Hardware and Hard Work

Hardware, originally uploaded by Ayala Moriel.

If you think perfumers have an easy job, think twice. When it comes to independent ones, a day's work may even include using some toolbox items such as a hammer and a screwdriver. Such as when one needs to open a traditionally-sealed can of Rose Otto from Turkey. Perhaps I've never came across these because I've never stocked up on more than an ounce of Rose Otto. This time I took the plunge at 50gr of this precious oil, the crop of year 2006, priced at 11,400 per kilo.

The work should have been easy (the supplier reassured me), if only the cork sealing the can was not covered with an overdose of solder. Usually this can be peeled easily. But this time I had to use a hammer, a screw and a screwdriver to get in...

Was it worth the work? Oh yes it was!
In contrary to the crude and industrial looking can, the precious oil seems even more precious. Packaging of raw materials is first and foremost about practicality, but in this case it also created anticipation... with a surprise in the end (for those who waited long enough like I did!).

This crop is lovely, to say the least. It's the most fantastic rose otto I've ever smelled. It has the clarity that often a Bulgarian rose otto has, with a fruity full body that marks Turkish roses. It's simply the best I've ever smelled, and I've smelled quite a few crops of different countries over the past 8 years that I've been in the business...

My studio will smell like roses for a while, even though I haven't really lost any of the scent through the crude process of opening the rose-otto soaked cork crumbled and spilled around, spreading the fine scent of pure Anatolian roses.

And as a summary, I now propose this to be the inspiration for the new logo fo teh Fumeasons' Association (for those not familiar with this secret society, it is an organization of free independent perfumers, and the only reason you've never heard about it till now is because its members are so protective of their independence that they refuse to admit they even belong to this society!):

Fumeasons, originally uploaded by Ayala Moriel.