Event Report – San Francisco Scent Weekend and the First Annual Artisan Fragrance Salon + IndieSwag Bag Draw

 

DAY 1 – SF Sniff Saturday

 

Alyssa Harad gives a passionate presentation about her life in perfume

Our day started at noon at a local bookstore to see Alyssa Harad do a presentation from her book “Coming to My Senses”. There was a bit of a snafu, as the bookstore was somehow unaware of the event, but Alyssa’s agent worked it out and they were able to accommodate us.  She passed around vintage extraits for everyone to smell, read from her book, and had a little raffle of some samples.

Sniffers cruise on Maiden Lane for Chanel Exclusifs 

We made our way to Gump’s, Hermes, Chanel, Diptyque; had a snack, visited the famous Andre at Jacqueline perfumes, sniffed a bit at Neiman Marcus, and then it was time to head to Barney’s. We were treated to sneak previews of new scents from Serge Lutens, The Different Company, Byredo, and Rosine. Yosh Han was on hand, as was DelRae Roth, and it was a very busy hour or so of lots of sniffing and buying.

A nice crowd at Barney’s NY 

Afterwards, the remaining intrepid crew went for dinner and chat, and the traditional swap free-for-all. The table is loaded up with all of our unwanted samples, decants and bottles, and we don’t leave until it has all been distributed. It is a true example of “One man’s meat is another man’s poison” as we gleefully clutched coveted scents to our breasts and re-filled the bags we had just emptied.

Eager attendees line up outside Gallery 4N5 

DAY 2 – Artisan Fragrance Salon Sunday

 

Ayala Moriel gives a talk on natural perfumery

The First Annual Artisan Fragrance Salon took place in an art gallery/event space in a great downtown location, Gallery 4N5 on Mission Street. Each perfumer had an alcove to display their wares, and there was a wine bar and clear area with sofa seating for relaxing and presentations. The day started at 11:00 a.m. and ran until 5:00, with various talks during the day. When I arrived, there was already a line waiting to get in, and the crowd grew to 300 attendees through the day. We were all a little anxious about attendance, since we weren’t sure how the event host, Taste TV, had promoted it. Apparently, they did a great job, and with all the perfumers promoting like mad as well, it paid off. The attendees were enthusiastic, and it was a relief to many of the presenters to be faced with a crowd that actually liked perfume. Many of them only have experience at general craft events, where perfume can be a hard sell.

 

 Ineke Ruhland in her booth with her new Hothouse Flower

There were twenty perfume booths to cover, and since I was a judge for the event, I had to make sure to visit them all. I was unable to do more than peek my head in at the presentations and talks, as a result. It seemed that it was difficult for the speakers to be heard above the din of the crowd, but they pushed on.  Every time I tried to listen in, I found another friend to chat with, and that seemed to be happening a lot to everyone. A low-key microphone would have helped quite a bit. Presenters included Elyce Zahn of CocoTutti Chocolates, Ayala Moriel, Alyssa Harad, Alf Nucifora from the SF Luxury Marketing Council, Yosh Han, and Felicia Hazzard from Fragrance Belles-Lettres Magazine.

 

Los Angeles body care specialist and perfumer Persephenie Lea

I found some interesting new lines to explore (including Persephenie and CognoScenti), met some wonderful perfumers, connected with lots of perfume lovers, and had a great time. I was able to have sneak peeks at Ineke’s new Hothouse Flower, and a new addition to her Floral Curiosities Line, Sweet William. YOSH had some intriguing limited-edition fragrances to share. A perfumer I found at a street fair and encouraged to participate, Jennifer Caine of Smells and Bells, had wonderful work that impressed everyone. There were several lines I had heard of but were new to me, like 40 Notes, Roxana Illuminated, and Velvet and Sweet Pea Purrfumery. Other lines, like Sarah Horowitz Perfumes, Sonoma Scent Studio, and En Voyage, I was able to explore a bit more deeply. I have to confess my nose got a bit overwhelmed.

