Sensorium by Sephora and Firmenich 紐約下城知覺設計聯展

image provided by Firmenich

photo by Arty Westphal

I'm honored to participate in Sensorium, a sensory exhibition presented by the cosmetics retailer Sephora and the well-established perfumes & flavors company Firmenich. I hope, through the lucid dreams from the sensory world,  you'll understand how my KyotEau perfume project was conceived and constructed.

Will touching the KyotEau perfume bottle bring back the emotions Kyoto evokes in you? Please come and visit us in downtown New York.

我很榮幸能夠參與 Sensorium 知覺設計的聯覽。此次聯覽是由在美妝零售業界執牛耳的Sephora和知名的瑞士香水香精公司 Firmenich 所贊助。倘佯在感性卻清晰的展示空間裡, 希望您逐步了解我的香水設計––– KyotEau:京都之水 的發想過程及建構組合。

當您的眼睛觸摸了KyotEau:京都之水 的香水瓶，您的京都之情是否因此冉冉而生呢？我們邀請您前來紐約下城親身體驗。

Worthwhileness 值得的寶貝

Walking in the Swiss Alps

It rained and the sun came back out. I kept walking until I saw the splendid rainbows across the misty sky.

Often, worthwhileness must be justified by persistence.

太陽玩躲貓貓的下雨天裡，我就這樣走著走著等到薄霧藍天終於出現了兩道彩虹。

值得等待的寶貝通常是需要時間和耐力的堅持，我這樣對著自己說。

The Elegiac Sound of Cicadas 哀傷的蟬聲

Cicadas don’t sing on a cold day, but today I heard them chirping out in my backyard. They sounded like an elegy for September 11, 2001.

蟬不會在冷天氣裡獻聲。今天聽到在後院裡彼起彼落的蟬聲像是一首哀悼紐約九一一悲劇的挽歌。

Inspired by Inrō

An inro collection from British Museum

I enjoy contemplating the beauty of inrō (Japanese:印籠) for their high art and immense craftsmanship. I love the feel, the smoothness, the detailed incisions that give them life and expression. Made of a variety of materials, including wood, ivory, bone, and lacquer, they provide me invaluable inspiration while designing a fine object, especially a perfume bottle.

An inrō is a traditional Japanese case for holding small objects, such as medicines, identity seals, tobacco and pipes. The stack of boxes is held together by a cord that runs through cord runners down one side, under the bottom, and up the opposite side. The ends of the cord are secured to a netsuke (Japanese: 根付), a toggle that is passed between the sash and pants and then hooked over the top of the sash to suspend the inrō. The making of an inro is a highly-skilled process, as each compartment has to fit smoothly into the next. They figured importantly as signs of status in the upper-class male wardrobe in Edo Period.

As an advocate of high-art aesthetics, I was pleased to see some marvelous inro at “A Sensibility to the Seasons: Summer and Autumn in Japanese Art “, an exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Exquisite and elegant, they were filled with pools of light shining through inviting you to appreciate–––the artistry within Edo society of the time.