Education

Long time ago, before the internet was invented, scent used to play an important role in people's remote communication. I am not only talking about the scented stationary I loved to collect when I was in elementary school (Juvenile strawberry candy scent for Strawberry Shortcake's character; and a more sophisticated, powdery-roses type for the sad clown Pierrot). I was equally smitten my entire life by the smell of a package or a letter from loved one that came in the mail, the smell carried unintentionally a little bit of the person who wrote it, the smell of their home in a faraway land... 

In feudal Japan, it went as far as being a crucial part of matchmaking: A woman would pick her mate judging her suitor’s personality not only by his words, but also by the scent of the letter that carried them. This was before there were any photos, not to mention internet - and these two factors alone could either mean marriage or - never meeting the man at all.

Letters would be scented either with sachets, or more commonly - by waving the letter in front of the burning incense before sending it off. But these are just some of the techniques used of resenting paper and stationary. 

In this workshop, we'll discover our scented paper associations, imagine a particular smell to be the "signature" for whatever comes off our desk; and learn how to scent it - there is an easy way that's suitable even for young school-aged children; and a more sophisticated method that needs to begin with the milling of the paper itself. Depending on your group, we will teach the appropriate workshop.