 

Miriam Vareldzis of 40 Notes Perfumes helps a customer

A lunch break with friends fortified and refreshed us all to push on. My skin real estate was taken up down to my fingers as I sniffed and sampled and made my way through everyone’s wonderfully presented wares.  My handbag became very heavy with samples and purchases.

 

Ellen Covey of Olympic Orchids and her new Devilscent line (photo by Mario Gomez)

As 5:00 rolled along, there were still several shoppers and hangers-on, and the exhausted perfumers started packing it in. Reports from attendees and perfumers alike have been positive, and there is already talk about next year’s event.

DelRae Roth was on hand with her wonderful perfume line 

When the weekend was approaching, many of the perfumers mentioned that they were really just happy to be able to gather with their peers for the first time in this wonderful way. They weren’t concerned with sales and audience as much as they were with the connections they have been able to make.  That the weekend was a rousing success, from many reports, is the icing on the cake.

 

Sarah Horowitz animatedly discusses her work with a customer

CaFleureBon will have a separate post for the winners of the Artisan Show later this month. I am glad I didn’t have to make a lot of snap judgments and have until this evening to cast my votes. I am also hoping to bring you more detailed reviews and impressions from some of the individual perfumers in the coming weeks.

Yosh Han and her assistant in a rare non-busy moment (photo by Mario Gomez) 

For the Sniff on Saturday, I asked the perfumers who were not able to participate in the Salon if they would like to offer a promotional sample or coupon and several did, including some perfumers who were there. I have a mystery swag bag left over for one lucky reader! Please leave a comment letting me know who your favorite perfumer is from the Artisan Salon exhibitors:

40notes Perfume

Artemisia Natural Perfume

Ayala Moriel Parfums

COGNOSCENTI

Divine Life Perfume

EnVoyage Perfumes

Ineke

L'Aromatica Perfume

Leila Castle Botanical Fragrance

Olympic Orchids Artisan Perfumes

Parfums DelRae

Persephenie

Rebel & Mercury Pure Botanical Perfumes

Roxana Illuminated Perfume

Sarah Horowitz Parfums

smell bent

Smells & Bells Organics

Sonoma Scent Studio

Velvet & Sweet Pea's Purrfumery

Yosh

Draw closes at Midnight, July 16th.

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

Customers lingered until the bitter end 

-Tama Blough, Senior Editor

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75 comments

  • Laurie at Sonoma Scent Studio has many absolutely wonderful fragrances, so I think that has to be my answer!

  • Thats a hard question to answer, since i love different creations by different perfumers. For example Delrae ~ Panache, Yosh ~ Trompeur, Ineke ~ Evening Edged in Gold….etc. So I would say I love them all for one fragrance or another and i would love to live a bit closer so I could join the fun. But thank you for offering some swag, it would be awesome to win this.

  • I love Parfums DelRae, especially Amoureuse and Coup de Foudre. The event must’ve been a beautifully-scented blast!

  • Hi, please dpnt’ enter me in the draw. I just wanted to let you know, Tama, how much I appreciated you giving out samples of me perfumes at the Fragrance Salon. The article is just wonderful, as always. A great time was had by all who attended and personally I’m looking forward to next year, when I will “show” AWAAPP (perfumes).

  • HI Tama, I loved meeting you in SF this weekend! Thanks for a wonderful article. I agree, so many fantastic niche lines. Thank you again, Miriam. PS: don’t enter me, I just wanted to say great job!

  • All wonderful perfumers! Somona Scent Studio’s perfumes have such quality ingredients and are affordable, so SSS is one of my favorites.

  • d3m0lici0n says:

    I have two actually: Sonoma Scent Studio (my favorite is her Incense Pure) and Yosh (my favorite is her new version of Sombre Negra)

  • What a lovely article, wish I was there!! How gracious of the participants to give away samples, I thank them a lot and you of course for sharing!! Will be waiting for the more detailed post soon! My favorite is Ineke, love her work and hope to sniff the new one very soon!!!!

