Colorful welcome party at the riverside venue for Shoppe Object

August is beauty-gift-home design trade show season in NYC. The new kid in town is Shoppe Object. The semi-annual show debuted last year with the aim of providing independent brands space to connect with open-minded retailers. The venue this year was Pier 36 in Manhattan’s Lower East Side, a fitting neighborhood for the vanguard spirit of Shoppe Object.

Best of Show CaFleureBon (Michelyn collage)

As is my wont, I went in search of things that smelled good. Many olfactory treasures were scattered among the luscious textiles and sleek ceramics. Trade shows are a great opportunity to try new offerings from brands you already know as well to try brands for the first time. Trend spotting is always fun, too. I was very pleased with a trend I noticed pretty quickly: it was a rose parade at Shoppe Object! And of course the move toward “clean”, “cruelty-free”, “vegan” was still in full effect.

Boy Smells candles and co-founder David Kien

Shoppe Object is primarily a home design show. That means candles. One of my favorite candle companies is Boy Smells, an LA-based maker co-founded in 2016 by partners in life and business, Matthew Herman and David Kien. They are continuing their Chromesthesia series in which they explore the intersection of scent and color. My two favorites in this quad-squad are the rose-centric Cameo and Damasque. Cameo is peony pink and offers notes of crystallized ginger, rose, tuberose, vanilla, white woods, and musk. Damasque is deeper in scent and color. The deep burgundy candle throws rose, apricot, labdanum, cardamom, oud, cistus, guaiac, and tobacco. Another favorite was this year’s holiday limited edition candle, Hinoki Fantôme. This beauty is blended with notes of hinoki (a Japanese cypress variety), resins, cardamom, jasmine, moss, and guaiac.

Field Apothecary candles and creative director Alix Mulholland

Far from LA is Northern Ireland’s eastern coast, County Down, home of another stand-out candle maker, Field Apothecary. Founder and creative director Alix Mulholland works closely with British perfumers to present candles that burn with the scents of Ireland. Like the perfect pint of Guiness, the candles are double poured. This method prevents that irksome tunneling around the wick while burning. In the line my favorite candles were Peat and Ivy. Peat has smokey scent reminiscent of whisky created with the notes of birch, rose, pink pepper, incense, cistus, cedar, amber, musk, vetiver, patchouli, and vanilla. Ivy is fresh, forest-like and earthy with notes of ivy, rose, sloe, cyclamen, lily, fig, cedar, cumin, neroli, orange, and patchouli.

Yann Vasnier’s latest creations for Cire Trudon Elae and Médie were standouts at Shoppe Object

Cire Trudon is world-famous for its candles, having been in the business since 1643. However it was their two newest perfumes that caught my attention. Both Elae and Médie are the work of perfumer Yann Vasnier of Givaudan for Cire Trudon. Elae is a youthful, sweet white floral scent that settles down into a balsamic mellowness. Médie is a bright, sparkling citrus perfume that also progresses beautifully into an amber delight. Both are welcome additions to Cire Trudon’s fragrance line.

Scepter’d Isle Rose bred by David Austin. Photo copyright David Austin

America also has a history in perfumery that extends back centuries. Caswell-Massey was founded in 1752 but over the last few years has been given new life. The fragrances in their niche collection are especially exciting. Two standouts for me were both signed by Laurent Le Guernec of IFF. M. LeGuarnec worked closely with master gardeners of the New York Botanical Gardens to create scents inspired by one of New York’s most beloved green spots. Ròs is a deep, warm, spicy rose perfume. Headspace technology was used to capture the aroma of the very fragrant David Austin rose “Scepter’d Isle” which grows in the NYBG’s rose garden. The rose is blended to great effect with citrus, dark spices, and amber. The rose gardens at both the New York Botanical Gardens and the White House were designed by trailblazer Beatrix Jones Ferrand (1872-1959) and M. Le Guernec pays tribute to her with the fragrance Beatrix. This is a brighter, fresher rose perfume with notes of bergamot, black currant, fig, vetiver, and musk.

Kathleen Currie of Smoke Perfume and her latest creation

The long histories of Maison Trudon and Caswell-Massey were unusual at Shoppe Object. Most of the brands are young and the fragrances are not designed by European master perfumers at large houses. I was especially impressed by four brands owned by American women. Smoke Perfume & Co. was founded by Kathleen Currie in New Orleans. After studying with natural perfumery’s grand dame Mandy Aftel, Ms. Currie has honed her craft and presents a very interesting line. Her latest release is Night Cloud, a natural eau de parfum that evokes New Orleans at dusk. The scent is deep and sexy. The notes are lavender, allspice, oakmoss, and sandalwood. Smoke Perfume also offers a selection of body oils and incense, but it was their Rose Glycerite that I couldn’t stop thinking about days after Shoppe Object. It is a rose elixir made with vegetable glycerine that adds a mild sweetness. Rose oil is used to calm jitters and and gently uplift mood. It can be used in a drink, added to bathwater but I like to take a drop under my tongue. It’s addictive!

Perfume Oils from Zoet Bathlatier

Zoet Bathlatier (pronounced zoot as in suit + rhymes with chocolatier) is owned by Ilka Evans and based in Malvern, PA.  Ms. Evans primarily creates candles and body care products but she’s introducing a line of perfume oils. Most notable to me are Tonka & Currant and Mystic which is especially lovely. Mystic has note of cedarwood, sandalwood, teakwood, patchouli, cardamom, amber.

Maine and White Temple by Brooklyn-based MCMC Fragrances

Being a proud Brooklyn girl I am always happy to see other Brooklyn girls doing good work. MCMC Fragrances is a perfume line I’ve admired for a while. Owner Anne Serrano-McClain trained in Grasse but creates in Brooklyn. Her recent release, White Temple was one of my favorite scents of the show. It is clean and calming. It features frankincense, cedarwood, gurjun balsam, and oak. Another great perfume from her line is Maine, a fresh more invigorating scent. The notes are clary sage, pine, sea air, and beach plum rose.

Nova’s musk collection at Shoppe Object

Nova is the Brooklyn-based fragrance studio of Julia Zangrilli, a self-taught perfumer with a certification in raw materials from the Grasse Institue of Perfumery. Ms. Zingarelli presented a series of musk perfumes that were very interesting, each offering a different interpretation of one of perfumery’s most basic elements. White Musk is that “clean laundry” smell with white amber, musk, coconut, aloe, white blossoms, and cream notes. Beige Musk is woody and fresh, with notes of pink pepper, cardamom, sandalwood, peru balsam, amber, and musk. Green Musk is a dewy botanical scent blended with notes of fig stem, petitgrain, bamboo, green cognac, musk, and amber. And rounding out the foursome is Mineral Musk, a fresh aquatic fragrance with orange blossom, jasmine, marine notes, amber, and musk.

Incense holders by Demetria Chappo Ceramics

Incense was also in abundance at Shoppe Object. Once of my favorite things about incense is a beautiful incense holder. I was thrilled to meet one of New York’s leading ceramicists, Demetria Chappo, and she has included incense holders in her latest collection. Little did I know that she had a successful career in the perfume industry before changing gears and devoting herself to her art full-time. Isn’t it funny how perfume lovers seem to find each other?

Shoppe Object NYC may only be in its second year, but as it grows I’m sure it will only get larger. I am excited to see what the next one will hold.

Disclaimer: Products were tested on site or by samples supplied by vendors. My opinions are my own. All photographs by Marianne unless otherwise noted.

Marianne Butler, Senior Contributor

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