Natural Perfumer Charna Ethier Launches Providence Perfume Co. “The Store” + Grand Opening Draw

Charna & her Memere (French Grandmother)

Charna & her Memere (French Grandmother)

Charna Ethier of Providence Perfume Co. is one of our most gifted American Indie perfumers and represents "Generation Next" in the growing world of Natural Fragrances. Her perfumes are so distinct and unique, no wonder she has a global cult following.  Charna is also a mom, a wife, a teacher and an entrepeneur. Now she is the proprietor of a retail store. I asked Charna, with so much going on, why open a store?

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Come on in

 Charna Ethier: The impetus for me opening the brick and mortar Providence Perfume Co. was many things. First and foremost I needed space! My business had grown to a point where I needed room to expand, literally and figuratively. I desired a boutique space with additional studio room for perfumery classes, and room for manufacturing, filling and shipping our products.

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The additional space I have allows me to work in a creative, light filled "scent laboratory." I can launch new products on a smaller scale by offering them first here in the boutique. Having a customer base to provide feedback is also helpful.

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At the blending bar

 

I so appreciate getting to meet customers face to face, many of which have been purchasing my fragrances online for years. I love creating scents that tell a story on the skin, and am grateful that I can continue my passion. I love working with people one on one, so I created a custom blending bar, where a client can work with me to develop their perfect scent.

 

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Charna created this -Now that is using her head!

  How do you balance your time between family and business?

 Charna Ethier: Juggling being a mother, along with growing the business can be challenging. I'm very lucky my husband is supportive and an excellent cook. When I come home from work, dinner is waiting and the kids are in the bath. It's a new role reversal that I'm enjoying. I get to spend my days doing what I love, and meeting interesting people who enjoy sniffing things as much as I do. What more can you ask for?

 

Providence Perfume Co. is located at 301 Wickenden Street, Providence RI 02903. Phone: 401-455-2325

 Hours: Mon-Sat. from 10:30-6:00 p.m.

 Closed Sundays

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 To celebrate Providence Perfume Co., "The Store", we have  a special  draw for our US  readers. Choose any of CaFleureBon's Editor's picks  and win 15 ml  EDP of the following Providence Perfume Co.'s 100 percent natural perfumes: Cocoa Tuberose, Rose Boheme, Divine, Eva Luna, Hindu HoneysuckleGypsy, Osmanthus Oolong or Tobacco Citron by leaving a comment wishing Charna  good luck  (express yourself) and your choice  one of the above 9 perfumes. Draw ends May 3, 2013

Editor's Note: For our international readers, Charna is offering free shipping with any 30 ml  perfume. Just call and mention CaFleureBon and save a bundle.

Michelyn Camen, Editor-in Chief

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

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56 comments

  • I adore Charna and her perfumes and have had the privilege of taking classes from her. I wish her all the success in the world and hope to make a pilgrimage to her shop one fine day!
    It’s so hard to choose one scent as they are all great but I am almost out of my sample of Eva Luna (a great scent for spring :). Thanks!

  • Best of luck! I wish everyone wore natural perfumes, the world would be a much healthier and happier place 😉 I have never been to Providence, but have a friend that is moving there, and when I visit I will surely stop by the store!! My choice would be Eva Luna.

  • I wish Charna all the best for her new retail location! I’ve been close to ordering Orange Blossom body oil recently. I’d love to win 15ml of the Hindu Honeysuckle.

    Thanks for the draw opportunity!

  • Congratulations, Charna, I have no doubt that you will be successful in whatever you put your mind to. I love the white chandelier in the photo; also, your husband sounds like a keeper 🙂 Hindu Honeysuckle is my choice.

  • There is a young lady in Providence
    Who with charm, foresight, and alotta sense
    Opens a new store,
    Greets guests at the door,
    And rakes in kudos with her gotcha scents!

    Way to go, Charna! I’d love to try Gypsy.

