I never knew I was creating a world which was an antithesis to the world around me which was full of sorrows, full of wars, full of difficulties. I was creating the world I wanted, and into this world, once it is created, you invited others and then you attract those who have affinities and this becomes a universe. ~ Anais Nin
Three Shops in Portland, the World They Wanted
The road trip in Oregon had little agenda. The little it did include; Ashland, nature, coupla’ friends, and three shops in Portland. Naturally the shops were perfume shops and the other was a shop with one of the friends aptly named Wanderlust and Wildhearts.
The first shop on the happening east side, Milk Milk Lemonade, is the studio and storefront home to Olo Fragrance. The fragrance designer behind Olo Fragrance is Heather Sielaff. A beautiful clean white and pine space with plenty of monclins to sniff and some lovely ceramics and jewelry. Lovely Heather and Jonathon run the space together and were both on hand to talk fragrance. The perfumes are in oil and do contain a small amount of synthetics. They are all lovely, soft, and earthy, with names like Dark Wave, Spartan, and Toji.
Heather finds her perfume inspiration form the people and places that make her appreciate the world’s offerings – the elation of nature, contentment of reading a good book, a long chat with a close friend. If long chats with Heather are anything like her dreamy fragrances sign me up.
I treated myself to a lovely some samples that are neatly tucked in a little paper packet.
And some fabulous all natural facial serum, which I am loving. Light and moisturizing. At the moment I am also wearing Violet / Leather. Faeries would dig it.
The next stop was to be The Perfume House. A true perfumer destination, containing a carefully curated selection of perfumes by the owner, Chris Tsefalas. Mr Tsefalas has a life time career and passion in perfume. I was so looking forward to sniffing my way through his collection with his guidance. Tragically (ok maybe not that tragic, I’ll just have to go back) it was closed that day…
BUT – Heather and Jonathon told me about a new store, Fumerie Parfumerie, also on the East side. This treasure store is a boutique off shoot of The Perfume House. Fumerie is the perfumed child of Tracy Tsefelas who “married into the perfume business” via Chris’ son. Tracy’s passion is for niche and indie perfumes, and she curated an outstanding collection.
Fumerie Parfumerie is graced with cozy dark leather chairs and rich wine colored walls. Tracy is the perfect hostess and perfume guide welcoming and friendly. She oozes love and knowledge of perfume and had the counter spread with scents strips immediately.
Serge Lutens, Andy Tauer, and lots more. Craving Oregon and Portland, I got into the local perfume houses, Slumberhouse and Imaginary Authors. Imaginary Authors packaging is whimsical and the perfume elegant. The packaging reminds me of Chicago artist Tony Fitzpatrick. Especially this birdie.
Then Tracy pulled out Norne by Slumberhouse. Woodsy, smokey, pine, heaven. Pacific Northwest in a bottle, and more. Observe these beautiful bottles!
I got my hands on some of those samples. Just lovely. When I got home I researched Norne and discovered it is a natural! Yay! And the eloquent Kafkaesque perfume blog gets into the Tolkein aspects of the scent. Yes, this is how it smells in Middle Earth, I’m sure!
“Norne is an incredibly atmospheric scent that conjured up a host of disparate images in my mind: the terroir of expensive aged, red wines; lumberjacks in the Pacific Northwest; and a dark, verdant world straight out of Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings where goblins, hobbits, elves, and Orcs battle it out amidst a verdant darkness… In this Norne, goblins, elves, dwarves, and hobbits called Licorice, Patchouli, Tobacco, Smoke, Clove, and Leather live in huts built from peat, earth, and pine logs, their roofs littered with pine needles and sticky with sap from the giant, thousand year-old pine trees that surround every dwelling. The trees reach up to the stars, almost blocking out the light, their tips wreathed with mist and fog. At the furthest periphery of the kingdom, the boundaries are drawn with a solid wall of firs, standing like sentinels on watch, cool, aromatic, blue, and bearing the scent of winter. The ground at their feet is littered with cones and wet leaves but it’s also loamy, wet, and dark, exuding an earthy aroma that has surprising strength.” ~Kafkaesque
I could not resist taking their pics with my little adult coloring project.
After the my nose could take no more we headed off to Wanderlust + Wildhearts. The shop is on happening Division Street, and its mission is “to support artisanal traditions that have become increasingly difficult to maintain in todays world. Each season we select a different region with a vibrant culture that inspires us. We do research , book our flights, and hit the ground running… Our eyes and our hearts wild.”
I was drawn here because my former yoga student and friend, Ashley, works here part time because she loves it so very much. Oh, and here’s another funny coincidence (of course we know there are no coincidences). Another friend set me up to meet her Portland friend. After texting back and forth it turns out she was to be near Wanderlust + Wildhearts exactly when we were to be, and, IT’S HER FAVORITE STORE! Crazy. So there we all were…
I felt very at home here, surrounded by familiar textiles like those I sell in my own shop… Lost Antiquities Found. Surrounded by the soul of wander and wilds…
The stunning Ashley. Be sure to say hi if you stop in!
Tomorrow I head back to Chicago to collect my much missed Missy and collection of perfume materials. Then it’s off to Maryland for the Maryland Faerie Festival, and to continue with my perfume concoctions. Read about my fun at last years Maryland Faerie Festival – HERE.
Hope you enjoyed this mini tour of Portland! Thanks for stopping by.
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