So this is what I've been doing last Sunday... 2nd Annual San Francisco Artisan Fragrance Salon.  Spent the entire day at Fort Mason's Festival Pavillion with Miss T who helped me (well, mostly she just put up with all the boring perfume talk; and waited patiently for quieter moments when we can play Slamwich together...). It takes a lot of energy for me to settle back from trips, especially with it still being spring break and all. Besides, there is a lot to process, absorb, take in after such trips. They are inspiring yet exhausting... And I've met some wonderfully creative and inspiring perfumers who I want to try a few more times, write about and share with you. There was definitely a lot of exciting, high-quality stuff coming out and worth trying! 

As in previous salons, it was exciting to meet some customers face to face for the first time - and reconnect with those who were in the historical 1st Artisan Fragrance Salon in San Francisco last July. And then there were bloggers and writers, such as the darling Tama Blough from Ca Fleure Bon, who also did a talk about how to write a perfume review; and Virginia Blanco from the bi-lingual blog Te de Violetas. Some customers travelled from the far southern parts of California, and others from as far as North Dakota (!!!) just to smell our creations and shop for perfumes directly from their makers. I hope this will be a destination - if not a pilgrimage - for perfumistas and scent afficinado to travel to once a year. There's a lot that's happening in the indie perfume scene on the West Coast and you can't find in the big trade shows on the West Coast - or Sniffapalooza, for that matter.


And, most importantly - the wonderful fellow perfumers who were also showing their creations that day, some of which were even students of mine, such as Ragna Rostad-Ruffner (Divine Life Perfumes).



Divine Life Perfumes' Super Natural Cologne (above) and the rose collection - Trinity Rose, Rosita and Dharma Rose (below).


Mick Moi who launched his line (he only did a one afternoon workshop with me last June in San Francisco - and now debuted his line at the salon. He was right next to me, and his table was buzzing with friends and paparazzi, so I never was able to take a close shot of him and his colourful perfumes, but here is a funny one: 



And across from me were Jane Cate from A Wing & A Prayer (based in San Francisco)
 
And also across from me - Sanae (Sanae Intoxicants) from Los Angeles.

Olympic Orchids' Ellen Covey and her husband - they came all the way from Seattle!
I was excited to discover a new osmanthus perfume in her collection - Sonnet XVII.


Brent Lenoisio (SmellBent) from Los Angeles with his helper and his usual tongue-in-your-cheek expression.

Josh Meyer from Imaginary Authors) (hailing from the cutting-edge city of Portland) hard at work selling his novels! 


Lisa Fong (Artemisia Natural Perfume) setting up her table with flowers and smiles.

Up a couple of stairs on the gallery, were the rest of the perfumers, most of which (except forRoxana Vila and PK Perfumes) I was able to take photos of:


Yosh was there, back from long travels in Europe, and was using her innovative aura reading and portraits to help customers in the scent-selection process. So much fun!


Dannielle and her team at the COGNOSCENTI table - you'll be happy to learn that she now has travel size spray atomizers of all three fragrances. I picked up a No. 19 Warm Carrot and now can enjoy it in more lavishly, along with the beautiful Warm Carrot body butter than Dannielle gave me at the tea party.


Sherri Sebastian from Sebastian Signs is a line I'm just beginning to explore - so there will be more write ups on that later after I process this trip.


Purusa Petalum natural perfume gel by Sebastian Signs. I think I found a new osmanthus love!




Maggie Mahboubian (Parfums Lalun), who came all the way from Los Angeles (I met her in September at the salon in Santa Monica and her line is exceptional).

Mario T Gomez manning Shelley Waddington's table (EnVoyage Perfumes). Notice the wild display of real orchids and plants!


Laurie Stern's whimsical display (elvet & Sweet Pea's Purrfumery), full of details and treasures.


And in contrast - Bruno Fazzolari's minimalist booth, which debuted at this salon. I promise I will write more about his scents later - he gave me his sample kit, so it's actually feasible to promise such a thing. 

Next to Bruno - the dreamy Jennifer Craine from Smells & Bells. These photos don't do justice to how adorable her packaging looks in person. Unfortunately, I hadn't had much of a chance to smell her creations during the event.

Jennifer also makes soaps and body products - and they are all natural and beautifully packaged. 
 
And last but not least: the glowing and beautiful Ineke  and her abecadary collection and Floral Curiousities collection she created for Anthropologie.



Little girl in a big and not yet full Fort Mason's Festival Pavillion, just before the show.

And here's my team again - me in the middle, with Tamya and Dave, who kept me company (and made sure I eat something).

And as if the travel, the work and all the other efforts weren't worth it on their own - I just got the word out that I won no less than 5 awards at the salon: 2 golds and 3 silvers!
The golds were awarded for "Best Ingredient Combinations" (along with Bruno Fazzolari,  Roxana Illuminated Perfume, Artemisia Natural Perfume and Olympic Orchids Artisan Perfumes); and for Top Artisan Perfumer (alongside INEKE, Velvet & Sweet Pea's Purrfumery, Roxana Illuminated Perfume and COGNOSCENTI).
The silvers were given to me for Best in Salon (next to Bruno Fazzolari), Best Aroma (next to Olympic Orchids Artisan Perfumes, Imaginary Authors, MIKMOI, Velvet & Sweet Pea's Purrfumery and Parfums Lalun); and Top All-around Product Line (again with Bruno Fazzolari).