Flora

May Queen

2012-02-09T20:04:00.000-08:00

There is always a list a mile long hovering above my head. Another list on the counter. A calender beeping reminders on my phone and a couple of lists on the whiteboard.
Making perfume is always on the hovering list.
Sometimes we are out of certain perfumes for so long, I forget they ever existed and an employee or customer will have to ask about them to remind me.
May Queen is not one of them, so the swirling list goes on.
Today I made May Queen.

This perfume was created at a time when I was experimenting with accords a couple of years back.
An accord in perfumery is a blend that is made to evoke a scent you are trying to create that has a feeling or energy to it that will become part of a bigger whole.
Sometimes you want just a teensy part of an ingredient that it seems impossible to not add too much.
With an accord you can make a blend that has maybe 5 ingredients that blend to become "spice" for example and then your recipe can be made with one drop of the accord, whereas you would not be able to add 1/5 or 1/10th of a drop.
For instance, you may want to add a touch of pink pepper to a blend, but knowing that it is a strange and strong scent, you don't want to overwhelm the blend you do something like this:
pink peppercorn esst. oil - 1 drop
black pepper esst oil - 5 drops
fresh ginger esst oil - 15 drops
pink lotus absolute - 2 drops
blend this together, let it sit for a couple of days, smell it and see if it's what you are looking for and if so you can add it to a number of blends when you are looking for a certain element. In this case a spice with a floral hit.
Then make a simple blend of cedar wood and tangerine (just examples of course) and add in a drop or two of the more complex accord and it adds a little bit of a mystery.
Accords must smell amazing before they are added to another oil, but it's a good fun way to experiment.
I had made a spice accord and an earthy-sultry accord and added them together with Jasmine and Rosewood and a couple of others to create one of my favorite perfumes, May Queen.
What does May Queen smell like?
Hot summer nights, heady night blooming flowers and a complex spicy note that is exciting and mysterious all at once.
If you are able, stop in to Flora and try some on.
The scent will change with our body's chemistry to create a scent that is all yours.
We also have samples of May Queen available for $5.
A roll-on that comes in a glass bottle is $35.

Precious Metals

2011-10-15T12:38:00.000-07:00

Gold fill? vermeil? electro plating?
How do you know what to buy and what does it all mean?

Metal prices have been going up steadily since we began selling jewelry nearly five years ago.
Silver was around $15 on ounce late in 2007, today it's at $32 an ounce.
Gold was around $600 an ounce and now it's above $1600!

We are always looking for gorgeous jewelry for the store and we always are trying to keep a wide range of prices.

We don't carry anything that is plated, electroplated or vermeil.
Why? Because it wears off and inevitably there will be a disappointed customer.
When we first opened our store we offered a darling line of jewelry hand crafted from Canada that was super fun and affordable and seemed a great way to try to see if jewelry fit out business.
Our customers loved it and so did we until we started seeing pieces come back having lost their luster.
As much as we loved the line and after all these years people still request it, we made the decision to not deal with silver or gold plating.

Despite these parameters, we have amazing jewelry priced as low as $15 on up to $295 with most pieces between $30 and $70.

Customers are always curious and often confused about these terms and it's no wonder, so are we.
Here are some terms explained:

24 karat gold is pure gold
18 karat is 75% gold
14 karat is 58.3% gold - the number is part of a fraction: 14/24 gold
Alloys are added in as the remaining percentage, for example 18 karat gold is 75% gold and 25% alloy (other metals)
Rose gold has a high proportion of copper in its alloy blend
Yellow gold has equal parts of silver and copper to the remaining percentage

Gold fill - Gold fill is the most confusing as it is not "filled" at all.
It is gold, quite a bit of it, covered mechanically with heat and pressure over silver.
It is 1/20 gold or 5% gold by weight.
About 2000 times more gold than gold plating.
Gold fill is pressure-bonded and will not flake or rub off.
Anyone who can wear only gold, should be able to wear gold fill.
Vermeil - gold plating over silver, there is no requirement for thickness, but in the purity of the silver base, which must be 925 (sterling). Generally considered better than gold-plated.
Gold-plated - coated with a super thin layer of gold, generally over silver or copper
Gilt - gold plated
Electro-plated - when one metal is coated with another metal using electricity
Silver plated - base metal coated with a super thin layer of silver
Silver filled - like gold filled, except with silver
Sterling - is 92.5% silver and 7.5% copper
Thai silver - is mostly silver, closer to 98%, making it softer than sterling.
Fine silver - 99.9% silver, generally too soft for jewelry, but it is used sometimes

We needed to make an information sheet on all of this for ourselves and thought you might find it useful as well.
love,
Flora

Chocolate and Jewelry

2011-09-12T18:07:00.000-07:00

“Pops of color, filigree lockets, hand crocheted wire pendants... and lots of gold. The difference is in the delicately coordinated color palates and refreshing design. Innocence, refined.”

