Nomaterra has been working closely with Michelle Kiela, who has been wholeheartedly involved in the redesign of our packaging, and is behind the gorgeously-detailed illustrations of some of America's greatest cities for Nomaterra's newest scents. Our task at hand was to marry the authenticity of the city-scents inside the box, with artwork representing the locations themselves, to create a cohesive movement from packaging to scent. Above, you see photos and our collaborative imagination and memories of these places turned into authentic sketches that engulf you and make you feel like you are there. (Right now we're staring at the Oahu landscape, wishing we could escape this Brooklyn rain!) Michelle is first and foremost an artist, with a Masters in Illustration from the School of Visual Arts, but also an incredibly talented graphic designer (She received her Bachelor's in Graphic Design from St. John's University). I would highly suggest checking out her work here: http://metalwor56.wix.com/ocdlayouts#!fine-arts/c1yaj and if you're looking to have artwork or graphic design done for a current or future project of yours, reach out to Michelle at ocdlayouts@yahoo.com
For those of you who live in or around Brooklyn, have you ever noticed these leaves peeking through concrete slabs on the sidewalks or in parks? These are violet leaves, and we actually use the natural violet leaf absolute in our exclusive Brooklyn fragrance.
You're probably wondering how we ever found a plant or flower to represent Brooklyn. Coastal violets and violet leaves are historically native to Brooklyn's marshland coasts. And with our impending store opening in Brooklyn, what better time than to spotlight the ever-present yet often ignored violet leaf.
Violet leaf smells nothing like violets, the flowers, but adds this metallic coolness and earthy fresh cut-grass feel to a fragrance. I actually found it rather complex to work with, as it can be very overpowering and can destroy an entire fragrance if not diluted properly. We used it to create our first Nomaterra Cologne called Brooklyn Violet Leaf, which will be exclusive only to our store (you won't even find it on our website).
We're OBSESSED with this scent—especially when it's worn on our men! Come check us out and try our Brooklyn Cologne and our other scents at The Shops at Kent, 240 Kent Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11249!)
DC at Night Posted on 23 Oct 14:40 , 0 comments
A recent trip to DC for the Nomaterra Pop-Up Shop in Capitol Hill lead to a spontaneous late night drive. We visiting some of the Capitol's most grand monuments, which resulted in these "dc in the dark" photos (taken with an iphone nonetheless).
In the middle sits our DC Cherry Blossom unisex fragrance, that is ideal for night—notes like musk, vanilla, black pepper, tobacco, and citrus make this an incredibly sexy scent for a night out on the Capitol town. The travel spray comes with a replacement unit, and is priced at $86.00, available to buy on www.nomaterra.com
"She Flies Herself" The Nomaterra woman flies her own plane to explore the world. She is an adventure-seeker who jumps at opportunities to take adventures in beauty, career, travel, and in life.
Nomaterra is revealing a brand new emblem, a compass-inspired circular logo, representing the Nomaterra ideology of creating luxury scents for the travel inspired, using ingredients indigenous and authentic to each location. The artist behind the emblem is San Francisco based Marta Solomianko, who also created the East Hampton, Miami, and Malibu paintings that you see on our new roll-on and candle packaging. Our task at hand was to marry the authenticity of the city-scents inside the box, with artwork representing the locations themselves, to create a cohesive movement from packaging to scent. Above you see our emblem, as well as a some of Marta's initial paintings, color work, and sketches that lead to the final artwork we have now. Marta is an abstract artist, and extremely talented in what she does. She recently exhibited at La Porte Peinte Centre Pour Les Arts in Noyers, France and travels the world exhibiting her installations and artwork at renowned galleries. I would highly suggest to check out her work on http://www.martasolomianko.com, and if you're looking to have artwork or graphic design done for a current or future project of yours, reach out to Marta at mksolomia@gmail.com.
Making the Most of Your Travel Points
If you're a travel fanatic like us, then this site will be invaluable to you. You may already be familiar with it, but we just stumbled upon it and don't know how we've survived traveled this far without utilizing every bit of advice from this site. The Points Guy breaks it down for you in a few easy steps for beginner's, and then there is an additional wealth of information on his site and twitter ranging from destination highlights to celebrity chef created airline menus to detailed information on acquiring and doubling your points through different cards, hotels, and airlines. Check it out for yourself, you'll want to get started on a strategy ASAP and start using those miles!
(Only downfall we've seen so far...the destinations he spotlights are pretty standard, nothing too out of the ordinary, but still incredibly wonderful places!)
