Amber Jobin of Aether Arts

Profile:  I was born in Florida not far from the ocean.  My mom would take me to the beach and I’m sure that is when I found my love of ozone/marine scents and sounds. My father’s people were from Maine and we lived there a while before settling in the Green Mountains of Vermont.  Both my parents enjoyed creative pursuits but neither were artists.  Still, I think I received some sort of recessive art gene from them:  I loved to create and make things. I loved growing up in the country with my younger sister and brother, living in quirky old Vermont farmhouses.  Amusing myself in Nature became second nature to me.  I would make my own art supplies from natural materials, grinding up pretty-colored rocks for paint and making brushes out of milkweed fluff.  Birch bark was my canvas.  I loved to read and was fascinated by old camping and scouting manuals from the 1920s.  If disaster ever struck, I just knew I could save my family by building a lean-to out of fir boughs.  Curiosity drove me—a need to know how it worked, and how I could make it myself.  The DIY bug bit me early and hard.

One of my earliest and most profound teachers was my little brother Joshua who was born with cerebral palsy.  In his own sweet way, he taught me empathy, compassion, and service to others.  I would not be the person I am today without his role in my life.  It was partly because of Joshua’s condition that we decided as a family to try home schooling.  Special Ed classes weren’t very sophisticated in 1970s rural Vermont, so my younger sister and I retired from public school and along with Joshua, we began home schooling.  This experience brought us very close together as a family and helped form who I am.

 Diana Rigg as Emma Peel

There is also one other person who, while fictional, profoundly influenced me as a teenager:  Diana Rigg as Mrs. Emma Peel from the British television show, The Avengers.  OMG,that show blew my country-mouse-mind wide open to all that a hip, modern woman could be.  She was a spy (how cool was that!) and she knew how to do everything:  fencing, martial-arts fighting, using a gun.   She drove a fast car, had the best wardrobe ever, and with multiple university degrees, was super smart.  I internalized her as my role model then and there and she is part of me still, actively expressed as my Burning Man alter ego, “Agent 11”.  One of the things that really fascinated me about the character was her obvious growth and expansion as a person.  OK, the car and the clothes were cool, but she had obviously learned and tried so many different things.  I wanted to do that too… so I did, earning degrees in Psychology, Art and Costume Design, all with a good dose of the danger arts:  fencing, aerial fabric, rock climbing, and fire spinning.

Dawn Spencer Hurwitz and Amber at The DSH Perfumes Studio

My path to perfumery began when I met Dawn Spencer Hurwitz of DSH Perfumes  in 2009 and began an open-ended apprenticeship.  Dawn made sure that I was well-grounded in all the basics, and soon after, my classes became self-directed.  This allows me to explore—in depth—anything I find compelling as a perfumer, whether concept, family or material.  Inspiration and imagination are the only limits! As a teacher, Dawn has been incredibly generous with her perfume knowledge (laudable in a field traditionally known for its secrecy).  I especially enjoy her extensive knowledge of perfume history which dovetails nicely with my knowledge of costume history.  As an employee of DSH Perfumes, I am helping to catalog Dawn’s huge collection of vintage and contemporary perfumes for the ArtScent Museum.  Smelling as I go, this has been an invaluable part of my perfume education:  I have learned to recognize the contextual characteristics of perfumes by decade, artist, and house.

She has also taught me how to smell critically.  It is easy enough to know if you like something subjectively but what makes one perfume an acknowledged masterwork and others not?  Learning this skill has given me so much insight into everything I smell and allows me to more accurately critique my own work.  Ultimately, Dawn gave me the skills to competently create in my own style.

Amber alter ego Agent 11 by Brian Zegarski

Integrating my apprentice and scholastic studies affords a unique, multidisciplined perspective for all my artistic endeavors:  perfume, mixed-media art, and jewelry.  The Burning Man festival has also figured prominently as both an inspiration and an artistic outlet.  Hula hooping, fire dancing and perfume creation are all part of that yearly experience.  Every Burning Man event has a specific art theme which I use as a perfumer’s brief to create a fragrance as a piece of art to share with the community.  I give away the first run of every burner perfume at the event.

Womb by Amber Jobin (mixed media using fabric and found objects)

I love to combine my art:  when designing a perfume I will often create a jewelry or mixed-media piece on the same theme.  While fire dancing, I may be struck by a great perfume idea; or a particular costume or clothing design might inspire me to develop a complementary fragrance.  Having many different creative outlets is like having the big, 64-box of crayons; I don’t I think I could be content with just a fistful of colors.

 Street of Crocodiles by the Quay Brothers (Stephen and Timothy Quay are American identical twin brothers  who are influential stop-motion animators) photo by twi-ny/mdr

On American Perfumery:  Freedom!  It’s one of the best qualities of American Perfumery—the freedom to use any material you deem true to your vision—freedom to acknowledge European perfume traditions without being rigidly bound to them.  I so appreciate the unique voices of niche perfumers; the openness of American Perfumery allows the personalities and gifts of each indie perfumer to shine.

Joseph Cornell Tradewinds

Favorite American Artist:  It’s hard to narrow it down but for mixed-media art, I really love Joseph Cornell; his assemblages are so mysterious and dream-like!  I look at them and my mind is filled with so many questions.  Another favorite would be the movies of the Brothers Quay.  Their films, encompassing all the theater arts in miniature, are veritable assemblages in motion.  They simultaneously reveal and conceal; you see so much and yet know so little, a lot like life.

–Amber Jobin, Perfumer and Artist

 Amber in Steampunk attire by Brian Zegarski

Thanks to Amber we have a draw for both our US and International readers:

For Our US Readers: Your Choice of 5.5ml of Aether Argent, Inuus A Roll in the Grass ( both inspired by Burning Man)

For All Readers: A sample set of all three fragrances.

To be Eligible please leave a comment with what you found fascinating about Amber Jobin and your choice of fragrance. If you LIKE CaFleureBon Profiles In American Perfumery on FACEBOOK your comment will count twice. Draw closes June 27, 2013.

SUPPORT AMERICAN ARTISAN PERFUMERS

Editor's Note: If you have called DSH Perfumes, chances are Amber assisted you. Amber also named one of my favorite DSH Perfumes- Mirabella, which was first reviewed and announced on CaFleurebon.  To learn more about the Annual Burning Man Festival, which will be held August 26-Sept 2 2013 in Nevada's Black Rock Desert click here– Michelyn Camen, Editor in Chief

We announce the winners on our site and on our Facebook page, so Like Cafleurebon and use our RSS option…or your dream prize wil be just spilled perfume