Leaves in Summer

Much has occurred in the past few months that it feels like an effort to play catch up to the constant fluctuations of each day. Friends, colleagues, perfume fans, arts lovers: We all know what a wold-spinning time we inhabit. A few times I’ve thought, “Now is a good time to take a breath and reflect,” but that time doesn’t come: A new event, crisis, twist occurs and we all find ourselves recalculating what happens next.

Rose Geranium leaves, Rhode Island.

The global health crisis has had an impact on my view of the world, mostly of the physical nature - I tend to look out from windows and not around me while walking on the streets. I look a lot from the vantage point of my desk out on the street in front of my house to see the world adjusting to new realities. This was the case for many months when I would spend much of my time here. The arrival of summer has been wonderful, but mid-July has found us seeing a resurgence of covid cases around the world, so I believe we’re all wondering how long this will last.

But many things continue, and ought to… as part of the sense of solitude, I reached out to start teaching classes with the Institute for Art and Olfaction, which has been an excellent experience. My writing with Fragrantica continues, and I wrote my thoughts about fragrances and the work of a very favorite painter, Maria Helena Vieira da Silva.

I’m grateful for the support from JSP customers new and former, who’ve continued to be part of the great story of scented development. I’m fortunate that my studio is not very far from my home, and it remained open during the past few months to make for an easy continuation of the business. The new January soaps have been developed and were released in April, and some new fragrance projects are in the works for entities outside of JSP (more news to come in the following months.) I’m excited to say that development on the new perfumes for 2020 is coming along rapidly, with one release nearly complete, and the second and third shortly behind.

January Scent Projects Soap No 1 and Soap No 2

I’ve also seen the garden around the house blossom into great, bold growth - with a vigor and strength I didn’t see last year. It’s given me some hope about the viability of everything in the world despite so many difficulties.

Ferns and Queen Anne’s Lace, Rhode Island.

I hope that everyone finds some time this summer to enjoy the radiating sun, the joyful waves of heat, and the voices of friends as we slowly emerge from a long slumber.