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Post by Azar

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Sweet Anthem Perfumes and perfumer Meredith Smith

Indie Fragrance Criterion – Discover Pacific Northwest Perfumes

An Interview, Review and Giveaway

On February 24th of this year APJ posted an introduction to Sweet Anthem Perfumes and perfumer Meredith Smith. Today I have a few questions for Meredith about the business of perfume in the PNW. My next post will be a review (and a give-away) of the six fragrances in the Indie Fragrance Criterion – Discover Pacific Northwest Perfume sample set.

Something extraordinary is going on in the Pacific Northwest perfume scene. In the February 24th post I referred to the PNW as a “hot spot” for Indie perfumers and attributed this phenomenon to our dreary winters and to the local creative climate but didn’t even consider that perhaps the business environment might be what is really driving the astounding growth of great noses in the PNW and all along the west coast; see Ca Fleure Bon

Instead of operating via the old industrial economic model of “survival of the fittest” through negative competition for limited resources (creating perceived value through perceived scarcity), what seems to be happening here is more of a collaboration. This collaborative model succeeds by taking steps to grow the customer base for everyone while encouraging new talent and supporting existing businesses. The perfumers are independent but recognize and foster their interdependence, creating mutually beneficial events and opportunities as well as sharing information and resources. This kind of information based, collaborative economic model works on the principle that sharing creates interest and value, supporting not only the perfumers themselves but the suppliers and related businesses as well.

Photo Stolen Sweet Anthem Perfumes

Meredith, you have been one of several PNW perfumers encouraging, as you say, the “Seattle Sisterhood” of perfumers for several years now. Would you describe what you perceive to be the reasons for this local explosion of interest in perfume?

Honestly, I have no idea how it happened! For me, though, I can say that I probably would not be a perfumer if I didn’t live in the PNW. That’s not to say that I wasn’t into perfume before moving here, but the pioneer spirit and the way we interact with nature – from the mountains to the sea – helps fuel the olfactory palette. We have such intense connections to the earthly plane that it’s difficult not to be inspired on a daily basis when living here, and that helps fuel many industries of pioneers. Plus, having spirited colleagues in many kinds of industries helps keep me going – from my fellow perfumers to other Etsy-style brand owners, the PNW is really a community of talented makers in many stripes. I know my perfume sisters agree!

Can you give us some examples of how and why whatever it is that you do works so well in the PNW?

This is the crux of the reason I moved to the PNW. Everything here seems to be done in the DIY spirit. We love to branch out and get our hands dirty. We love to learn (it’s one of the smartest places in the country to live). We love to do things no one has ever done before (the $4 coffee being a prime example). PNWers are not afraid – pioneers that we are – of going upstream, avoiding the mainstream, and eschewing the man at pretty much any and all costs. I think that’s a part of why collaboration is so vital to the NW. If going upstream is the norm, there’s no point in going it alone.

Photo Stolen Sweet Anthem Perfumes

I understand that the curated collection I will be reviewing is part of a collaborative exchange between San Francisco and Seattle area perfumers. Could you give us a little of the back-story?

This is actually a curated collaboration between myself and Antonia from Tigerlily Perfumery, a little perfume shop in the Valencia neighborhood of San Francisco that features mostly indie and niche lines. Initially, Karyn, Nikki, and I were trying to do this sort of thing with a shop in New York (who shall remain nameless) but that fell through, much to our dismay. I had a chance to meet Antonia before the perfumer’s salon last March and we really clicked, both owning perfume shops that carry a lot of the same inventory and really loving indie perfume lines. I pitched this idea to her about the PNW gift set, and she loved it! It was actually her idea to do a Bay Area box in tandem, with launch events in both cities. (It worked out nicely that several of us Seattleites were already going back to San Francisco for the summer Renegade Craft Fair, so the launch event got neatly wrapped into our existing event schedule.) But really, Antonia’s the big idea gal here, so I’m excited she’s on board!

Can you explain why/how these specific perfumes were chosen for this first Indie Fragrance Criterion?

By and large, the perfumers were asked to submit their best works! In the Seattle set, we all submitted things with a bit of a Northwest-y vibe, and I consulted with many of the perfumers what I thought would be the best fit (I’m thankful that they trust my judgment and happy that they’re all brands I’ve come to know and love). In the San Francisco set, you’ve got some IAO award nominees and winners, and some noses new to me but not to Antonia. Antonia and I talked a lot about themes, but in the end we decided that for a showcase of raw talent, generally the talent knows their works best, and so we left it up to each of them.

 Photo Donated Azar

Meredith, thank you so much for taking the time to share your perspective on indie perfumery in the PNW. Stay tuned, everyone, for the upcoming review and give-away!

Azar xx