Nostalgia Posted on 16 Oct 10:22 , 0 comments
Are there scent memories that make you feel nostalgic? It can be a person, a place, or a number of other things. For us, it's the memory of scent of a place we've traveled to in the past, that makes us both nostalgic to go back, and makes us want to reminisce of the memories that have been permanently ingrained in our minds.
The real question though is, is it the memory of the physical location that one feels nostalgic for, or the connections made with the people in that place at that time? A whiff of a spice, plant, or tree can instantly transport you back in time to that place, with those people, in that gratifying moment.
What does nostalgia mean to you? What if you could replicate and bottle the memory of your first solo journey or your honeymoon, so you could smell it everyday, would you want to? Or would you want to protect it in the back of your mind?
Following last week's ingredient spotlight on the Oahu Gardenia, I bring you a personal photo of my trip to the island from 1998. This was before I actually learned a thing or two about photography, so apologies if the photo isn't of the highest quality.
I remember the trip started with a bought of food poisoning (eating a pineapple pizza from a dingy restaurant wasn't the best idea)...but the rest of the trip made up for it. The island of Oahu is beautiful, quaint, and peaceful, and the land is overall respected by its inhabitants. One of the highlights of our trip was getting to visit the Polynesia Cultural Center in Laia, Oahu, which is a center for authentic polynesian traditions and activities—a day of educational shows, activities, and feasts ends in one of the best luau's of the island (though I've heard in recent year's the center has gone a bit downhill and has become a tourist trap). Not surprisingly, I remember really enjoying learning about the usage of herbs and plants in Polynesia for treatment purposes at the medicinal hut also known as "Hale Hana." (Fun Fact: Indian Mulberry, aka "Noni" used to be one of the most popular plants for healing of various ailments and disease.)
One of the others things I found most fascinating about Hawaii, was the landscape, particularly seeing the spontaneous-looking rock formations created by lava eruptions that slowly flowed and solidified in the surrounding waters. The idea that new land is and can still be created in this over exposed planet is exciting... and hopeful. While all the volcanoes on Oahu island are now extinct, the Kilauea volcano on Hawaii's Big Island has been continuously erupting lava since 1983, adding more than 500 acres of lava rock to the island's topography with no signs of stopping. I never got around the visiting the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island, where you can get up close to an active volcano, but I certainly have plans to return there.
What Hawaiian islands have you visited? What would you recommend as the top sites/activities?
In continuation from last week's travel shot Tuesday, I bring you collage of images of our experience with the majestic Perito Moreno Glacier in El Parque Nacional los Glaciales in Patagonia.
After a week's journey through the Argentinean countryside, which included everything from buses, planes, to buggies and bikes (not to mention a special glacier boat), we finally made it to the main purpose of our Argentinean trip, a glacier trek atop a continually mobile glacial formation spanning 30km (19mi) in length (Fun fact: this glacier is one of the only in the world that is still growing, unlike most other glacial formations, which are melting and shrinking).
The night before we had a hearty Argentinean meal by fireplace with about 20 other backpackers at our hostel. We had purchased a glacier trekking tour that day via Hielo y Aventura (http://www.hieloyaventura.com/). The next morning we headed out for the adventure of a lifetime. Surprisingly, the climate was actually not that cold, a warm fleece would do, and you didn't really even need gloves. Each hiker had put on crampons, which were these special boots with spikes that dig deep into the ice for traction. We departed the mainland via a glacier boat to the side of a mountain, which, after a few minutes of trekking the woods of said mountain, it jutted us out onto the glacier's facade. All of a sudden we were 70 meters above water standing on a gigantic block of ice. Majestic—yes. Life-altering—certainly.
It was one of the most breathtaking views I'd ever seen in my life, in fact, it may still be to this day (and I've seen my fair share of natural wonders). The finale of the 2+ hour trek found us in a little dug out inlet in the middle of nowhere atop this ice sheet, where we were served whiskey on ice from the glacier (natch).
The smell was unique and surprisingly, easily describable. Clean. Fresh. Crisp. Polar. The smell of Patagonia, the freshest air I'd ever smelled.
Nomaterra Fragrances Now Being Sold on MegBiram.com
One of our most favorite DC bloggers is now carrying our Nomaterra travel sprays, and will be carrying the Nomaterra roll-ons and candles by the end of this month. For those of you who have the pleasure of knowing Meg, or reading her blog, this girl has the kind of energy, spontaneous brilliance, and not to mention, style, one can only envy (she's also been named 2013 "Style Setter" by Washingtonian Magazine). Her extensive knowledge and tips range from entrepreneurial to health-related to what to wear this season. With a lifestyle blog and marketing and social media consulting business that's been growing since 2007, and a new store that has opened this month, this girl is on fire and we highly recommend checking out her website, www.megbiram.com.