It was a Thursday morning and all I wanted was dark chocolate with cherries and to look at pretty things. I’m not the type that likes to go shopping, for me, this is why the internet was invented. Walking into Flora before open hours and getting to meet with two new jewelers was exactly the treat I needed. I have met with jewelers and other artists before with Jewelie and it is always a serendipitous event.

The two girls that were showing us their collections had something unique and all around awesome. They are best friends and designed their new lines cooperatively. There is a steady cohesion not only within the separate lines but the same thread follows through all the pieces as one collection.

The detail and delicacy of not only the construction but the design of each piece is outstanding. It’s is truly something special the way these besties have found a symbiotic juxtaposition between a statement piece and everyday wearability.

The owner and designer of Fresh Tangerine, Kimberlee Kogane is an Alaska born girl and the impression of her style that I got is simplistic glamor. I can definitely get behind that.

Genna Hall, the designer and owner of Deluxe Delovely uses a bit chunkier stones in her line that give me an image of vintage shops in the old west with a healthy dose of sophistication.

These girls have got something very special going on and I'm so excited they are sharing it with us!

-Sadie

Darling Savage sews magic

2011-09-07T11:49:00.001-07:00

Havi aka Darling Savage wandered into Flora one day wearing this handbag and we asked her is she was a seamstress.
Why, yes!
Running to the back room we brought out our fabric we had purchased that was awaiting a crafty soul.

She made us a prototype to the specs we had in mind and voila! she's magic.
This is second set of perfectly proportioned, expertly crafted zippies for you!

I spy with my little eye...

2011-08-27T15:54:00.000-07:00

As I look forward to celebrating my first two years adoring Flora, I begin to reflect and realize that Flora is more than just a lovely little shop nestled in Southwest Portland. Flora has a way of transcending past our tiled doorstep and into your own individual home. Whether you sauntered in to enjoy some eminent tea, to spritz yourself with one of our sensational aqua vitaes or to bring home your very own radiant beeswax candle, you will find yourself taking a little piece of Flora with you.

Hidden in my home you will find countless Flora lovelies. My bathroom cupboard is cluttered with potions, aqua vitaes and balms… my favorites being the balancing lavender aqua vitae and the calming temple balm. Above my bed, catching the light of the morning sun is a vigilantly, locally framed Sunset Moth from Madagascar Island.

And living in my bathroom, you will find a beautifully handcrafted honeycomb shelf creating a home for some beautiful olive oil Gardner’s soap which floods fragrances of rosemary and mint through the room. Beneath my glowing honeycomb sill, rests some Flora-made VooDoo Smoothy Triple Mint Enriching Body Lotion. Watching over my loo reside two inspiring pieces of local artwork which bring a beautiful splash of color and delight to the area.

We will continue to share our favorite Flora items with you along with a glimpse into our near and dear homes in hopes that you too will find the same joy in whatever it is that you let Flora bring to you!

Flora items seen in these photos…

Honeycomb shelf

Gardner’s Soap; olive oil rosemary mint with cornmeal

Flora VooDoo Smoothy Enriching Triple Mint Body Lotion

Anna Todaro framed artwork

Hadley Hutton framed artwork

Casey Brennan, August 2011

Elysium adorns Flora. Flora adores Elysium

2011-08-18T23:14:00.000-07:00

The other day in passing I replied to someone that I owned a jewelry store.
It's funny the partial truths that come out of our mouths in funny moments.
I surprised myself by my reply, but it wasn't untrue.

Flora has blossomed into one of the most amazing jewelry stores in town. Yes, the tiny, shiny objects that adorn the jewelry cases are small in comparison to the wall of candles, but they do not get lost in the glow of it all.

One day about a year ago Casey and I ventured to an artist flanked street in The Pearl to see if there were any awesome painters we might find to feature at our own quarterly events.

