
I remember the days of the 12"
lp, the 45, and the mix tape. I used to sit on the floor in front of the stereo with the album jacket in my hand, holding it, looking through it, searching it, while the record was spinning and playing on the turntable. I was always so excited when it was a gate fold, with lots of cool artwork and photos of the bands and the lyrics inside that you could follow. It was like you were being let in on a secret, and you got to really participate and learn about a favorite group, who they were and what they were into. I would read all the liner notes, and wanted to see all the people the bands thanked and where these records were recorded and mixed and by whom. Who produced it, where did they record it? These days are gone, with
itunes and downloading music. I'm guilty of pretty much putting everything on my
ipod instead of buying
cd's. Only buying
cd's if I have to, like the remastered Beatles catalog that will be released in September-you simply can't download it. It's not available online, unless......you get it illegally. I miss all the packaging though. I do......
Like the music industry, packaging products has changed incredibly with
enlightenment of
environmental issues. Having worked in the music business for 10 years, we watched the album disappear and turn into Cd's and had to figure out how to market them. Remember when they used to come in those horrible giant plastic cases? I just wanted to get my hands on the product, on the jacket, on the booklet, if there was one. I still liked the artwork that came with the Cd's, and always felt a bit
jipped if it was only a single sleeve slid into the jewel case. I wanted a booklet to page through, again, to see artwork, lyrics and photos of the bands.

In the last year and a half I re-packed and re-designed everything in my lines, but with a conscience. Leaving behind the use of any packaging that did not come from a recycled source. People want packaging, they love it, and so do I. Often times, it sells the product itself. My goal was to create recycled packaging that looked really cool. I felt that most of the recycled packaging out there was, well, really dull. There is some great and creative stuff going on now with people creating great looking packaging from recycled content. I wanted to create not only gorgeous recycled packaging, but what was put inside of it to be as green and as beautiful as possible.

There's something about holding well packaged and presented items in your hand, like a record sleeve. It has emotion and expression behind it. At least that's how I see my work {and the work of my favorite bands}. All my packaging is now letterpress printed with all vegetable based inks, on these gorgeous old letterpress machines. No toxic smells, no chemicals that are harmful to the press person or the environment.
Here is the letterpress, with the first pass of packaging I am doing going through it. I wanted to be there for the process to make sure every single detail looks how I want it to. The collection is going out soon to one of my favorite stores and I am there, every step of the way to insure it's outcome is great!

There is something so old world, so fascinating and filled with history about these old machines. I so love the quality of the work and to support these printers. Here is the packaging going through the press.

I have been to a couple "press
ok's" and "press checks" this week with my printers, to make sure my packaging meets my standards and is what I had envisioned and wanted. I needed to make sure the colors are right and the stock is working, be a part of the entire process and put my two cents in along with the guidance of these amazing letterpress printers. It requires several phone
conversations with the printers, and art work being
dropped off for triple checks and re-checks. It's a huge investment. It's also so incredibly exciting to see what you dreamt in your head coming out on paper. Oh I hope they like it!!!

When it comes to paper stock for my brand, I always make the effort to use recycled stocks,
FSC certified stocks and try I to purchase from mills that use hydro electric energy. This massive stack of paper is for the above job, and this is only one of the stacks! There are three! It takes an incredible amount of research and thought to get just the right recycled stock for a project. Number 1, is it recycled, and at what percentage? What is the weight of the stock, will it work for this package, can we get it in time, and...of course, how much is it? To produce packaging on recycled stock is still very costly, but I won't do it any other way. This will change and get better over time and you'll see more and more packaging coming from recycled stock. My stock choice, pictured below, comes from post consumer recycled fiber. I am so happy to have found it for this amazing project.

Here is the first pass of three colors just off the letterpress. It will go through two more passes with two different colors yet. Then it will be die cut, taped and delivered to me flat, then formed into a gorgeous box that will be the new home for my Le
Vieux Monde Collection. All this work is done locally, so the carbon footprint is kept as minimal as possible.

The next step of course is to make all the candles! Three Pallets of Le
Vieux Monde glassware arrive at my studio.

This line is created completely by hand, by me, using only a blend of pure soy wax and beeswax. I have hand blended essential oils and fine fragrance oils for the perfect soft aromatic balance. Each batch is completely hand blended over and over. Here is Essence no. 17 in production. The Noble Knight.

The Noble Knight is a blend of
cedarwood oil, cypress oil, pine needle, woodsmoke, evergreen,
oakmoss and amber tonic. It is so earthy and woody, and
intoxicatingly soft. It smells like
cedarwood being rained on, it's very grounded. This essence, #17-- is dry, smoky, woody and noble, of the ancient forest, with very herbaceous warming and uplifting notes.
Cedarwood is considered an aphrodisiac. It is grounding, inspiring, comforting and soul reviving, while cypress oil is nerve soothing and positive. It assists in grieving and outgrowing sadness. Everyday when I come home from the studio now, I smell of
cedarwood, and it's great!
The Le
Vieux Monde Collection was inspired by Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette, my sister
Denile and her extensive
knowledge and interest in Marie and the era, my travels to Europe, and, Led Zeppelin.

The Noble Knight lit on my desk in my studio while I create and pour rounds and rounds of these fragrant candles. I can't wait for the boxes to be finished and I anticipate their arrival and how they will be displayed in the stores this Fall. It's amazing to me to see them make their way into beautiful boutique shops and then peoples homes. Like when a record came out, you had to wait for it, you anticipated and waited for the creations and had to physically go to a record store to get it, or actually wait to hear a new song on the radio for the first time, flipping channels in the car hoping to hear it. Like the hand made process, it takes time and care to create. None of my products are mass produced. Everything is made by my hands. It's a long process, but well worth it!