  • Ah, to witness the bounty of creativity and love that these perfumers are putting into their juice, what a fabulous community, you can FEEL & SMELL THE LOVE! No need to add me to the draw, I’m enjoying my samples back home now in Seattle! Nicely done, Tama, the weekend was a smashing success!

  • This was a fantastic event and I want to thank all the perfumers who partipated and gave me an opportunity to smell their work. I hope it becomes a yearly tradition. Now choosing a favorite is asking the impossible as there was so much variety and talent in the room. I can say based on full bottles I already own, Brent from Smellbent and Laurie from SSS have quite a few bottles gracing my shelves at home. Thanks for the draw Tama!

  • Ayala Moriel Parfums would be my favorite (of the ones I’ve experienced) I am so sad to miss this event in the city that was my home until just 4 months ago. Will try to plan a visit coinciding with next years event! Thanks for the draw!

  • Beautiful event!! I wish I were there, sniffing away these marvelous creations.. I am a big big fan of Laurie Erickson’s incredible work and atmospheres her scents evoke, and Ellen Covey’s perfumes speak a language I fully comprehend.
    Thank you for this draw!

  • chayaruchama says:

    How fabulous was this ? !
    Tama, what a great re-telling !

    Thank you- and thanks to Mario and all the participants.

  • Laurie Erickson (and I was disappointed not to see a picture of her!) Is my no.1 favorite with Ineke right behind her (I would have loved to sample Hothouse Flower 🙂 !!!).

  • Parfums DelRae’s Emotionnelle is incredible, so Parfums DelRae is my favourite!
    Thanks for the draw.

  • Lucky those who were able to atted this amazing Salon!
    Ayala Moriel’s Espionage was love at first sniff for me and also was one of the first atisanal niche perfume houses I started out with…But Olympic Orchids has so many of my all time favourites…tough choice…
    thank you for this draw..

  • Great review about this salon..so so jealous of those who could be there…
    My favourite perfumer amongst those listed would be Laurie Erickson’s Sonoma Scent Studio: most of her creations just hit the right spot with me..

  • hotlanta linda says:

    Pick Favs?? Too tough. The 3 perfumers whose delights I`ve sampled = Ineke, Sonoma, & Horowitz 🙂 !! Nice writing :-), and thank you!

  • I have actually only tried a few of those perfumers’ works, but one of my favourites is the unique Vents Ardents, so I would say En Voyage Perfumes is my choice!

  • My favorite perfumer is Loreto Remsing of L’Aromatica. Her Stargazer Lily and La Madrone is beautiful.

  • Thanks so much for the vicarious experience 🙂 So many great perfumers on this list, but out of the ones I’ve tried, Sonoma Scent Studio is my favorite. Laurie has a way with incense & woods that is perfection in my book.

  • Wow, that is an amazing line up to try to choose just one perfumer! I have not tried nearly enough of these lines so I feel my answer is a rather limited view. But because I am jealous, jealous, jealous of such a lovely weekend of sniffing, the swag bag calls to me and I’ll vote for Ineke because I adore Evening Edged in Gold! 🙂

  • Oh gods, the loveliness that is The Trompeur with it’s fig and rum notes. I just love Yosh.

  • Farawayspices says:

    So difficult to choose..I will choose Sarah Horowitz. I used to go to Essence on Newbury Street when I was in college, and Sarah was always so sweet, and you could very easily see how much she loved what she was doing.

  • Definitely Ineke! Her Field Notes from Paris is one of my go-to scents, especially when I need something to brighten my mood. I just gave my mother a bottle of Briar Rose, and that’s also a success.

  • rosiegreen says:

    Wow Tama, what a great weekend.I envy your access to such great perfumes. Due to limited employment the only perfumer that I have tried on your list is Brent from Smellbent. I have to say his “Sunshine Mama’s Spiced Tea” is a dead ringer for my childhood favorite Constant Comment tea. Thanks for holding the draw.