We met the most wonderful people, some interesting art and beautiful jewelry.

One of the jewelers that helped Flora cross a line to super femmy, wedding-worthy jewelry was Elysium Jewelry.

Having been a long time patchouli wearing hippie girl, I have always been very careful not to create too much of a hippie-esque of store. With all of our apothecary products add in amethyst and chrysophase and you can get pigeon holed pretty quick.

We exchanged cards and niceties with many that day and then we came upon a booth that was a perfect mix of the amazing jewelry I remember seeing so long ago while hanging out at music festivals, but with a delicacy of craft as well as brilliance of design that made me feel all christmas morning-y.

In minutes, we were dangling jewelry off of our fingers like ornaments on a tree.

The two women who were Elysium shined up their eyes and smiles at us, just like they had dazzled so many before.
They just kept on working, and smiling.

We settled on a selection of about ten pieces to try out in the store. It all was so sparkly and shiny we set aside any notion of too many gemstones in the store.

A year later, Elysium remains not only one of my favorite jewelers but one of our best selling as well.

It was the first Thursday in August last year that we met them and today I find myself wearing a favorite necklace that I bought that day.

Sarah has moved back to Lake Tahoe recently to be with her daughter, leaving Jody, the Founder and Queen of Operations, working solo again.

Does that mean her work is any different? Somehow, no. They worked in harmony having been friends for more than a decade.
Now Sarah is making jewelry on her own in Lake Tahoe for now, and Jody is Elysium Jewelry.

Today she brought in these stunning hoops

made with natural, undyed rubies that were ethically mined thirty years ago.
They are awaiting their Empress!

I heard someone ask Jody once what Elysium meant. She replied without a beat "It's Valhalla only Greek."

My love for her was totally solidified in that perfect eloquent moment.
My love for the jewelry on the other hand, was love at first sight.

Tea

2011-04-13T11:40:00.000-07:00

We have had several customers this week completely confounded by the fact that black tea and green tea are from the same plant.

As a matter of fact so is white tea and oolong.

Tea: Camellia sinensis.

Camellia is named after a Czech born botanist named Georg Joseph Kamel

sinensis: Latin for "Chinese"

Closely related to the now blooming Camellia, that are either beloved for their old-fashioned, substantial nature or hated due to their quick-to-rust and make-a-mess flowers.

Either way they are lovely, for a time, although brief.

And with this confusion we have had many sentiments that people are being "bad" by drinking black tea as opposed to green. Jasmine as opposed to herbal.

Tea is bad? I heartily disagree.

Tea is good for you. It really is.

From the most delicate organic silver tipped white to the dankest, darkest blacks with milk and sugar added, tea is still a health-giving, life-sustaining beverage.

There are dozens of wonderful articles and lists of the benefits of tea drinking.

I won't repeat it all here, but just say; drink up.

In a nutshell,

White Tea: buds & leaves harvested, steamed then dried

Green Tea: Steamed or Pan-fried, rolled, then fired

Black Tea: Withered, rolled, oxidized then fired

Oolong: Withered and partially Oxidized at the same time, rolled and fired.

Pu-erh: withered, fermented and fired

Paper

2011-04-04T19:02:00.000-07:00

When we have a new person, there is a lot of training on things that seems unimportant, but that's not the case. It's the little things that hold all the big things together.
Sadie is explaining to Mary how this particular paper is cut a bit uneven from the manufacturer (news to me) and how to gently roll the paper, don't force it and it will be easier to cut.
Sadie is a master book binder, so she is super awesome at the humble task of cutting the tissue.
Happily, she is passing along her paper cutting wisdom.

They could be sisters, right?
Voila!

The Best Jewelry Holder

2011-04-02T09:02:00.000-07:00

For years now we have been trying to find the perfect way to organize and display jewelry for the store.

We do have some miraculous tabletop versions, but they are all one of a kind and let's just say, not so affordable.

The last time we went to market to buy for the store, jewelry holders were at the top of our list.
It must be practical, beautiful and affordable.
We didn't find one.
Not even close.

So we worked with one of our favorite people, who happens to have fabulous tools to go along with his mad skills and talked him into making us this Flora original.

Finally!
We hope you love it as much as we do.
Available in store and oh so soon online.
(until then you can call us)
Wholesale inquiries welcome.

$48
oak or birch
new designs for a tabletop version by Fall.

