May 31, 2011
Natural Perfumers Guild June 1, 2011 UNCORKED Blogging Event: Happy 5th B’Day NPG [Or, My Path To Natural Perfumery]
I was born green- but no one told me J
thespoof.com
It wasn’t easy to be green, where I was born- you had to either be born that way, or want it very badly.
I was the bit of both.
I wasn’t raised on a farm, in a bucolic setting, on the Great Plains, in the mountains, by the ocean, in a meadow, in the cradle of civilization-
Or any other lovely location; I was born in Yonkers, near the Bronx.
The New York Central rattled behind our place, next to the Hudson River sewage treatment plant.
andrew.cmu.edu
I was blessed / cursed to be born, however-
Into an era where green ceased being a mere color-
And grew into a geopolitical emblem instead, crackling with controversy and ethical might.
That came later.
Small children are not political at first…
istockphoto.com
Tomato plants love soot, and the New York Central provided all the soot they needed.
Nothing to equal a freshly crushed tomato leaf in your slender fist [ask Jean-Claude Ellena !].
Or nosing around the occasional marigold [ah, tagettes ! astringent beauties !] in the yard; the mint plants which overran those poor daggly roses my mother loved so.
novaflor.com
I artlessly gravitated to whatever occurred in nature, because it sustained me.
For that, I thank my late mother heartily; it was one of her greatest gifts to me.
Rabindranath Tagore, the brilliant Bengali poet, knew well of these natural charms.
connect.in.com
He celebrated them in his Song Offerings, Gitanjali:
“When I bring sweet things to your greedy hands
I know why there is honey in the cup of the flowers
and why fruits are secretly filled with sweet juice
- when I bring sweet things to your greedy hands.”
care4kidsworldwide.org
I was a stubborn learner, being stung over and over again in the Botanical Gardens-
Because I staunchly needed to know first-hand how every iris in an acre of them, differently-hued-
SMELLED.
flickr.com
You would have thought I would search for bumblebees first….not a chance.
Everything must be inhaled, all of existence, then AND now.
Imagine my rebellious delight, when I sent myself to Europe, and traveled through Provence in my late teens, alone.
Wild herbs bruised underfoot, lavande des Alpes, mimosa, roses, full-bodied jasmine de Grasse, tuberose:,a paradise of olfactive discovery.
I haunted all the parfumeries and factories – large and small, burying my face in heaps of dried patchouli and vetiver grass.
culturaemovimientobolivia.org
It was a truly organic progression, then, to natural perfumery and my lifetime obsession with all the beauty naturals bring to the olfactory palette.
While I have accumulated perfume for over 45 years, those fragrances with an abundance of fine quality natural essences-
Or outright 100% botanical scents-
Are those which satisfy me most, and speak to my very soul.
psychologytoday.com
-Ida Meister, Natural Perfume Editor and Senior Editor
Uncorked! Is a blogging event sponsored by the Natural Perfumers Guild celebrating voices telling us all their inner stories of how they came to love natural aromatics *or* why they love natural perfumery.
For more of these vignettes check out the participating blogs below:
Just wonderful, Ida – I can just see you with your face in those irises – and in France with the patchouli! Ain't nothin' like the real thing, baby! :-)
Ida how I relate to environment
I grew up where there were grey sidewalks, grey walls and windowbars.. There were trees , but i don't remember them having flowers. geraniums on the curtains. My grandma took me to the brooklyn botanical gardens very young, perhaps a toddler, and I am told i fainted at the smell of such gorgeous flowers. I like you was into green before it was the new black… but not that far back
I cant wait to read everyone's piece. Of course kermit holds a special place in my heart.
What a wonderful bio Ida shared! Natural aromatics speak so quietly and deeply, and I'm so happy that you, Ida, earth mother, maven, sweet thing, are on this path. The Guild is proud to have you as a member, and I can only hope we continue to delight your nose with our perfumes.
Thank you, Anyaleh, for inviting us to participate !
Through our collaborations, it's been marvelous to make new friends in the naturals community…
A real joy.
Beautiful post Ida. Your journey to France sounds amazing. So great to know you.
Love your writing style! Love your story! Love the fact that 100% botanicals speak to you and your soul… Thank you for promoting natural perfumes with such a passion!
I loved reading your story Ida..I so relate to the France journey…Loved it all…thank you.
on behalf of Cafleurebon, thank you to the 17 participating natural perfume blogs. we learned so much from all of you and even from the perfumers we thought we knew so well!
I could sit and listen to every detail of your trip. It sounds amazing.
Thank you for sharing your tale, Ida. This was delightful to read !