CaFleureBon Profiles in American Perfumery: Laurie Erickson of Sonoma Scent Studio + Reader’s”Dream” Choice Draw

 In a recent  review of  three SlumberHouse  perfumes by  Managing Editor Mark Benke (draw ends  July 25, 2011), we asked who your favorite perfumers were on IndieScents.com . DSH Perfumes and Sonoma Scent Studios were among the faves. We have done a CaFleureBon Profiles In  America Perfumery for DSH,  so its with pleasure we introduce our new readers  to Laurie Erickson of Sonoma Scents. Laurie is no stranger to our site  even when we were a baby blog,  she  spoke out on the future of perfumery as the anti perfume movement grows stronger..

Laurie grew up in  rural town called Woodside in the San Francisco Bay Area. When  she  was  young, Woodside had a very small town feeling; neighbors knew each other and  felt connected to the community. The area has lots of oak trees and several beautiful wooded parks, so Laurie grew up loving the local riding and hiking trails.

Laurie’s family 1922/1923 all rights reserved This shows  her  grandfather (second in back from right) along with his eight siblings and parents.

Profile: Laurie’s father is Swedish. He lived in Sweden for two years when he was young, but he spent most of his childhood in San Francisco. His Dad was born in Sweden and came to the USA a a young adult. His Mom was born here but was also Swedish Laurie’s  paternal grandparents were fluent in Swedish but she only learned a few words and phrases.  “My family visited Sweden the summer after my first year in school; whe was too small to fully appreciate the trip, but I have good memories. I have many relatives in Sweden because my Swedish grandfather had eight siblings, and some of our Swedish relatives visit the USA once a year. My Mom is a mixture, mostly German and Irish, so I am half Swedish. Our last name was originally Erickkson, but for some reason they thought Erickson sounded more American”.

 

On  American Perfumery:

I think the strong indie movement here in America springs from our entrepreneurial spirit. As our society has become more reliant on technology, people enjoy getting back in touch with hand-crafted items, both as creators and purchasers. There’s something special about things that have been created directly by the artisan rather than mass produced in a factory. The web has allowed small businesses to flourish by connecting creators and buyers, so the technological advances have helped the growth of indies. The surge of indie perfumers is exciting because it fosters new ideas and approaches, with creations coming from artists’ perspectives rather than from market-driven focus groups.

 

 

 Laurie Erickson chose  To Dream as the most fitting for the American theme, partly because the name reflects the freedom we have to follow our dreams and try to make them come true. Also, To Dream incorporates a wide variety of elements into a cohesive and interesting whole, which seems American.

Michelyn Camen, Editor in Chief

However especially for our readers Laurie offer a reader’s choice for a purse spray.

T o be eligible log on to www.sonomascentstudio.com/FragranceShop.shtml   and choose your scent and leave a comment  why it is your American dream or  why this draw is a dream come true.PLEASE CHOOSE A SCENT OR YOUA RE NOT ELIGIBLE. Draw ends July 27, 2011.  PLEASE LIKE CaFleureBon Profiles in American Perfumery because this series will run throughout the remainder of the year .And your entry will count as two .

 

Editor’s Note:Laurie chose American painter Mary Cassatt  who was born in 1844 in Pennsylvania; she went on to become one of the most prominent female painters in the Impressionist art movement as her favorite American artist.It was a time when there weren’t even that many woman painters at all (painting wasn’t necessarily “ladylike”), and Mary Cassatt stood out not only for her involvement with such an important movement as Impressionism, but for the quality of her art

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


52 comments

  • I can’t get enough trying the samples I recived last week for Laurie and I can’t decide which one to choose.First time I recived some samples i purchased two bottles and now I decided to try everything she offers.
    This draw is a dream come true because I realy enjoy her work,I find her perfumes very special.They are not all natural but they represent the joy of the moment when expriencing the the complexity and beauty of real plants and flowers.Her “Velvet Rose” is like a walk in a garden of blooming roses and you can feel the scent of the plant too,the petals, the green part everything.The violet scents are like walking in a path with violets along,but again you can smell the whole plant.Simply amazing!
    The bottles I have are a real treasures and and I would love to have some more.Thanks for the draw!

