small business owners such as hiring employees and finding product liability insurance.

Today I have posted a new entry on The Artisan Insider, an interview with jewelry artist Natalie Gentilo (you might know her from our perfume community). I hope you’ll enjoy reading her story and viewing photos of her gorgeous work! Below is a photo of Natalie with some intricate hand-painted floral earrings that she created. She hand paints beautiful designs, many nature-inspired, at very small scale.

Quick update on SSS: I continue to receive emails every week from people who hope to buy more bottles of SSS scents. When I first closed, I was talking with several parties and really thought that I would have a solution for SSS to carry on. The scents always sold very well from my own website and someone could step in to get things going again. Although a number of people have expressed interest in acquiring SSS, I have not had a workable offer yet. There are still people who are interested, but I am not sure whether a successor will take over and apologize for the uncertainty. I will continue to update about SSS on The Artisan Insider whenever I have news on that topic.

Meantime, I’m getting the new blog underway (more posts coming), and I would also enjoy doing some freelance work for artisans who need help creating images and copy for websites and packaging. When I first started SSS, I would have loved to have found a lower-priced alternative to expensive graphic artists for small design projects, and I hope I can help fill that need. For example, I love creating website slideshows, product hang cards, business cards, brochures, flyers, and box designs. I’m almost ready to start taking on a few projects if there is interest.

For those who are subscribed to Perfume In Progress, I hope you’ll subscribe to The Artisan Insider; you can find a FeedBurner link here. Many thanks!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Wanted to give a little update and wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving! The photo above, taken a few weeks ago, shows the beautiful autumn yellow colors in the vineyard next door to us.

Dad continues to heal and is doing physical therapy. He sees the surgeon again next week to see whether things are healing well enough without surgery. He is having trouble moving the arm in some directions in PT, and we don’t know yet if that issue will work itself out or if his arm will require repair. He’s still wearing a brace and sling.

My fears about fire season unfortunately were not unfounded. The Butte County fire to the north of us is the most destructive fire we’ve ever had in CA, even worse than last year’s fires here in Sonoma and Napa. Our hearts go out to the people who have lost homes and loved ones. We finally have rain here and that should help put an end to this year’s fire season as well as clear out the horrible smoke that had engulfed our area.

We’re having a nice family Thanksgiving today with my brother and his family. I’ve not seen my nieces in almost a year, so this is a treat. One is a sophomore at UC Berkeley and the other is a sophomore in high school.

We continue to see the deer families regularly. Yesterday, six deer visited to graze and I got a video of several of them popping over our fence (they are amazing jumpers!).

Hope all of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!