It holds necklaces, earrings, bracelets and even scarves and lightweight belts.

Sadie Lifton, Guest Blogger

2011-02-20T23:39:00.001-08:00

Flora is the kind of place you go when you know you want something but haven't decided what that something will be. It's the kind of place where you know you will find that special thing no matter what your mood. I have recently fallen in love with Kate Rutherford. Not only is she a total rock climbing badass, but her jewelry is the definition of simple beauty. Her inspiration undoubtedly comes from all of the adventuring she does and the translation is clear.
"As a rock climber and jewelry maker I obviously love rocks…. Their inherent beauty draws me to all kinds of wild places in the world. I think climbing is a most incredible physically creative way to get up close and personal with the environment and the beauty that surrounds us."

Her work can be worn everyday (as I do) or as an understated show stopper as it is so unique and like nothing I have seen before.

With each stone being handpicked, I know that I have something that is singularly mine and softly polished by the power of water. The rocks keep me grounded and remind me of the earth's natural beauty.

Fall in love!

-Sadie

Feathers & Leather from the Flora Girls

2011-02-02T10:40:00.000-08:00

We know everyone has feather earrings for sale these days and we've been on the lookout for some that are a perfect match for Flora. Many are way too long to display well, and some are just too long. Gorgeous, but honestly, I wonder about getting them caught in doorways and coat zippers and I am already a spaz about scarves because of Isadora Duncan.
Anyways, after talking with what seems like a dozen jewelers about bringing in feather earrings for me to look at (are feather-related artists more flaky than others?) Julia DaRosa, our long-time Flora girl wore an amazing pair of feather earrings into work one day.
"Ok, those are perfect! Where did you get them?" I asked with excitement.
She was a little taken aback by my enthusiasm, then admitted that, it was she who had made them.
Awesome. Now we need look no further.
Feather Earrings. Julia DaRosa. Flora. Who knew?
Sterling Findings.$45

We all seemed to be obsessed with the 70's and the look that makes me think of Buffy Sainte-Marie with her Feathers, Leather and earthy and other-worldly ways.

In a very short period of time, two of the Flora girls came in with totally rad leather goods to see if they could sell them at Flora.
Absolutely!

The journal below is made by Sadie Lifton of Key Stitches.
The imprints on the edge are those that were on-the-cow. What?!
She is buying whole hides so that she can make intentional choices on where and how to cut the leather. She has loads of ideas about using all the scraps, so nothing goes to waste.
priced $40 to $75

Julia Montes with Bishka Works has many leather pouches and wallets in the works, many with embroidered details. (Pictures to follow.)

Starbird Jewelry

2011-02-01T20:30:00.000-08:00

We are preparing for our trunk show and realize we need some pictures of the lovely Tara Brisbane's Starbird Jewelry.
All of her work is done personally by her, all by hand, with all natural stones and pure Sterling Silver.
She is a master wire-wrapper and teaches extensively at Dava Bead & Trade.
Come check out her collection February 11th at Flora from 5-8pm.
For now, enjoy the pictures!

Shelli Markee, Silversmith

2010-12-08T11:15:00.000-08:00

Shelli Markee is a Seattle artist that we are honored to represent. She is a jeweler and metalsmith born into a family of artisans.

Her work is natural in materials and organic in design.

Everything she makes is perfect for everyday, layers with everything and feels absolutely glamorous all at the same time.

Dozens of sterling earrings and necklaces all rolled up in velvet, then unfurled with oohs and ahhs from the Flora girls.

Kiersten Crowley back at Flora

2010-12-08T11:00:00.001-08:00

Kiersten Crowley is a Portland artist with an impeccable sense of proportion and restraint.

There is something divine about the simplicity and grace of each piece of her jewelry.

If you look closely you can see her painstaking and time consuming detail work.

Stop by and try something on or give us a call and we can answer any questions you might have and, of course, we can ship something to you.

Flora

503-227-0586

and here is a look back at Kiersten in 2004

Here is Kiersten's jewelry at Flora in February 2008 at our Valentine's day jewelry trunk show. Also there that day was Rebecca Bashara, Amy Wing Designs, Frozen Peas Accesories and Tiny Forge Designs.

Rebecca is currently represented by The Real Mother Goose.
Amy Wing is still one of our best selling jewelers.
Frozen Peas is available around the corner at Radish Underground.
Tiny Forge has melted away, I think. The
designer is a teacher and was putting her energy more in that direction. We sorely miss her work.

