Once seen as terribly unfashionable, wallpaper is on the up as a must-have way of bringing art into your home, with companies like the ultra hip Brooklyn-based Flavor Paper using cutting edge designs in combination with traditional screen-printing techniques for results that are not only eye-popping, but now even smell good, too…
Remember Willy Wonka’s lickable wallpaper in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory? Well Flavor Paper were inspired to create something similar, but thankfully without the saliva. In a design range that looks like Wonka met Warhol, their range of Scratch ‘n Sniff Wallpaper currently comprises three scented images – B-A-N-A-N-A-S!, Cherry Forever and Tutti Fruiti – with the cherry version having been memorialised forever by being inducted into the permanent collection of the Cooper-Hewitt arm of the Smithsonian Institute museum.
Jon Sherman, owner of Flavor Paper, explains the concept was ‘Designed with Michael Angelo [no, not that one] of Wonderland Beauty Parlor fame. B-A-N-A-N-A-S! is a pop art homage to iconic screen printing, with the added twist of scratch and sniff scent. Yes! The bananas can smell like bananas. Some people opt for unscented, but how can you resist?’
How long can the scents last? Well there are a limited number of micro-capsules embedded within the wallpapers, so they will run out over time. But with several million of the micro-capsules in a large surface area, it would surely take quite a few years of scratching and sniffing before you’d exhausted the scent completely.
Flavor Paper have developed colourful and creative wallpaper concepts for a number of stylish locations, from the W Hotel near Wall Street to Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas. With all their wallpapers completely customisable, presumably you could opt for pink bananas scented with cherry on a cyan background, should you so wish – and why not?
Okay, perhaps not for redcorating your nan’s living room for Christmas (though we think Hilda Ogden would have adored these) but we’re very excited about the idea of ‘smelly wallpaper’, and hope it can’t be too long before fragrance houses release scented scenes – imagine whole meadows you could gaze at on your walls and occasionally scratch ‘n sniff… It would certainly give the neighbours something to talk about. Don’t about you, but we’re climbing (and sniffing) the walls in anticipation!
Written by Suzy Nightingale
Tag: design
Aesop home fragrances: formulated to stir the senses…
Aesop have fragrance at their heart, but always linked to the efficacy and wellbeing benefits of their produtcs. Never a brand to slap a nice smelling scent in for the sake of it, they’ve now launched a trio of home fragrances created by perfumer, Barnabé Fillion, with the premise that Istros, Cythera and Olous will ‘…transform the home, redefining the physical space that surrounds us.’
Each of the room sprays has been commissioned with a bespoke musical track composed to evoke the notes of the scents themselves, and with such a connection between music and perfume – we speak of musical and fragrance ‘accords’, the ‘notes’ of a scent, a perfumer arranging their ingredients on an ‘organ’ – it’s an harmonious match, indeed.
Aesop say: ‘Just as each Aromatique Room Spray unfurls in a melody of top, heart and base notes, composer and musician Jesse Paris Smith has created three distinctive tracks to narrate the shifting journey.’
Istros
A union of enlivening florals and smoky tobacco, underscored by the embrace of sandalwood.
Istros is a scent of what has been left behind: a street baked by heat during the day, cooled at night; tendrils of tobacco smoke long dispersed; bazaars that bear the etchings of commerce, commotion and carnival. But more than this, it is a communion with the creative spirits who have journeyed through – an energy distilled from their traces.
Cythera
A veil of geranium and incense, lent symmetry by woody patchouli and the warmth of myrrh.
Cythera conjures a moonlit garden as vespertine flowers relax their petals and nocturnal animals emerge from sleep. Drawing us into the present, an atmosphere of reverence is stirred as darkness returns. The air in this space holds a delicate aroma woven with the memory of the day, and the promise of the evening ahead.
Olus
A blend of citrus botanicals, balanced by breaking waves of cedar and the refreshing spice of cardamom.
Just as words are born of our breath, Olous rouses an exhalation of clipped, green aroma. Boundless as it is, nature makes its presence felt inside the home – stillness ensues. The environment is redefined to an elemental time, when life was all silence – pleasantly devoid of the babble of phone chatter, or the burring hum of the mechanical.
You can listen to the soundtracks on the Aesop website, and we highly recommend taking a few minutes to sit down, spritz and chill to the scents…
Aesop Aromatique Room Sprays, £37 for 200ml
Buy them at Aesop
Written by Suzy Nightingale
Perfume bottle auction set to stun… feast your eyes on these antique flacons!
Imagine a room stacked with the most precious perfume bottles in the world – crystal flacons glinting and variously dipped in gold, lavished with gems, painstakingly enamelled or perhaps a revolving perfume carousel. Such visions are not merely scenes torn from Marie Antoinette’s diary; for once a year, perfume lovers, collectors and dealers from around the world gather to not only marvel at the impeccable selection, as you might in a museum’s display; but to bid on them and take them home….
Having fallen madly in the love with the extremely rare 1928 Parfums de Marcy, trompe l’oeil presentation “Le Bracelet Miraculeux,” – five scents disguised as an art deco bracelet [see above], which sold for $33,000 (a teeny bit out of our price range, sadly…) we knew they would be special – but these are above and beyond.