  • It’s hard to choose just one but if I have to it would be Ayala Moriel Parfums. Thanks for the draw!

  • Do I have to choose a favorite? I have only tried one perfumer from the list! So I suppose I will go with that: Ineke. But I would adore trying all of these new houses.

  • god, what a lineup!!

    and what an amazing weekend that must have been!

    favorite perfumer: ellen covey (arizona is one of my most favorite perfumes, ever.)

  • One day I will own more than just samples of Olympic Orchids Artisan Perfumes. One day…

    Love U Olympic Orchids!

  • SO GREAT to read this Tama, I’m reliving the day thru your words! And loving the comments. No need to put me in the drawing, I just wanted to add that the ticket-holders just followed their noses to the salon – our fragrances were literally wafting up the sidewalk hehe

  • Thank you for such fabulous draws every time!To answer your question I think it’s Parfums DelRae and Sonoma Scent Studio

  • Looks like an amazing couple of days! I have tried and Sonoma Scent Studio, so this is my favorite- and I have been quite curious to smell Yosh (and now some others, too!). Thanks.

  • I will be unfair to pick just one. I love so many of their fragrances, i have to mention all of them: Ayala Moriel, Ellen Covey, Yosh, Laurie Erickson, Delrae Roth.

  • Christy C says:

    My favorite perfumer from the Artisan Salon exhibitors is Ellen Covey of Olympic Orchids Artisan Perfumes! Thank you for the draw!

  • I love Ineke’s sampler program and wish more perfumers would give you a credit for buying their samples. I fell for Evening Edged in Gold and Field Notes from Paris. So, I have the most experience with her scents, but would love to smell some of the other fragrances I have read about.

  • I have only sniffed from one or two of these niche perfumeries, but I’ll go with Ineke! Love the write-up on this, I sooooo wish I had been there! 🙂 Sounds like it was a blast.

  • Yosh, Yosh Yosh and more Yosh…I never had the opportunity to try her creations. IF that wasn’t there I’d love to try Ayala’s work as well…I can be made to feel very greedy with this draw….

  • I’m unable to pick just one! There are many on that list that I’ve been really curious about … I hope to sniff them all some day! ok, to play by the rules, I will say Sonama Scent Studio!

  • I have to say Ineke, because I own six of her perfumes! (-;
    Some of the others I’ve never tried, but I certainly would like to…

    This is an exciting draw–I wish I had been at the event!

  • Wow, this was SUCH and fun and fantastic event! I feel so lucky to have been there and met wonderful new people and sniffed wonderful new scents.
    You know, I was there for hours and still ended up missing some folks. How did that happen??
    I cannot pick just one–Miriam of 40 Notes and Ineke both made me swoon.
    Thanks so much to everyone who made it possible.

  • Thanks for giving us the rundown of what sounds like a wonderful weekend. I wish I could have been there. Maybe next year!
    I hate to name a favorite because I see so many wonderful perfumers listed here. But I absolutely love Roxana’s Greenwitch, Gracing the Dawn, and Vera. And Sarah Horowitz’s Bliss makes me swoon. I’m just starting to explore the Velvet and Sweet Pea line but Laurie’s (? i think that’s right) whole line has such a beautiful presentation and photos of her adorable cats. These ladies are all truly artists.

  • Laurie from Sonoma Scented Studios… if I really had to pick just one because I have followed her since college and she does the best violette/encens and violette/hay combo hands down!

  • I have been enjoying the work of Ayala Moriel lately. I need to try more from her. I am so jealous they have such cool perfume events over in CA! With each perfumer giving talks, talk about neat!

  • Janet in California says:

    I am so sorry to have missed the salon! I have many favorite perfumers but Parfums DelRae is the one I’ll pick.

  • Oh, how I wish I could have been there!

    Many of the perfumers/brands listed, haven’t crossed my path as of yet, but from what I’ve tried so far, Sonoma Scent Studio is one house that I enjoy. I have tried To Dream by this house, and remember absolutely loving it.

