The Birth of Dalia

 Elena and I just finished bottling our first batch of shea butter and essential oil creams. I'm so lucky to be working with Elena on this line of simple beauty products. She has so much knowledge in herbs, oils, tinctures and the apothecary world. She was in the industry for years and still loves playing with oils and discovering new combinations to swoon over. We are creating a group of shea butter creams by adding oils like Neroli (orange flower essential oil) chamomile, vetiver, myrrh & frankincense (if only we had gold we would be very wise women). 

Yesterday I discovered the underrated but beautiful scent of laurel essential oil. As Elena described, it has a very high note but it's not too sweet or floral. And black pepper essential oil is surprisingly a very sexy smell. We added black pepper with a bit of patchouli into a masculine blend that I must say has a very seductive scent. Below are some beautiful old apothecary bottles and labels. And below that is the draft version of our "Dalia" label. We both love the Art Nouveau era. I never thought I would actually get to draw from it in a design project because it is such a specific look  - but I think it is perfect for what we are doing here with Dalia. Dalia is so sensual with all the natural scents and smooth creams. And it is more than just inspired from nature - everything we are working with comes from mother earth herself. We are two Pisces playing with the senses - of course it needs to be Art Nouveau! I can only dream to one day build a shelf like the bottom image filled with oils and creams and magical blends. But it all starts with dreaming, right?

minds are not just props at the house

This morning I had a delightful social experience before 9 am - likemind Vancouver is an event that started in New York in 2007 by some like-minded folks who missed the ritual of real-face meeting over coffee. Now it takes place all over the world in different cities in a different coffee shop every month. This snowy morning at 8 am it was at east side Prophouse Cafe on Venables at Commercial Drive.  I have found my new favorite coffee/hang-out spot. Eclectic, friendly, full of beautiful vintage artifacts, and...wait for it.... there's a 70's basement-like living room with velvet paintings, an orange sofa and a retro vibe I would kill to have in my home.

Here are some pics - I will defintely be going to the next LikeMind meet up next month to meet more cool people and I'll be found glued to that orange couch in the very near future.

likemind.us
prophousecafe.com
@LikemindVan

Tips for Long Life "Conseils pour vivre longtemps"

What a beautiful image. She looks like Frida Kahlo, no?  That's impossible though - these are pages of a book from L'Ecole de Salerne in 1861. L'Ecole de Salerne was the first medical school in the Middle Ages in Salerne, Italy. Those are the signs of the zodiac corresponding body part. Funny how pisces are at the feet. Fish don't even have feet. But I guess that's the point.  If only our text books were so beautiful. I just found a free source for beautiful ancient books archived online. No dusty book smell, but still pretty amazing. If you have a little time and curiosity I recommend checking it out. Just maybe you'll find the secret to long life.  

http://www.archive.org/details/texts

What everyone forgets is that passion is not merely a heightened sensual fusion but a way of life which produces, as in mystics, an ecstatic awareness of the whole of life. – Anais Nin

 

My first Anais Nin book is "Ladders to Fire" (thanks Jeff & Katie for the recommendation!).  And I love it. Her writing is so free and sensual. There's almost no plot or setting, instead you are taken into layers of her characters' emotions, thoughts and feelings. So far, (I'm only half way through), there hasn't been any eroticism.  Although there is definitely something erotic about it in a subtle and feminine way.  When I'm finished it will join the other vintage books in the 70's Che Baba book collection.