Art & Poetry of Perfumery with Miriam Vareldzis
I am always seeking to improve my olfactory acuity. There are so many subtleties in fragrances and learning to recognize them is, for me, a life-long quest. So I was delighted when my friend/fragrance consultant Miriam Vareldzis invited me to attend her terrific perfume workshop. It was titled “The Art & Poetry of Perfumery: An Interactive Perfumery Workshop,” and took place on Saturday, March 19, in Portland, Oregon.
In this hands-on class, Miriam shared her vast knowledge of perfume notes and accords. Miriam worked at International Flavors and Fragrances (IFF) for several years. While there she met and worked with world-renowned perfumers, evaluating some of the most successful fragrances in the world.
During the 4-hour workshop, we smelled and discussed over 40 perfume notes. We became familiar with the Fragrance Wheel and carefully worked our way around it, moving from citrus to floral to oriental to woody notes.
This was an excellent class for both the beginner and the experienced fragrance lover. Topics included the language of perfumery; evaporation rates; and the nuances of natural and synthetic ingredients. Throughout the lively workshop, Miriam shared stories and gave examples from her days working at one of the top-5 perfume houses in the world.
Participants each received a wonderful gift bag containing a coffee-bean sachet, blotter strips, a chocolate truffle(!), and, best of all, an Olfactive Smelling Kit. This Kit contains 9 of Miriam’s own accords, ranging from the citrus accord to chypre to herbal, in a darling keepsake wooden box.
For those interested in taking this fun and highly-recommended workshop, Miriam will be offering it again on Saturday, June 2, 2007, from 9:30am-1pm. Cost: $125, inclulding Olfactive Smelling Kit, coffee/tea, and light snack. For more information, please call Miriam at (503) 649-6364 or email: mir@40notes.com.
And now, for a sneak-peek of the workshop, please click on the following video: (Please note it is my first attempt at a video blog, and the sound quality is a bit sub-optimal!)
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