  • Thanks Michelyn for this look back into Laurie’s early life! I liked the pictures. I totally agree at this point that things created directly by artisan are of special quality and they have a lot of potential.

    Cafleurebon is yet to be explored so much to me and I am enjoying here reading reviews and interviews and so much more. Thanks Michelyn again for this wonderful blog! I am absolutely privileged to be here.

  • This draw is a dream come true because I’ve been wanting to sample her To dream! I’ve followed Laurie for quite a while now, starting on when she had a huge line. Seeing her go through and refining both her scent collection as well as re-packaging of her line it has been great to see how her American dream is slowly coming into reality!

  • I think “To Dream” captures the American spirit in that the perfume is a symbol of aspiration, and it is something more complicated than just the statement of its parts, as Laurie stated.

    “To Dream’s” complex nature, set free by its floral heart, sounds wonderful to me.

  • arch.memory says:

    I’ve tried Winter Woods, Tabac Aurea, and To Dream from this line, and I’ll have to agree with Laurie and go with To Dream. I’m simply a sucker for iris, and this is one savage iris (the oak really brings out the rooty-winey aspects of it).

  • I like many of Laurie’s perfumes, I own some and plan on buying the next one (To Dream) soon but let me play just for fun. Should I win I’d like to get Rose Musk.

  • In an excitement to write my comment I forgot to mention my choice:). To Dream is the one I would like to vote for that absolutely captures all the nuances of America.

  • Hmmm, I think Laurie does excellent work, and winning a travel spray of Tabac Aurea would be a dream come true – it is a truly lovely scent to cozy up with.

  • Monica H. says:

    This draw is a dream come true because I’ve been wanting to sample her To dream! I’ve followed Laurie for quite a while now, starting on when she had a huge line. Seeing her go through and refining both her scent collection as well as re-packaging of her line it has been great to see how her American dream is slowly coming into reality!

    In the same veins I desperately want to try “To Dream”!

  • I’ve been wanting to try Laurie’s scent especially Champagne de Boise which I have heard lovely things about. However, if i win I might have to choose rose musc which sounds gorgeous.

  • I quote from the article: “I think the strong indie movement here in America springs from our entrepreneurial spirit. As our society has become more reliant on technology, people enjoy getting back in touch with hand-crafted items, both as creators and purchasers. There’s something special about things that have been created directly by the artisan rather than mass produced in a factory.” Yes! Americans are entrepreneurial, and many small and great successes are founded on simple ideas and dreams, and first made in the kitchen, so to speak. I am always excited to discover something unique, not found in stores that are clones of one another, things that are not mass produced. I grew up in a time where fashion had such individuality, and throughout my work I as a fashion writer and stlist, I always looked for the new and unique and small upstarts that would show my readers and clients how they could express their own personalities. Today, we all have the clothes, so now we add a touch, a new accessory, a flower, a hat, a one of a kind necklace. To me, this accessory is often perfume. This is why I love niche Perfume houses. I know I won’t smell as if I walked out of a department store, where sadly, vendors today buy their square footage. I have not sampled from Sonoma Scents, but if I had to choose upon notes, for me it would be Tabac Aurea, simply based on the notes I gravitate to. Anything I wear must have Vanilla. I also love Tobacco and Amber. May I also add, Woodside is a very special and beautiful place to have lived! As I said in a comment last night, Michelyn, you are not being kind to my pocket book, as for every post, there is a new lust on my list!

  • I recently discovered SSS and was delighted to find they were located in the same region in which I live ;D All of Laurie’s blends sound dreamy but Rose Musc tops my Wish List!

  • I have been a follower of Laurie’s work for what seems like a lifetime, but would never have know about her early life. So happy to have read this little gem of an article. Would love to be in the draw for To Dream (one of the few scents I don’t have yet:)

  • I agree that “To Dream” fits the American theme best, and it sounds like my dream come true as well. I would love to have the chance to win this in a purse spray. This is an amazing line. Thanks for the draw!