  • Marion Low says:

    Wonderfull news, Congradulations Charna. Your fragrances are delightfull, I have only sampled about five, but my choice would be Osmanthus Oolong. Much happiness and success with your store.

  • Here’s to your B&M success! I’ve been enjoying Tabac Citron so much over the last couple of months – it’s really delightful. Hindu Honeysuckle would be my next choice.

  • Congrats Charna! A retail store is a great opportunity to enhance your customer’s connection to you and your wonderful scents.More to love. Kudos on expanding your passion and giving us a new way experience the brand. best to you!!
    p.s would love the Tobacco Citron!!

  • Congratulations on such an exciting step! It’s a testament to your success and it sounds like it all makes a lot of sense for your business. I’ve been wanting to try Cocoa Tuberose for ages now – so that would be my choice. Good luck!

  • Congratulations on your new venture! I’m sure it will be a great success as I have heard so many raves about your fragrances on various blogs. This is a difficult choice, but I would choose Hindu Honeysuckle. It sounds lovely! Thank you for the opportunity.

  • So excited for Charna!! It is much deserved. I love many of her perfumes. Lately I’ve been crazy about Tabac Citron. My niece turned me onto it: she had gotten a sample at Sniffapalooza last year and she is right, it is lovely. My sample is almost gone so I would love to win some more.

  • Fantastic news! Wishing you many, many years of happy blending in your store! As I am a fan of naturals and a tea fanatic I would love to try Osmanthus Oolong. thank you for this generous draw!

  • just breathe says:

    Congrats, Charna! I have heard great things about your perfumes! I would like to try Hindu Honeysuckle. thanks for the draw :D!!

  • Congrats Charna, new ventures are always exciting. today is my birthday and I choose Rose Boheme to try. Thanks for a way to sample your brand.

  • Best wishes, Charna! Here’s hoping your new store is a success; wish I lived much closer so that I could take a class from you. I love Rose Boheme, and Ginger Lily is quite nice as well. I would like to try Hindu Honeysuckle. Thanks for the draw. I live in the U.S.

  • Its a brave venture these days to open a store and one of the things that is often lacking is knowledge of the products that are sold instore, Its obvious that is your forte – AND – its also obvious you have a special way of connecting with people, making them feel comfortable, I can see that from the photos-and that’s such an important skill to have in a store, making the customer feel special and welcoming, connected with where they have just entered.

    Hindu Honeysuckle sounds divine, my choice!

  • Congratulations, Charna! Fragrance can be so intimidating, especially for beginners, and it is so helpful to have a place to try scents in person and with a knowledgable guide. I have always wanted to visit Providence and I now have one more reason to make it a priority. I would very much like to try Osmanthus Oolong. Thank you very much.

  • wefadetogray says:

    What a wonderful thing to be able to open your store and expand yourself both physically and metaphorically. I wish Charna all the best and I can say that she is without a doubt an extremely lucky woman who is able to do what she loves (which we all here love too, smell, sniff, be surrounded by scents)and have a feminist husband who is able to support, take care, and nurture her house and family. As fate has it, only today I read several reviews about Cocoa Tuberose when I was looking for a decadent non-rubbery tuberose. What can I say, I am dying to try it; it sounds irresistible!

  • I admire you for following your dream, and the fact that your business is successful makes it all the sweeter. Congratulations on this step.

    I was very taken with Divine when I tried some samples. It was very retro to me, sexy and divine. Easy to see where the name came in.

  • Charna I wish you success. Nothing better than sharing that success with grandma!!!

    My choice is Tobacco Citron (sounds perfect for me)

  • Wonderful news Charna! How exciting to have your own perfume boutique (I am jealous) Best of Luck! I would love to try any of Charna’s perfumes, Hindu Honeysuckle or Osmanthus Oolong would be lovely! Congratulations again.

  • I have been continually blown away by the perfumes Charna is creating. I can’t wait to visit her store the next time I’m out that way. Such an inspiration. I’d love to try Tabac Citron or Divine but Rose Boheme is already one of my faves. Any of her creations would find a happy spot in my home though. Congrats on the store!
    And as always thanks for the draw.