    I would love to win this draw. Thank you!

  • That sounds like heaven! I hope they do it again very soon when I can actually go.
    If I really really really have to chose I’ll go for Laurie Erickson.

  • Wow, what a fun event. Unfortunately, I haven’t had a chance to try many of the Indie perfumers, but I have bought full bottles from Ineke (Field Notes from Paris) and Parfums Delrae (Mythique). Both are incredibly talented, and I am anxiously awaiting the release of Hothouse Flowers, as well as plotting a full bottle purchase of Bois de Paradis. I can’t choose my favorite of the two, but I can say if the other perfumers listed are as brilliant as Ineke Ruhland and Delrae Roth, I will be gaining some new favorites soon, as there are several I cannot wait to try. Thanks for the draw!

  • So many of them I have not tried yet. I have sampled several from Artemisia Natural Perfume and really like them. I would love to try ANY on this list.

  • Amberosmanthus says:

    I was planning to come to this event and as usual something more pressing and much less fun came up instead. Thank you for the article. It makes me feel I didn’t miss it completely though I would have loved to be there.

    My favorite from the few I have sampled on your list is Rebel & Mercury Pure Botanical Perfumes. I do love her Venasque.

  • Favorite is Sonoma Scent Studio but I’m sure that many from that list who’s works I haven’t sampled will be as competent. The event sounds wonderful, thanks for the little taste

  • Sounds like a great time! Hard to pick just one perfumer but I guess it would be Sonoma Scent Studio. Thanks!

  • I have heard of most of these studios, but SSS is the only one I’ve bought perfume from, and I own five or six of her scents. Lovely!! Right now I’m wearing Fig Tree. 🙂

  • It appears my computer ate my first comment so I’ll try again. Apologies if this appears as a duplicate.

    My favourite is Laurie Erickson of Sonoma Scent Studio and I’m delighted her Champagne de Bois is coming back. i also have to give a hometown shout out to Ayala Moriel, not only for her perfumes but also for her teas and chocolate bars.

    Glad to hear there was such a good turnout for the show.
    And thanks for the great draw opportunity.

  • Ayala Moriel for a perfume called Charisma that she created. I love that perfume.

    Great blog and loved all the photos.

    ~Dawn

  • Thanks for the recap, it sounds lovely.! I wish the internet came with smell-o-vision…

    Hmmm, picking a favorite…this is so hard! But it helps that I have unfortunately not tried many of these creators’ creations and have a smaller pool to choose from. Ayala Moriel made an etrog scent which I have not yet smelled, but for that alone she is in the top! I also have enjoyed trying Yosh’s work and really appreciated the samples of her edp line. smell bent was one I heard about here first, and I really love Hansel and Dreidel!
    so those are my top 3 that I know about. But I’d love to learn and smell more!

  • So tough to choose, but I adore EnVoyage and have much respect for Shelley Waddington as a perfumer. Thanks for the generous draw!

  • Mine would have to be DelRae Roth. I love her Coup de Foudre fragrance! Thank you!

  • Love San Francisco and would have given anything to have been able to attend a most excellent affair.

    Faves are Sarah Horowitz, Ineke and Sonoma Scent Studio!

    Thanx, Merci, gracias!

  • Tourbillion says:

    I wish I could have gone! However, I had an early appointment on Monday morning. I think my favorite is Parfums DelRae, but there are a lot of them I haven’t tried yet.

  • Paul Bunch says:

    Well, I really like the line from 40notes Perfume, but I haven’t tried the others yet. I hope that I can win and rectify this situation!

  • I was delighted to discover Ayala Moriel through the CaFleureBon blog. I want to try samples from her line. I am originally from Vancouver, B.C.
    I wanted to arrange a road trip to the westcoast salon, but there was no time…
    And, Taste Television does not broadcast in Canada, for those readers who are Canadian.
    Is it possible to publish the contents of the swagbag to get a sense of what it was lke being there live…?