  • This draw is a dream come true because I havent been able to put any money on perfume this summer thanks to my broken car who had to have an engine change. I would love to be in the draw for a purse spray of tabac aurea.

  • Just yesterday I was enjoying wearing Lieu de Reves and thinking that I needed to try Laurie’s rose scents, as I’ve tried most of her others except them. She has such a distinctive way with woods and violets, so I’m excited to see what she does with roses. I think Rose Musk sounds especially divine, so that would be my first choice.

    I’m very happy to see you profiling American indie perfumers on this blog! I find myself turning more and more to the indies lately, which is where I believe originality and innovation in perfumery is at these days. I enjoy reading about the creative process on their blogs, and the personal touch that goes into the perfumes themselves and the packaging, and I prefer to support these small companies rather than big corporations.

  • Thank you Laurie for this generous draw and insight into your world
    I love looking at family pictures ; it reminds us of our roots in an era where so few of us have them. I think it’s wonderful your relatives visit you
    My grandmother had 9 siblings too ! I remember all their names 🙂 two were twins
    Of course you know I am jonesing for a re release of the beautiful skin scent opal which was discontinued one day ? If I was eligible I would be a Tabac Aurea lover for sure
    Ah to dream 😉

  • This draw is a dream come true because a few of SSS scents have been on my list for months now, with To Dream at the top. A friend let me sample her bottle. I wore To Dream for a day and it was lovely.

    SSS creates well crafted, interesting and long lasting perfumes, and I’ve tried a few and liked everything. Fireside Intense is like being beside a campfire. Champagne du Bois is pure celebration, while Vintage Rose reminded me of the vineyards in California. I don’t own any SSS scents so this dream draw would actually put a bottle of something wonderful… To Dream… in my collection and scent rotation!

  • Hi Michelyn, excellent post about an amazing perfumer who’s work I very much enjoy! I already own a bottle of Tabac Aurea & Winter Woods (my wife also loves her bottle of Champagne De Bois) but if I had to choose another from her line to own, I would have to choose Fireside Intense. I’m not sure how this scent would encompass the American Dream but for me it does bring to mind a dream of how a rural America would smell, with it’s woodland forests and beautiful national parks. Well, more like camping in these places and making a fire at night to warm myself to. Now that’s a dream I’d love to make a reality!

  • Thanks so much, Michelyn, for including me in your series! And many thanks for all the sweet comments. It’s fun to share my background. That’s interesting your grandmother grew up in a big family like my grandfather did! I do have Opal on my To Do list after I finish a few other things in progress. Thanks again for making me a part of your American indies series!

  • Ambre Noir- it would be like a dream come true to win it because amber is one of my top three favorite scents…and I’ve been beginning to look for a good new amber for autumn/winter…there are so many, it’s difficult to know where to start…but I’ve wanted to try something from Sonoma Scent Studio for quite a while, and this would be a great introduction to their line…!

  • So many of the SSS’s sound like just my kind of thing, it’s just so sad that it’s difficult to get hold of all these amazing perfumes over here on the other side of the pond. Hence a dream come true would definitely be to as lucky as to try ‘To Dream’. However, Tabac Aurea, Amber Noire, Winter Woods and Champagne de Bois and Cameo all sound absolutely amazing. A bit of dreaming is an absolute necessity here in Denmark, where it has been raining and cold for weeks, and the summer seems to have gone hiding.
    Thanks CaFleureBon yet again for this great American series, and thanks to SSS/ Laurie for the great draw.

  • I find the most compelling aspects of the American Dream are the ones where we leave room for others to dream their own dream, side by side with our own. When we have the wisdom to understand that the existence of one version of the American Dream does not negate or threaten our own.

    This is made manifest in how American perfumery has begun to flourish, a subgroup of dreamers who nurture and support each other; who witness each others dreams.

    I am dying to try Rose Musc; finding the perfect rose fragrance for me is a tiny piece of my own wild dreaming.