Somehow, even though everyone loved Kiersten's work, we have not had it at Flora all this time.
Welcome back Kiersten!

Sha Montana brings the juju

2010-12-08T10:17:00.000-08:00

Sha Montana is an artist and collector who designs and crafts from her heart and from her collections.

Sha learned the art of hand made leather goods apprenticing with Master Juan Santiago.

Each piece is completely one-of-a-kind.

Her designs have been worn by some Hollywood A-listers. Often using re-purposed fur coats she has made a leopard-skin bustier for one of these secret admirers.

Here are some of her stingray cuffs

Stingray is a member of the shark family that is food in many cultures, making the "hide" if you will, a product much like leather.

Stingray leather is a miraculously strong and durable material. It is also magnificent to look at. It looks like a million little beads.
Besides cuffs we bought some gris gris bags, a New Orleans version of a medicine bag or a mojo pouch. Gris Gris is a talisman of protection to wear and carry your treasures in.

Sha was referred to me by my shamanic teacher. Her name is of course Sha Montana Sha-Mon. Shaman.

A friend who was in when Sha brought her work for us to look at asked incredulously "Is this fish leather?"
Wow. Yes. So weird and so rad.

We also have a few of her amazing clutches and handbags.

xo

Black Friday in The West End

2010-11-23T20:55:00.000-08:00

Local Love in the West End
15% off in the neighborhood

We'll be open at 10am
See you then!

Flora is Four

2010-11-16T20:48:00.000-08:00

~Anniversary~
from the Latin anniversarius, from the words for year and to turn,
meaning (re)turning yearly

It's hard to say where to begin....
Is your anniversary the day you meet?
First date?
Commitment?
What are the moments that make us mark time?

In the history of Flora do we mark the day that the spark of an idea came to a young mama to create natural herbal products for her baby?
(Winter 1992)
Do we mark the time when that idea became inspiration enough to get a name?
(Summer of 1993)
Do we mark the time that Bliss Botanicals changed to io herbal alchemy?
(Spring 2004)
Do we mark the time we signed our first lease?
(August 2006)
Do we mark the time we actually opened our doors?
(November 2006)
Do we mark the time we changed the name from io to Flora?
(September 2007)
Do we mark the time we moved from our original location to our new lovely space?
(February 2010)

We do.
We mark all of those days in small moments shared over tea and stories.

and we mark this day:

November 17th 2006

as the day that we made the leap into retail in one of the bleakest financial times in memory. It's a good thing we knew not what we were entering into.

and now here we are 4 years later:

November 17th 2010!

For now, all we can say is Thank You from the bottom of our hearts, we certainly couldn't have done it without you, nor would we want to.

So...

How shall we celebrate?

The way we like, with tea and cakes (cupcakes) and a smokin' sale!

20% off store wide* (and online!) for one day only
Wednesday Nov. 17th
extended hours 10am -7pm

xoxo

Artist Interview with Jen Goff of Paper Wings

2010-07-11T14:30:00.000-07:00

I met with the lovely Jen Goff, founder, designer and chief jeweler of Paper Wings Jewelry

It happened to be one of the hottest days of the year in Portland, so we cooled ourselves off with chilled white wine and Caprese salads as we chatted about our lives as entrepreneurs.

She agreed to a Q & A.
Awesome.

There is a depth to Jen that is hard to get to here, but I hope that you can get a sense of who she is in our first ever artist interview.

So here goes.

Flora: What is your favorite thing to make?
Jen: Everything from the new Fog & Mist Collection but especially the Horseshoe Necklace and the Cascade Necklace.

Flora: Do you remember your first sale?
Jen: Yes, it was to my friends at Summer House in Port Townsend.
The owners were my first mentors as well as my biggest supporters and they still carry my jewelry.

Flora: What artists do you admire?
Jen: Chelsea Heffner who has a blog called Plainmade. I think she’s kind of a genius.
And also, Egon Schiele, Mary Ellen Mark and Harry Ally.

Flora: What is the hardest part of your job?
Jen: Being the boss is super hard.

Flora: What is the best part of your job?
Jen: Being the boss. (We both laugh) and also, creating all day.

Flora: What do you do when you’re not making jewelry?
Jen: Reading, writing, creating mixed media garments, taking photographs and blogging.

