It is said that King Solomon...

declared opoponax to be the noblest of fragrant resins. About three weeks ago I ordered Opoponax essential oil from a terrific supplier located in the Pacific Northwest. Opoponax, also known as Sweet Myrrh is a gum-resin that comes from a small plant that grows in various countries’ that surround the Mediterranean & Black Seas as well as the Indian Ocean and has been used for its fragrant and healing qualities for thousands of years. Early on it was mostly used as incense; however it has become a staple used in fine perfumes over the past hundred or so years and more recently it is even found its way into high-end candles. The particular sample I received is from Kenya and has a very earthy-sweet slightly medicinal smell which I could best describe as a combination of an anasic lavender, isopropyl alcohol and balsam. In its pure form, it may seem harsh and unpleasant to some so it is almost always blended when used for personal and home fragrance. I have chosen to mix it with a bourbon vanilla and bergamot and the ending aroma is a both regal and exotic. Now that I’ve given the blend of oils a week to marinade  in my test tube, I will blend a larger portion and use it in a candle; which if successful will join the Whitehall Essentials Line.

Whitehall Essentials

Well January is here again and that means its time for me to start thinking about what new things I’ll be doing for the year. While I had a great holiday season as far as sales went; things were slower than usual this last year, partly because I missed 3 important events and moved 2.5 hours east making my trips to the WC Market rather limited. So frustratingly this means a number of my “branding improvement projects” will continue to sit on the back burner, so no custom canvas totes or gift wrap stickers this year and the launch of my new line “Monarch” will continue to sit on the back burner.

But do not despair, I will be introducing (finally) No.21 Lemon-Verbena and No. 23 Lavender-Verbena to the Signature Collection which I’m quite sure will be very popular with you fine folks.

Also I launched, albeit rather late in the year; the new Whitehall Essentials line last December for all the diehard purists out there. Just like my Signature Collection, these candles will also be made with pure organic soy wax and cotton wicks but scented with fine Essential Oils only. I wanted to use a type of “brown Kraft” box that is made from 100% recycled paper and has lovely horizontal lines embossed onto the box. And wanting to keep with the more natural “organic” look, I sketched out a design onto paper, sent it to my graphic designer and asked her to make up an image that could be made into a rubber stamp. After a few revisions to the artwork, I sent the design to Berkeley Rubber Stamp Co for them to create the rubber stamp; and wouldn’t you know it turned out better than I could have expected! I just love raw look of the stamp impression on the box and it also helps to emphasize that it’s a product lovely made by hand, one at a time. At the moment I have French Lavender and Lemongrass-Sage available in the Essentials line with more exotic fragrances on the way.