  • I’d love to try Tabac Aurea. I have been reading so many wonderful reviews about it that it would be a dream come true if I could try it at last 🙂
    Tabac Aurea sounds like a dreamt journey to simpler time, when people and nature where more connected.

    Thanks for this drawing!

  • anotherperfumeblog says:

    I’d like to try Voile de Violette. I’ve heard good things (and echoed above) about Laurie’s gift with violet. Thanks for offering this draw!

  • Many of my dreams involve scent and it seems Laurie’s work has a dreamed/storied quality to it! I have always wanted to try her scents and would love to enter the drawing. I would most like to try Tabac Aurea. Thank you.

  • Would love ti try Fireside Intense. I go camping every summer and seating by the fire is one of the experiences O anticipate the most on those warm summer nights.

    This draw is a dream come true because I meant to try some SSS scents for the loongest time and will be very happy to own one!

  • I am a fan of Sonoma Scent Studio and Laurie’s quality fragrances. I own Tabac Aurea and Femme Jolie (which I am wearing right now!). Winning “To Dream” would be my dream come true, because it contains my favorite notes in one fragrance – heliotrope, amber, sandalwood, suede, cocoa, and aldehydes.

  • I love Laurie’s fragrances and have tried all except Fireside Intense. One of my very favorites is Jour Ensoleille. I do think I would like to try more of the Tabacu Aurea. This is really different and the fragrance changes by the hour. To Dream is very, very nice. I’m actually wearing it today. As I mentioned to Laurie previously, her fragrances hold up very well in hot weather!

    Thank you!!

  • It would be a dream come true to own a SSS parfum! I just visited the SSS website to choose a scent and it is Viole de Violette. Thank you so much, Laurie and Michelyn!

  • Enjoyed Laurie’s choice of Mary Cassatt’s paintings to illustrate this piece.
    At the moment I have a truly minuscule perfume budget so winning this draw would give me the dream come true opportunity to experience more than a sampling of this truly talented perfumer’s work. I really enjoy (and would highly recommend) Laurie’s soft, woodsy Champagne de Bois, but at the moment I dream of finding the perfect rose and so would select Rose Musc.
    Thanks to Laurie and CaFleureBon for this opportunity.

  • Michellle Hunt says:

    The description of Voile de Violette reminds me of the American Dream because our style is modern, yet more and more of us are yearning for things vintage, and the substance that history brings. It sounds like a modern take on a vintage fragrance of violets so popular years ago. I would love to win Voile de Violette fragrance! I am a fan of Cafleurebon Profiles in American Perfumery on FB!

  • I am a newbie and have a very small fragrance budget. I have never tried SSS. I visited her website for the first time. I think I would like Cameo or To Dream, although most of these scents sound wonderful. I am most familiar with Chanel fragrances, but would love to try this all American independent perfumer. I just like the idea of an independent perfumer instead of all the big perfume houses. Please enter me in the draw.

  • chayaruchama says:

    I have many of Laurie’s scents; I think she’s a wonder.
    A sweet wonder.
    I love this interview.

  • Laurie line works on my skin more consistently than anything else I’ve ever tried – IMO she’s amazing.

    I already own Winter Woods, Femme Jolie and Incense Pure, with a smaller spray of Champagne de Bois I’ve almost finished and a long mental list of other fragrances that I plan on eventually acquiring (could I add my plea for Opal to come back as well?), so the hard part is choosing which I want the most.

    Hmmm…… I haven’t had a chance to smell To Dream yet. I’d be willing to ask for that one unsniffed.

  • I love Laurie’s scents and her customer service is world class! Femme Jolie is my all time favorite, with Sienna Musk close behind. Looking forward to the vintage inspired scent she’s working on for fall. I haven’t tried To Dream yet so that would be a dream come true to win.

  • I love so many of Laurie’s perfumes, hers is one of my all-time favorite lines. If I won the draw I’d choose To Dream — it really is dreamy! I love what she does with violet and rose.

  • It was so nice reading Laurie’s little bio of her family!. She is such a talented perfumer. To Dream and Incense Pure are very lovely perfumes. I’m converted to incense because of Incense Pure!