Flora: What is your favorite thing to cook?
Jen: I am super into food. I have been making lots of hearty salads. I love to add roasted vegetables, feta and let myself be inspired by what’s in the garden.
I get inspiration from Smitten Kitchen and Orangette.

Flora: Where is you favorite place to go in Portland?
Jen: Loyly Spa, I am thinking of self care places, The Tao of Tea, The Museum of Contemporary Craft, I would like to be represented there.

Flora: What book are you currently reading?
Jen: The Shape of Content and a book on Egon Schiele's life.

Flora: What is something surprising about you?
Jen: (after a long pause and a dreamy gaze) Well, I walked 500 miles across Spain several years ago.
Flora: Wow! By yourself?
Jen: Yes, I walked the Comino de Santiago, it was amazing, it took a month.

Flora: Lastly, what is catching your eye at Flora right now?
Jen: The window displays!
I also love the Tatine Candles and the crystal jewelry by Stone and Honey.

Thanks Jen! We love having your work at our shop and having you as a friend.

Get Your Summer Glow On with Glow Tone!

2010-06-12T15:39:00.000-07:00

This is a great time of year to start using a skin toner.
With all the joys of summer sun and fun also come numerous stresses on the skin. The combination of dirt, sweat, sun screens, and heat can all take their toll and dull the complexion or cause breakouts. It is important to clean the skin thoroughly and restore the PH balance. When our skin is clean and balanced, it can regenerate new skin cells more efficiently. The result? Skin that looks and feels healthy, skin that literally glows!

About Glow Tone: This is a fabulous all natural toner made right here in our store in downtown Portland. It is most easily used by applying to a cotton ball, and rubbing over the face and neck with a firm pressure. This toner can be used before or after cleansing and some of our customers (including the owner) use it instead of a cleanser. Glow Tone actually draws out dirt and residue from your pores, reducing blackheads and removing excess oil. Afterwards, the skin feels clean, refreshed, and has a dewy glow. This toner won’t leave your skin feeling dry the way many toners do which are heavy in alcohol and synthetic ingredients. In fact, many customers feel that their skin is so balanced they do not even need to apply a moisturizer after using Glow Tone.

Come by the store and try it out for yourself. You’ll see what a difference it makes!

Glow Tone. 4fl oz. $18

By Julia Montes of Flora (skin care enthusiast)

Love Potion

2010-05-14T14:11:00.000-07:00

PDX Collective Sale

2010-01-20T18:00:00.000-08:00

This weekend, just around the corner, from 11-5 Saturday and Sunday.
See you there!

Best Sellers 2009

2009-12-31T22:25:00.000-08:00

It's time for inventory and part of the fun, (Yes, I look for the fun even in inventory) is making a million kinds of reports from our computer system.
Today's report: 2009 Best sellers
1. buttons - we have all kinds of lovelies, we hand pick each one, some of them we make in the store others we get from local vendors.
2. Flying wish paper - it's amazing and we love it, but honestly we were out of it for a couple of months and it still made it in as our second most popular item! wow.
3. Lip Butter- our house made super natural, smooth as anything, can't ever use anything else lip butter made the list as always. Love it!
4. pencil set - see for yourself it is super cute, with the little sharpener and eraser in a snazzy little set.
5. mini pencils - not surprising that they made the list, but surprisingly they do need their own seperate line.
6. Magical Healing Balm - again with the in house brand. go Flora. I pick every one of the calendula petals that go into this balm. LOCAL.
7. Temple Balm - we love love love the temple balm. A tiny little tub of magic. Fully infused with magical herbs before we even begin the scenting process. Only the most amazing oils and absolutes go into this tiny little balm. It varies according to the seasons, each batch is a bit different based on the oils we have at the time. Lovely.
8. Rainbow Pencil - A perfect pencil that writes with rainbow colors. I love having an amazing item in the shop that costs one dollar. A dollar. And it is perfect. I wish I had a picture to show you.
9. Scrabble tile necklaces - I know, your friend makes them too and that's great but the woman who makes ours, let me tell you she is so darling and so thoughtful, I know hers are the best. I hand pick each one that comes into the store. All delivered with a smile. Our lovely vendor had a baby near Thanksgiving or perhaps this would have been in the top 3. I chose to wait for her to be ready to get back to work rather than finding another source.
10. Lemongrass soap - everyone loves this and it even comes in a tiny size, so cute.
11. Pocket Mirrors - I was surprised by this one as it seems we don't sell too many of these, but it's just a consistent item.
12. Chocolate Moustaches - This was a surprise for sure. My friend Clara who works at the dress shop said to me one day "you should carry my boyfriend's chocolate moustaches" it seemed a ridiculous and odd thing to say, but I adore her and so I did. Then Allison and Andy made this happen, and before you know it it's a best seller. Who doesn't love chocolate and who isn't at least entertained by the moustache.
13. Gnome Card - our best selling card two years running.
14. Horin Incense Assortment - The best incense ever.
15. Scout Book - Our own collaboration with Sarah Reed Designs. Again, I wish I had a picture of this. It will be online soon. We were late to the press with these but they flew out the door as soon as we did. Pinball does an awesome job.
16. a container for one thing - click to see the picture. you'll see why.
17. The Hammam Tea - one of the best teas I have ever had.
and not in the top 20 but a mention:
Our best selling potion of the year: Grounding. That's a first.

