A Lovely New Book for Artisan Perfumers - Artisan Perfumery by Alec Lawless

Artisan Perfumery or Being Led by the Nose

by
Alec Lawless

I'm on vacation, so this won't be a long review, but I just had to get the word out on Alec Lawless' new book, Artisan Perfumery or Being Led by the Nose. The title should give a hint of his humorous approach to the subject of artisan perfumery, and he is consistent throughout the book with his sly wink at the industry, of which he's been a part of for over twenty years.

The co-owner of Aqua-Oleum, along with his ex-wife, famed aromatherapy author Julia Lawless, Alec knows where the greatest aromatics are to be found, either in essential oil, concrete or absolute form, and after years of playing with the essences, began blending. He has a wonderfully relevant background in wine appreciation, and some of his observations on scent and perception, working in his love of sensory and psychology topics, are eye - and nose - openers.

Lest I forget, the book's cover, a small piece of an original artwork he also sells, is pointedly evocative of the lush and beautiful nature of naturals, jasmines and lotus being the cover focus, more aromatics depicted on the full canvas. I have an order in for a print - ah, if only I could have gotten this artwork for my book. Well, I know all current and potential authors of perfumery books will be envious of the artwork, as they will be of his background and travels in search of aromatics, which he freely shares.

Some of the idiomatic British English terms in the book were mysteries to me, but the author speaks clearly, in his own conversational tone throughout, as if you're sitting down with an old friend who is a raconteur sharing all of his devilishly funny observations, so you just slide past them. You'll get the full meaning where it counts, so you'll come away bursting with ideas from the positive and inspirational stories.

Although Alec dips slightly into the world of aromachemicals, and admits he uses them at about 1% in his own blends at Essentially Me, his focus is on naturals. I love that he's incorporated Jean Carles study methodology, and for the first time, to my knowledge, a GC/MS and how to read one appears in a contemporary book!

I just found a page on his perfumery site that combines the book and samples of his perfume. The books is reasonably priced at £9.99, with samples, £19.99

Alec shares some wonderful insights in aging and "softening" alcohol for perfumery that any artisan perfumer would find educational. After speaking with him the other day, I hope I convinced him to create a short video of how to use the pipettes sold on the Essentially Me website. He readily agreed, and I have a feeling that we'll be hearing a lot more of this fellow who has burst on to the artisan perfumery scene with a book, a perfumery raw materials and lab equipment website and decades of knowledge to share.

Natural Perfumers Guild members receive a 10% discount on purchases from Aqua Oleum and Essentially Me, and will also enjoy Alec sharing his knowledge in the private Guild Yahoo chat group. Welcome to our Guild and thank you for producing this lovely book for all artisan perfumers to enjoy.

Arctander CD giveaway drawing for new members of the Natural Perfumers Guild

The Natural Perfumers Guild will celebrate its Fourth anniversary on June 1, 2009 and Allured Publishing Media has generously supplied a CD of the three-volume set that includes Aroma Chemicals Vol. 1, Aroma Chemicals Vol. 2 and Natural Origins for a new-member giveaway. This valuable CD retails for $900, and it might be yours if you join the NPG between May 1 and June 1, 2009. If your completed application and membership fee is received between those dates, your name will be entered into the giveaway for the CD.

This is a great opportunity to be in the running to obtain one of the most coveted research tools in perfumery. The legacy of Steffan Arctander is that he produced one of the best reference books (or, in this case, CDs) in the history of perfumery. From the Allured site:

This set includes at least 90% of all chemicals presently used in flavors and fragrances, monographs, all known natural essential oils, extracts, oleoresins along with chemical structure, practical physical data, appearance, odor and flavor type. Also available in this comprehensive set are botanical information, detailed odor and flavor descriptions, suggested uses, literature references and some safety and regulatory information.

Arctander's books are also available on one CD-ROM. Everything you could find in Perfume and Flavor Materials of Natural Origin and Perfume and Flavor Chemicals (Aroma Chemicals) is now even easier to locate on this useful CD-ROM. No time to flip page after page looking for information? A simple click of the mouse will find everything you need in this highly navigable format.