  • Z. Boudreaux says:

    Incense Pure would be my dream come true from this line. I’ve yet to sample any from this brand yet and have been wanting to. This draw is my dream come true because I love local perfumery and I’m based very near by in the San Francisco area.

    Thanks for entering me twice in the draw after liking the series on FB!

    Zee

  • I would love to try To Dream. I have a number of samples, of which Jour Ensoleillé is probably my favorite, but they’re all pretty spectacular – unique, complex, and no hint of synthetics.

  • mariotgomez says:

    Americans always dream of following their passion and becoming successful. Michelyn thank you for sharing these reviews of American perfumers. To follow the theme of dreaming I would want to try To Dream.

  • I was just looking to order some samples from Sonoma Scent Sudio as my man went to San Francisco. That is really a dream come true that the draw takes place right now. I was looking for Champagne de Bois.

  • I absolutely adore Incense Pure and get compliments on it almost every time I wear it. The fragrance soars… it lasts all day and is my #1 incense. Winter Woods and Fireside Intense go into heavy rotation during the cold months. But there is one scent that I am dreaming about… Champagne de Bois. I would love the chance to try it! The few sniffs that I have experienced were intoxicating. I am so happy that I can fulfill my passion for perfume while supporting a passionate, talented, fellow American.

  • Oh dear — how to choose! To Dream sounds wonderful but I haven’t sampled it yet. I have, however, been thinking that I needed to place an order soon for Tabac Aurea, Lieu de Reves and Champagne de Bois. If it’s my lucky day, I guess I’ll have to pick — probably the To Dream since it really does sound dreamy…

    Thanks to Laurie and CaFleureBon for a great draw!

  • It’s a dream to me to try every great fragrance that’s out there, therefore I’d love to be included in the draw for a sample of To Dream. Thanks!

  • This is a great new series! I am really enjoying them.
    What would I pick from Sonoma Scent Studio?
    Lieu de Rêves because I have a weak spot for floral aldehydes (and because Michelyn told me to look for them, too! 🙂
    I read a review of this fragrance and the reviewer translated Lieu de Rêves as Place of Dreams. I don’t speak French, so I hope that this is the correct translation because it would be perfect for me — the US was a place where all my dreams came true.
    Thank you for the draw.

  • I’ve been a fan of Laurie for several years. She’s done amazing creations and has impeccable taste when it comes to fragrance. I love all of her scents but it was Voile de Violette, which I’d love to have another bottle, that hooked me on her perfumery. Her incense and Jour Ensolleile are just a few of heer amazing scents. Laurie loves gardening and I enjoy her pictures and comments about it. Her success is an American dream.

  • As an art histor minor and Pennsylvania resident I must bow my head to Miss Mary Cassat. I have always loved her for her boldness as much as her talent. Quiet women rarely make history. I am not familliar with Lauries scents and sadly, I have had very few dreams in smellavision:((( Everyone is talking about To Dream Im intrigued by it.
    My American Dream. It is ever evolving and I suppose thats to be expected I am a female who reserves the right to change my mind…often. I like the ability to see compassion and passion. I like the idea that anyone can be whoever they want and even in some cases transform themselves. My American Dream is for everyone to respect themselves and do a kind deed without being credited for it once per day. Do I sound like Im campaigning for miss America right now??? But I am serious I have a wonderful life I have it all and I am truely thankful.
    This draw as always is wonderful and generous thanks xo

  • Hi! I am a fan of Laurie’s rose fragrances, particularly Rose Musc and Velvet Rose. And I recently sampled To Dream (wow!). To Dream is my choice if I’m lucky enough to win.

    Laurie, I’m thrilled to hear that Opal is on your list for a comeback!

  • ElizabethN says:

    I have loved Laurie’s scents for several years now (Vintage Rose and Tabac Aurea are two of my favorite scents), so I would be thrilled to win a purse spray of one. Not only are her scents amazing, but Laurie is so friendly and genuine, not to mention generous! If I win, I would like To Dream, which is supposed to be fantastic.