The Aftel Archive of Curious Scents, which opened this month in a converted garage at the Berkeley, Calif., home of the perfumer Mandy Aftel, is not just the first museum in the U.S. dedicated to perfume, but more beguilingly, the first one dedicated to the experience of fragrance. This tiny museum manages to contain the olfactory history of the world: hundreds of natural essences, raw ingredients and antique tinctures gathered from every corner of the globe, and all available for visitors to smell.
Aftel’s obsession with natural essences and their history and ephemera took hold while writing her best-selling book “Essence and Alchemy” some 20 years ago. Her idea was to open up and share the pleasures — and treasures — of natural essences with others. Read More.
Aftel’s obsession with natural essences and their history and ephemera took hold while writing her best-selling book “Essence and Alchemy” some 20 years ago. Her idea was to open up and share the pleasures — and treasures — of natural essences with others. Read More.