  • What a dream come true – best wishes to you Charna on the opening of your shop! If I’m ever in Providence, I will absolutely stop by! I would love to try the Hindu Honeysuckle, thanks so much for this generous offering!

  • helical gnome says:

    These are great news. I hope your store becomes all you want of it and more. May you inspire many people with your fragrances and continue to make more. You are clearly a strong woman, Charna, with a passion and talent for what you do so you cannot go wrong. Stay strong!
    I’d love to try cocoa tuberose. Thanks for the draw

  • It’s been exciting and heartwarming to see the rising star of Charna’s perfume line over the past few years. Bringing her talents and products to the public, face-to-face, nose-to-nose, if you will, is an grand next step. Mazel tov!

    xoxo,
    Anya

  • Best of luck to you, Charna – what a fantastic endeavor. I hope to go to the east coast someday and want to visit your shop.

    I would love to try Divine – I am on an orange blossom kick!
    In the US

  • Good luck- this is great. I have tried a couple of Providence Perfume Co.’s scents, and I was very impressed- I assume that this means more people will get to try them, which is great!

    I think I would try Rose Boheme…

  • Victoria Casey says:

    Best of luck with your new store. I’m sure it will be a success because I have heard lots of positive things about your perfumes. I would love to try Eva Luna.

  • Good luck with the new store!! Love the new chandelier, it’s beautiful:) The updates and photos lovely. Such a wonderful accomplishment to have your very own store to personally introduce people to your gorgeous natural perfumes. Would love Cocoa Tuberose.

  • Congratulations on making your shop a destination for my future perfume tour! Speaking of which, please ask Frunkinator add it to his most excellent website. All of your perfumes appeal to me, but I’m on a Tabac kick, so Tabac Citron would be my choice. Thanks!

  • Wow! Congratulations Charna and lucky RI!!! I selfishly wish you all the success in the world so that you will have to open more stores and I can someday visit them regularly! The store looks so cute! And I bet it is amazing for customers to be able to smell all the perfumes (and natural ingredients so they can get a custom made with their favorites)!

    I am so torn on which perfume I’d want (ie: I just want to be in the shop now and smelling them all to decide) but if I had to pick which I wanted to have most it would be: Hindu Honeysuckle.

  • Congratulations to you, Charna; wishing you much success! Your Grandmother is a beautiful woman!

    The fragrances are all so appealing; I suppose I would choose Hindu Honeysuckle.

  • Charna, I wish you continued success in the grand opening of your boutique! This has to be the best moment of your life. I would like to try Tabac Citron and I live in the US. Thanks for the draw and I’m so happy that you are living your dream! 🙂

  • Félicitations from a fan who is also of French-Canadian and First Nations ancestry! [Mi’kmaq in my case.]

    I am personally delighted whenever I hear about another of your successes in perfumery.

    Someday I hope to own a bottle of Osmanthus Oolong.

    With all best wishes,
    Lisa P

  • taffynfontana says:

    Best wishes life is so precious it is a blessing to do what you love to make a living and also to make others happy by doing what you love. My choice is Rose Boheme

  • Congratulations on the opening of your bricks and mortar store. How wonderful to be able to do something you love with the support of your family. Torn between Osmanthus Oolong and Hindu Honeysuckle because they both sound so appealing to me, but if I win I would choose Hindu Honeysuckle.

  • I took Charna’s perfumery class about 2 years ago, and it totally changed how I smell/perceive fragrances now. I’m thrilled you have opened a store, I plan to get there in June when I vacation in RI! I would choose Hindu Honeysuckle.

