notes from july
A stormy afternoon here in the city, the garden is an overgrown tangle, the humidity is intense. Deep summer, I call it. Fresh harvests of the most beautiful plant material begin to arrive at the studio, ready to be transformed into hydrosols, oil infusions and tea blends. The true height of the plant magic season.
Our summer limited-editions are some of my very favorite formulas of the entire year. I adore the refreshing floral beauty of our rose & tulsi facial mist so much that I always save a few bottles for myself in the fridge to enjoy in the winter. The heady jasmine & pink pepper of the limited-edition body oil somehow has a beachy feeling to it that makes me want to hop on the ferry to the Rockaways. And on these hot & humid days I crave the bracing freshness of a cup of cold-brewed jade oolong, blended with bergamot, flowers and herbs. So delighted to share my own personal seasonal favorites with you. Little everyday rituals that celebrate a moment in time.
reading:
Dispersals: On Plants, Borders, and Belonging (as my own garden runs wild with “weeds”)
and about scent mapping, have you tried it?
-
listening:
to Radio Alhara + Yasmin Williams + Malika Zarra
plus, Live in Kolkata and returning to Awa Sangho's Ala Ta after a long time, and this fascinating album
-
admiring:
Mary Mattingly's Night Gardens
and Leandro Katz's lunar alphabets
above from top left:
lots of our botanical skincare sampler sets on the way out the door this week. the perfect way to try out a new ritual!
the loveliest bouquet from our studio neighbor
distilling a fresh batch of our sill-to-still rose geranium sur fleurs hydrosol facial mist, a beautiful & meditative process
above from top left:
so many beautiful vintage pieces await your choice of botanical perfume in the magic cabinet this month
working on a custom fragrance
a restorative spritz of our rose & tulsi facial tonic mist, from our summer limited-edition collection
fresh bars of soap have just arrived from the Palestinian Soap Cooperative, thank you for supporting our soap + solidarity efforts!
Above, an order on the way to one of our wonderful stockists. And vintage pieces filled with perfume on their way to France!
Very excited to introduce a sweet little update for our tea packaging, swapping out our heavy glass jars for these lovely paper canisters, below. Can’t wait to send lots of these your way this season!
And in the garden, I’ve been setting aside time to begin saving seeds from our spring flowers, including the beautiful native Aquilegia canadensis, below right. I can never seem to find a seed packet when I need one, so I’ve been folding these makeshift ones out of old seed catalogs. Last year, I saved seeds from a kkaennip plant (a type of Korean shiso) that I got from my friend EunYoung at KinKa, via Choy Division, and we have grown it on this year with great success, see below, bottom left. Midsummer in the native plant beds is as lush as ever, with the beauty of the swamp milkweed and rudbeckia taking center stage. Grateful to care for a small bit of earth, thanks for letting me share it here with you.
Until next time,
more summertimes
At any given moment, there are usually dozens of drafts of various projects around the studio. Experimental aromatic tinctures infusing quietly in their jars, perhaps a box full of ten different tiny vials exploring a minute difference in the concentration of a formula.