This year, the Perfume Bottles Auction will take place at 5pm on Friday, May 5th at the Hyatt Regency in Princeton, New Jersey. We’re aware many readers possibly wont be able to make it there in person, but we absolutely guarantee you’ll want to feast your eyes on the sumptuous bottles as we take a look at some of the highlights submitted thus far. The auction catalogue hasn’t even yet been printed, so we were thrilled they were kind enough to get in touch and ask if we’d like a sneak peek.
Well yes. Yes, we would.
The Perfume Bottles Auction is directed by Ken Leach; each year he seeks out the most desirable and unique perfume bottles. This highly prestigious event is the longest running specialty auction of perfume bottles worldwide, and takes place during the annual three-day extravaganza for perfume bottle lovers annual International Perfume Bottles Association convention with the field’s leading dealers featuring thousands of bottles and an internationally recognized auction.
The convention draws together collectors and dealers from around the world, and this year features 250 lots to tempt prospective bidders. Simply put, each item is fabulous and lust-worthy, so it’s hard to pick a favourite, but some of our choices to watch (or bid on, should the fancy take you!) are as follows:
The convention draws together collectors and dealers from around the world, and this year features 250 lots to tempt prospective bidders. Simply put, each item is fabulous and lust-worthy, so it’s hard to pick a favourite, but some of our choices to watch (or bid on, should the fancy take you!) are as follows:
This elaborate French 1820s Charles X Palais Royal perfume carousel made of gilt bronze mounted on an abalone shell with Baccarat cut crystal bottles is estimated to sell between $10,000 and $20,000.
Perfume bottle made by Baccarat in 1926. Made for perfumer Godet for the “Petite Fleur Bleue” fragrance. The crystal bottle is in the shape of a woman’s skirt, while the frost stopper with grey patina perfectly depicts a woman holding flowers. Estimated to sell between $5,000 and $6,000.
Perfume bottle “Gros Fruits” designed by Rene Lalique in 1919 and was available for purchase at Maison Lalique. The detail of plums on the bottle is molded in high relief and colored by grey patina. Estimated to sell between $10,000 to $15,000.
1920s Czechoslovakian “nude dauber” perfume bottle by Heinrich Hoffmann. The bottle is mounted on gilt metal
and decorated with faux jade crystal. The bottle is topped with a frosted
glass medusa medallion. Estimated to sell btw. $5,000-$7,000
and decorated with faux jade crystal. The bottle is topped with a frosted
glass medusa medallion. Estimated to sell btw. $5,000-$7,000
UK based collectors and anyone enthralled by the world of fragrance bottle art will be glad to know here is also a UK branch of the organisation, and you can find out more about their activities at ipba-uk.co.uk
Ken Leach is currently accepting consignments for the 2017 auction to be held in Princeton, New Jersey.
Contact: [email protected]
Written by Suzy Nightingale
Acqua di Parma serves sun-seekers a dose of Italian luxury in new Miami boutique
Jet-setters chasing the sun in Miami – and those lucky enough to live there – can now revel in the luxurious surroundings of Acqua di Parma’s newely opened boutique. Designed to evoke the spacious elegance of a stylish Italian home, the 1,000 square foot space boasts a sleekly luxurious interior outfitted with the brand’s signature style – Calacatta marble contrasts with dark Wenge wood to highlight the famous Acqua di Parma yellow of the walls. At the heart of the store, a huge leather-covered pyramid showcases bottles of the brand’s most famous and timeless Colonia fragrances.
Fans of the brand need not confine themselves to trying the Colognes and body products, as the much-ancipated barbershop provides gentlemen with original barber’s chairs in a devoted area that evokes all the traditional charm of a classical Italian barbershop, of course finished with the flawless contemporary touches for which the brand are known. Shaving and skincare products from their Collezione Barbiere have been created to accompany each phase of this ritual performed – you will be glad to hear – by an expert barber for a truly hands-on Acqua di Parma experience.
Located in the prestigious Brickell City Centre – right in the heart of Miami and one of the city’s most desirable zipcodes – it’s sure to become a must-visit for fragrance fanatics and style-seekers. And of course Acqua di Parma offer the perfect cooling scents to spritz if the temperature gets too steamy.
‘We selected Miami as our first city due to its international recognition in art, design and culture which are values that define the essence of Acqua di Parma,’ explained Giovanni Lepori, President North America. ‘With events such as Art Basel and Design Miami we knew this was a city we wanted to be a part of.’
We rather see ourselves wafting about in a silk maxi dress while wearing their Arancia di Capri – an aromatically uplifting blend of orange, mandarin, and lemon essential oils with the sparkle of petit grain infused by cardamon and resting on a base of sweetly smooth musk. In fact, yes, book us the plane tickets now, please!
Acqua di Parma Arancia di Capri from £64 for 75ml
Buy it at Acqua di Parma
What if Coca-Cola was a perfume?
Would you dab it behind your ears…?
A Professor at the Kaywon School of Art & Design created a project which shows how it might look if the blockbuster global soft drink brand did come up with a perfume line. By keeping the recognisable ‘signature’ curved shape of the bottle, he’s definitely managed to give it a very perfume-like look (and even came up with a box for the scents, too).
Wonchan Lee dreamed up two ranges: one based on the ‘Classique’ range – Coca Cola Le Parfum, and a ‘Belle’ range, ‘for younger women’ (20-30 female), with the pastel tints.
In reality, a Coca-Cola perfume doesn’t exist. (Though with the way some brands have been ‘stretched’ to include a scent in their line-up, we’d never say never.) www.wonchanlee.com
