Life is journey - you made find yourself on a bus in the middle of nowhere, or wind up making perfume.

Corey Newcombe is perfumer and owner of Australian artisanal fragrance house, Criminal Elements. The brand has bee making fragrance for around 10 years and we discuss how Criminal Elements came about, the training of your nose, what it takes to run a small business, being in community not competition and what it’s like to make a fragrance from a dream you had that one time…

Fragrances mentioned:

Wicked Mistress - Criminal Elements

Neon - Criminal Elements

Verge - Criminal Elements

Tobacco Jam - Criminal Elements

Books mentioned:

Space Opera - Catherynne M. Valente

The Unlikely Pilgrimage Of Harold Fry - Rachel Joyce

The Doll Factory - Elizabeth Macneal

Check Criminal Elements full website at criminalelements.net

Theme music for the show was created by Raul Sanchez I Jorge. Check out his solo work on Wild Animal Records

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How about a take two, where staying on track came a little more easily - and that’s healing.

As we had barely touched on any of the extensive Filigree & Shadow’s range of fragrances, this week is a return conversation with James Elliott from Filigree & Shadow. This time. staying on track came a little more easily and we touch on community, dug a little deeper into the DIY punk ethos and breeze past self diagnosis.

Filigree & Shadow is an artisanal perfume house based in Seattle, Washington State, where each fragrance has a personal story, as well as possible origin based around music. The brand ships internationally and is water based (for all or sensitive skin souls), so if you are able to whittle down you selection to 7 scents, it’s really worthwhile picking up a discovery set.

Fragrances mentioned:

Notget - Filigree & Shadow

Blume - Filigree & Shadow

Rema - Filigree & Shadow

Surfer Rosa - Filigree & Shadow.

Anonymity - Filigree & Shadow

Books mentioned:

The Tao of Pooh and the Te of Piglet - Benjamin Hoff

On the Road - Jack Kerouac

Adrienne Rich

Olga Broumas

Suheri Hammad

Inga Muscio

Larry Kramer

How to Be Idle - Tom Hodgkinson

You can find out more about Filigree & Shadow via the website - they are also on Instagram and TikTok

The image of James Elliott is AI generated and stunning

Theme music for the show was created by Raul Sanchez I Jorge. Check out his solo work on Wild Animal Records

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When the guest warns you that they are unlikely to stay on topic, you should probably listen…

Sometimes there are people that you really want to interview just because they seem like the type of person incredibly good conversation would happen with - James Elliott from Filigree & Shadow is absolutely one of these people.

Filigree & Shadow is an artisanal perfume house based in Seattle, Washington State. James has seamlessly blended a DIY political punk ethos into the world in a way that makes you surprised that it is not standard. From fundraisers with fellow perfumers to raising awareness of other small businesses, James seems to take any idea and just runs with it.

This episode is called Unhinged because James warned me about how things were going to go before I hit record, and the conversation really got away from the both of us.

Fragrances mentioned:

My Most Meaningful Relationships - Filigree & Shadow

Eau Savage - Christian Dior

Notget - Filigree & Shadow

Blume - Filigree & Shadow

Books mentioned:

Anne Rice

Poppy Z. Brite

Clive Barker

Carrie - Stephen King

Requiem for a Dream - Hubert Shelby Jr.

The Tao of Pooh and the Te of Piglet - Benjamin Hoff

You can find out more about Filigree & Shadow via the website - they are also on Instagram and TikTok - I thoroughly recommend following (if you are not already).

Theme music for the show was created by Raul Sanchez I Jorge. Check out his solo work on Wild Animal Records

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When making your way in life - what does it look like to be brave and go with your heart?

Map of the Heart is an Australian fragrance brand founded by Sarah Blair. The brand was started by Sarah and Jeffrey Darling, who were both working in film and became fascinated with fragrance. The fragrances are known for their unique bottle designs and the scents are crafted with a focus on authenticity and emotion. The conversation also touches on themes of body image, racism, and the power dynamics within relationships. However, because there is light to travel alongside the dark, there is also community, making connections, offering care and living into the people and the places that bring you joy.

Fragrances mentioned:

V.5 Valour

V.6 Ecstasy

V.2 Darkness

V.4 Peace

V.1 Freedom

V.3 Passion

V.8 Abundance

(Map of the Heart)

Books mentioned:

Butter: A Novel of Food and Murder - Asako Yuzuki

Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad

Eclogues- Virgil

We Come With This Place - Debra Danks

You can find out more about Map of the Heart on their website, or on Instagram.

NAIDOC stands for National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee. If you would like to know more about NAIDOC week, which is is an opportunity for all Australians to learn about First Nations cultures and histories you can find out more on the committee’s official website.

Theme music for the show was created by Raul Sanchez I Jorge. Check out his solo work on Wild Animal Records

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Marching to the beat of your own drum is so much harder when other have expectations about what you do and how you do it. It’s time to flip everything on it’s head…

In this episode I am talking with Justine Hanna, Operations Manager at the Geelong Regional Libraries Corporation. In multiple episodes I have mentioned that other Librarians maybe stronger in the realms of Reader’s Advisory than myself, so we are putting this theory to the test!

Justine has paired books with all manner of food and beverages, both for in person events and via her own podcast, Literary Elixirs. I was in the unusual position of selecting fragrances and we came up with some something a little unusual, as we discuss how to step outside of people expectations and living more into yourself.

Fragrances mentioned:

Play-Doh - Demeter Fragrance Library

Justine - Louis Feraud

Tezza’s Tea Party - Zimmer

Escentric 04 - Escentric Molecules

Books mentioned:

Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend - Matthew Dicks

Legends and Lattes - Travis Baldree

Notorious Sorcerer - Davinia Evans

If you would like to listen to more pairings by Justine - can check out Literary Elixirs on Spotify

Theme music for the show was created by Raul Sanchez I Jorge. Check out his solo work on Wild Animal Records

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When it’s more about how things make you feel than performing a function that meet societal expectations? What is the importance and impact of giving space for a fully realised artistic experience?

Australian perfume brand Metascent is reaching out into the fragrance community in a variety of different ways. From creating their own compounds, allowing people to explore making their own perfume, bring scent into art to create a fully immerse experience and taking the Australian fragrance profile into an international context, it’s hard to think of what else they still have left to explore and achieve. In talking with Janelle Donnelly, CEO of Metascent, seeing the way they are thinking about fragrance beyond something that is purely commercial but is also exploratory, make for some really fun pairings. From Australian Historical Fiction to Non fiction books on the language of Cults - we cover a lot of ground.

Fragrances mentioned:

Origin - Aqualis London

Carmelia - Metascent

Gaslight - Metascent

Adrenaline - Metascent

Love Affair - Metascent

Books mentioned:

The Story Thief - Kyra Geddes

Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism - Amanda Montell

She Who Became The Sun - Shelley Parker-Chan

The Little Prince - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Richard Howard (Translator)

Find more about Metsacent their website: https://metascent.com/

The artworks discussed can be found on their Instagram @metascent

Theme music for the show was created by Raul Sanchez I Jorge. Check out his solo work on Wild Animal Records

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.