The Natural Perfumers Guild is dedicated to perfumes and all fragrance products that use botanical extracts solely as their scent source. No synthetic aromatics are used in creating the perfumes, and no diethyl phtlate or other synthetic extenders are in any of our perfumes. We create and celebrate all fragrance products that use botanically-based aromatics, as we are artisans dedicated to the alchemy and hands-on methods of time-honored traditions or natural perfumery.

Built upon the goal of fostering the art of natural perfumery through education, legislative efforts and networking among members, the Guild is an organization that welcomes all who love fragrant botanicals.

Membership

Categories, Goals and Benefits

Professional Perfumer: Two categories depending upon number of employees $125 or $200/yr.

Associate: creates body, home or environmental products scented with natural aromatics. Two categories depending upon number of employees - $125 or $200/yr.

Supplier: Vendor of equipment and materials $200/yr

Friend: Anyone interested in natural perfume $75/yr

Membership Goals and Objectives

Professionalism: Raise the professional standards of artisan natural perfumers, and to help them receive the recognition for their dedication to the artistry of working with natural aromatics.

Communication: Promote interaction and the exchange of information between artisan perfumers amd associates with suppliers to further develop the perfumer's palette and materials.

Promotion: To bring together individuals involved in the production of natural perfumes, and to represent and promote their interests to the public and media.

Education: To encourage the education and training of people interested in careers as artisan natural perfumers, and to develop a mentor program.

Sustainability: Reaching out to growers and distillers around the world to encourage the production and sourcing of boutique natural aromatics.

Legislative: The Guild monitors and actively participates in the shaping of regulations that affect the perfumery industry.

Benefits

*Listing in the Guild directory and the companion blog. This provides two websites for visitors to click through to your URL

*Media and event publicity - we are dedicated to raising public awareness of, and demand for, natural perfumery products

*Use of the Guild logo on your website and on printed materials. The Guild logo is a well-recognized symbol of artisan perfumers

*Discounts from Guild Members - Some members will offer standard discounts, others may negotiate on a case-by-case basis

*Early notification of natural perfumery events and classes - stay informed on what is offered in the natural perfumery world

*Access to the private Guild Forum - available to all members who wish to communicate with each other.

*Ability to participate in Guild events at a discount and also receive discounted fees for events from affiliated organizations, including professional conferences and schools

The Guild welcomes all who love natural aromatics. Our only restriction in membership is in the Professional Perfumer category. If you create both natural and semi-synthetic perfumes you will be placed in the Associate category, not the Professional Perfumer category, as that is reserved for those who use only natural aromatics.

After joining the Guild, you will enjoy a private conversation group on Yahoo where you can interact on a daily basis with other Guild members, if you wish. Guild President Anya McCoy is a frequent participant there, as are many of the members.

If you wish to join the Guild in this one-month window of opportunity to be in the drawing for the Arctander CD, please go to this page to fill in the application form, and to this page to submit your payment.

The winner will be announced on June 2, 2009, and we wish everyone who joins good luck in the drawing!

Eden Botanicals Joins the Natural Perfumers Guild as a Supplier

Eden Botanicals, one of the most respected suppliers of natural aromatics, has joined the Natural Perfumers Guild. For many years both aromatherapists, perfumers and others in the aromatic arts have learned to turn to Eden Botanicals for the highest quality raw materials, whether it be concretes, absolutes, essential oils, CO2 extracts or gums and resins. Founded in 1985, the company originally imported and compounded crystalline amber resins and gained a worldwide reputation as a premier site for these scented products.

When Will Lapaz bought Eden Botanicals in 1999, he branched out into sourcing essential oils for the aromatherapy community, and in response to the growing natural perfumery art, brought in both the common and the exceptionally rare essences demanded for that community. An active participant on the Yahoo Natural Perfumery group, Will proved to be a generous and knowledgeable participant, sharing his vast knowledge of the botanical world with natural perfumers.

Eden Botanicals also carries carrier oils, rosewood or soapstone boxes, glass bottles, pipettes and more to service the perfumery and aromatherapy communities. Amber essence for soapmaking is also offered on the website, along with detailed descriptions for usage.

Guild President Anya McCoy has expressed such faith in Will's ability to source exquisite aromatics and provide great service that she has frequently purchased without sampling first - something practically unheard of in natural perfumery. Eden Botanicals ships worldwide and provides near-wholesale prices to the retail customer. A toll-free number is available for US residents to contact Eden Botanicals.