Happy New Year!

Incense at Flora

2009-12-09T17:45:00.000-08:00

Who says incense is just for hippies?
Emperors, Royals and Warriors have been using incense for centuries with a variety of benefits from providing an alluring scent to a room, scenting ones clothing and bedding to enhancing a spiritual practice.

As we move inwards within our selves and our homes during this winter season it's a good time to have a scent to add to the ambiance of our daily lives and to our olfactory home and office décor.

At Flora we are devoted to scents that are natural, non-allergenic
and thoughtfully not-too-strong.
From our Candles
to our Potions and Aqua Vitaes
and our natural perfumes (in-store only)
and incense,
we want a lovely scent
to enhance our sensory experience
and we don't want to be overwhelmed.

When we were initially choosing incense for the store we tried dozens of brands and varieties of incense. We gave up a few times thinking we would never find anything to satisfy our scent desires.
After months of samples being sent from several companies,
the perfect incense was finally found!
We called the rep and told her the names of the ones we loved: Ten-pyo and Muro-machi. She laughed and said "of course". The ones we chose all contain the most sacred (and expensive) aloeswood.
It didn't matter. It really is that good. The good news is it comes in an assortment set making it very affordable to try for your self. The Horin Assortment includes 4 sticks each of the 5 varieties and includes a biodegradable incense burner in a beautiful package.

Although we rarely think about burning in association with perfume, it is interesting to note that parfum is the latin perfumum, meaning "by smoke" that is, the smoke from burning plants
Alexander the Great was a collector of aromatics and his search for them was what pushed them further eastward to his further expeditions to Greece and Persia
Aloes wood, jinkoh, meaning sinking in water or heavy, from tropics of southeast asia, not oily or resinous aloeswood will float and is not as valuable, dark brown of black wood buried underground or in a living tree, there are 6 categories based of jinkoh based on where they are grow.

In general the Horin line of incense is purifying, calming and uplifting

We recently spent the good part of a day reading aloud from "the Book of Incense" and burning each one of the 5 varieties all over again.

Nijo - Avenue of the Villa Promotes Friendship and Communication.
slightly fruity, sandalwood based
Hori-kawa - River Path Promotes Knowledge and Camaraderie.
our best seller, sweet sandalwood
Gen-roku - Returning Spirit Promotes Rejoicing and Enthusiasm.
powdery and soft
Muro-machi - City of Culture Promotes Sophistication and Poise.
is masculine-understated
Ten-pyo - Peaceful Sky Promotes Awakening, Well-being, and Calm.
"this smells like memory" and "this incense will change your life"
Aloeswood, which is the prominent note in muro-machi and Ten-pyo is considered an exquisite calming force, helping to attain a deep peace

*Aloeswood is one of the most rare and precious woods in the world, prized for its rich and wonderful fragrance. It has been used for centuries in religious ceremonies, as well as in traditional medicine. It is believed to have both mental and physical medicinal benefits - with properties thought to balance the mind and body and relieve pain.* Aloeswood is also believed by many to have aphrodisiacal qualities.
Aloeswood tree is a member of the Daphne family.

Traditional Japanese Body Powder -incense for the body; scent the skin

Flora S. Bowley and Paper Wings Trunk Show at Flora

2009-10-01T17:58:00.000-07:00

Flora's First Video

2009-09-28T13:44:00.000-07:00