As most people are well aware, there is a portal that directly connects Portland, OR to Brooklyn, NY. They have a lot of similarities to be located so far from one another. I have tons of friends that move back and forth between the two places and I often run into people I haven't seen in years while walking around Williamsburg. I feel perfectly at home when visiting. I've also grown to love a few stores and restaurants over the years and I always make sure I pay a visit on my travels. Marlow & Sons became a favorite years ago and I always eat at Diner at least one time per trip.
Marlow Goods is my newest love. This latest incarnation of Marlow & Sons takes the commitment to serve only 100% grass-fed meat one step further. They have developed a whole animal program, creating quality, handcrafted goods from the animal hides they butcher in house. The leather bags are tanned from the hides of the pigs and cows served in the restaurant. Wool from some of the lambs and ewes is turned into yarn, sweaters, blankets and rugs. I'm getting the hand-loomed wool blanket if it's the last thing I do!
This little general store is located in the front of Marlow & Sons restaurant. If you find yourself in need of some OLO, it is situated on a little shelf amongst all of these other goodies. Marlow Goods is the only store on the East coast offering the OLO fragrance 100% pure essential oil line. Lavender, Peppermint and Port Orford Cedar are all sourced here in the PNW. These are the perfect oils to scent a bath or just inhale when fighting off a cold. Marlow Goods also stocks the Argan Oil Hair Tonic and a few perfumes if you need to get your apothecary on!
Go visit!
How Shangri-la (the scent) came to be.
Claire and Jona, of YACHT, have been supporters of OLO for a while. Victory Wolf is one of their favorite scents. I wanted to make a smell for them but I was too shy to ask. While corresponding via the interwebs one day Claire asked me if I wanted to make a fragrance for the new release of Shangri-la. Um, yes please.
What is the pretty blue bottle?
An anointing oil. My initial thoughts regarding this collaboration was that this would not necessarily be a perfume. This oil was specifically created to be applied when listening to YACHT's Shangri-la.
What does it smell like?
According to YACHT, " Very good. It’s a brooding, unisex, smoky fragrance, combining romantic top notes of jasmine, vetiver, ylang yang, and hiba wood, with a base of hazy cade, sumac, peruvian balsam and siam wood. The result hovers in the air like a change in the weather, like flower offerings smashed recklessly on the ground in a temple on fire. It unfolds quietly, moving softly from the bright floral tones to its own dark underbelly. It’s for everyone."
What was the image OLO had in mind when creating this scent?
I felt compelled to capture the idea of ceremony or ritual. The image I had was reminiscent of the stories of Egyptian temple dancers. They wore wax headdresses infused with essential oils. When they danced, the heat from their bodies would melt the wax and anoint them with the oils.
The first image I had when listening to Shangri-la was of young people dancing around flames. They are covered head to toe with giant white flowers. They dance all night. The air is thick, the ground stomped flat with flower petals and soot. The sun rises to a beautiful mess.
Shangri-la is currently only available on the YACHT tour and website. A list of select stores stocking this scent will be available shortly. Either go to a show and purchase it at the merch table or cultivate patience, both are rewarding exercises for your spirit.
Make a guess who this anointing oil is for and win a free 5ml bottle. Lucky name will be drawn February 14th. You don't even have to be right, any answer puts you in the running!
XO,
Heather
I just got an inquiry to do another collaboration. Top secret still but I'm really, really into this one. Very unconventional. It appears that 2012 will be dragging OLO out of the forests of the PNW and into the sun. This is a bit out of my comfort zone which is an excellent place to be!
FINALLY! I've been so busy doing events and filling holiday orders! I can now see a light at the end of the tunnel. Don't get me wrong, I've been enjoying myself and absolutely love filling orders. I just haven't had the time to work on anything new lately. I have so many ideas and I so look forward to the rainy winter months in Portland. Everyone really settles in and creates. It's the perfect weather to be completely selfish with your craft. No one expects you to come out and be social!
I have three collaborations in the works. One in Portland, one in Toronto and the other in NYC. I also did one with my husband Jonathan, of Golden Retriever. He is always giving input on the fragrances as I work but this was the first time he brought his vision to the table. I can't wait to finish it!
Stayed tuned...
Come visit me this weekend at Portland Bazaar, December 10-11 from 9am-6pm. I will be sharing a corner with Bridge & Burn, Nice Work and Heartwood. Clothes, home accessories, furniture and fragrance all in our little corner! OLO will have sample gift boxes available as well as the new DEUX room spray.
Thanks to Design Sponge, Antler & Co and Wood & Faulk for organizing such an amazing event!
"If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a smell?"
Um, you know it does.
OLO fragrance, in collaboration with Nice Work, has created a 100% natural room spray designed specifically for the potty. Combining Alison's obsession with the smell of a freshly scoured bathroom and my need to cover any and all offensive odors...we present DEUX.
You know I like a good forest smell. The oils of cedar and pine are mighty neutralizers and are the main components. DEUX is available for a limited run for the low low price of $30. It should be on my website in the next few days. I will also deliver to Palace and Frances May this week.
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