  • Fazal Cheema says:

    All the best in everything you do Charna but what i want to say the most is that your grandmother looks such an interesting individual..would love to meet her..my choice would be Rose Boheme..i am in US

  • Congratulations, Charna! Wishing you continued success! And your shop is in Providence? I’m going to have to figure out how to get down there for a visit. 🙂

    For the draw, I would love a bottle of Cocoa Tuberose. Yummm…

  • Oh, I only wish I didn’t live on the other side of the country! I’d love to visit, Charna, and the best of luck as you begin your exciting new journey! I swooned over Moss Gown (am enjoying a decant sample, which I put on to enter this contest), but would love to try Gypsy — I’m very tied to home, but I have a Gypsy spirit. Thanks for the opportunity!

  • Wow. it’s really hard to chose from the list of perfumes given… many sound like something I would love to try…
    I thought I’d play it safe and hope to win a Rose Boheme, but then decided to take a more adventurous wishful thinking direction and I hope to try Osmanthus Oolong. sounds really unique, and very special.
    (by the way, I am writing this from Israel, but my family lives in the US and they recieve and send my way any packages that need to be shipped in the US alone.)
    Hemla

  • Congratulations Charna on your well-deserved new storefront! Maybe someday I’ll get to the northeast again and stop in!

    I’d like to be entered for Hindu Honeysuckle. Thank you for the draw!

  • RusticDove says:

    Congratulations to Charna and many good wishes for much success.! What a dream come true. If I ever make it up to the New England area, I would love to stop in for browsing and chatting and sniffing! I daydream about opening a charming little shop of my own carrying all sorts of things I love for the home & garden and also featuring fragrances from the creative and talented indie perfumers that I know. Perhaps some day.

    The notes listed for Rose Boheme spoke to me, so that would be my pick If I win!

  • Paul Bunch says:

    Congratulations Charna on the new store! I am sure that you will be successful.
    As a student of Indian dance, I am dying to try Hindu Honeysuckle!

    All my best, Paul

  • Wonderful news, Charna! I predict your big step will be a smashing success and hope to trek over to RI and visit from Ohio.

    I would love to try (all, really) Moss Gown just because I’ve never seen boronia used in a fragrance before. The flower itself smells tres unique- a fresh, slightly tart, woody smell that you don’t forget after sniffing it, with petals that are a great fuschia color.

  • Many congratulations for a feat beautifully done. I love your packaging, with the spare, graceful lyrical logo and thoughtful typography. The store looks equally a marriage between fresh & new and lushly bohemian, and it begs for a summer visit to beautiful Rhode Island! Here’s to a happy “home” for years to come!

    It’s hard to choose among so many enticements, but Hindu Honeysuckle is calling my name. Coriander and Jasmine sambac? Why yes!

  • Best Wishes Charna! What a great location that is!!
    If I still lived back in Massachusetts, I would be a
    frequent face in your shop! I’ll be sure to tell my friends
    back in MA. and RI. about your new store!
    My choice would be Cocoa Tuberose.
    Thanks for this great draw!

  • I’m so thrilled for you! What an amazing accomplishment. Good luck in all that you do, your talent and perseverance are on your side, along with all your perfumista friends!! I’d love the chance to win Cocoa Tuberose. Thanks for the chance!

  • Very pleased for you Charna! You will do quite well. I love Providence Perfume Company. I have Hindu Honeysuckle and it’s wonderful! I’d love the chance to win Gypsy. Thank you and good luck!

  • Congratulations–mazel tov Charna! That looks like a lovely space, and a great place to speak to perfume appreciators who can custom blend and give great feedback. Someday I’d like to make it over there! Probably smells wonderful…

    Work-life balance is tricky even when work and life are in that sweet spot and you’re surrounded by supportive people…which it sounds like you are. Hope you continue to enjoy the role reversal and be constantly renewed by your wellspring of creativity!

    I would love to try any of your scents, and plan for a sample pack this summer…Am most interested in Osmanthus Oolong because I love tea and am curious about osmanthus. Though Cocoa Tuberose also calls to me, loudly…or maybe that’s the chocolate bar on my desk…

  • Congrats Charna!
    The store looks gorgeous and what an inspiring space to create in.
    Too bad I can’t teleport myself there. I look forward to your new offerings.

    All sound tempting but Osmanthus oolong would be my first choice.