October 24, 2022
What We’ve Been Up To: October
Hello and happy October!
I grew up on the East Coast, where it was easy to see — and feel — the change of the seasons, but in Los Angeles, the changes are more subtle. We’re in the tail end of our dry, fire season where the heat lingers, especially in the midday sun. A hallmark of California living is the dramatic temperature drop once the sun sets. It’s not so cold that you can’t sleep with your windows open, and the air flow is a crucial component of making your house smell good (although, Martha Stewart recommends opening your windows a little bit, every day, no matter the weather). But in the lingering summer heat, sometimes this tradition can be a bit brutal. Just last night, as I was doing dishes, I could feel that first snap of fall in the evening air. I made a pot of tea (it’s been sparkling water all summer), lit my candles, and cozied up on my couch with my daughter and Tom.
Other than the “snap” in the air, a way to mark the changing of the seasons is by using fragrance. I bust out the fall candles that have patiently waited in my “candle cabinet”, old jars of Spiced Pumpkin and development samples that never saw the light of market. The longer it’s been since I’ve lived away from the East Coast, the more I wonder if I’m recreating the traditional smells of my childhood, or romanticizing an ideal. Either way, the rhythm and routine is calming and I find myself turning more and more to fragrance to slow down the pace of my day. When I get to work, instead of rushing in to what needs to be done, I light some incense and take a second to compose myself.
In the workplace, we’re leaning into the rhythm by celebrating our favorite holiday, Halloween. One of our weird traditions is moving around the Halloween decor like it’s a haunted Elf on the Shelf. This year, it’s a crew of skeletons dressing up in P.F. garb that are “training” in the warehouse and office. When someone sets up the skeleton in a particularly goofy place, it feels like one big inside joke, like connective tissue that pulls us together, even across our remote and on-site workplaces. What are fall traditions in your home and workplace if not connective thread? Some traditions are threads carried forward from your childhood, some are ones that you’ve patched in in places where you need more support.
I grew up on the East Coast, where it was easy to see — and feel — the change of the seasons, but in Los Angeles, the changes are more subtle. We’re in the tail end of our dry, fire season where the heat lingers, especially in the midday sun. A hallmark of California living is the dramatic temperature drop once the sun sets. It’s not so cold that you can’t sleep with your windows open, and the air flow is a crucial component of making your house smell good (although, Martha Stewart recommends opening your windows a little bit, every day, no matter the weather). But in the lingering summer heat, sometimes this tradition can be a bit brutal. Just last night, as I was doing dishes, I could feel that first snap of fall in the evening air. I made a pot of tea (it’s been sparkling water all summer), lit my candles, and cozied up on my couch with my daughter and Tom.
Other than the “snap” in the air, a way to mark the changing of the seasons is by using fragrance. I bust out the fall candles that have patiently waited in my “candle cabinet”, old jars of Spiced Pumpkin and development samples that never saw the light of market. The longer it’s been since I’ve lived away from the East Coast, the more I wonder if I’m recreating the traditional smells of my childhood, or romanticizing an ideal. Either way, the rhythm and routine is calming and I find myself turning more and more to fragrance to slow down the pace of my day. When I get to work, instead of rushing in to what needs to be done, I light some incense and take a second to compose myself.
In the workplace, we’re leaning into the rhythm by celebrating our favorite holiday, Halloween. One of our weird traditions is moving around the Halloween decor like it’s a haunted Elf on the Shelf. This year, it’s a crew of skeletons dressing up in P.F. garb that are “training” in the warehouse and office. When someone sets up the skeleton in a particularly goofy place, it feels like one big inside joke, like connective tissue that pulls us together, even across our remote and on-site workplaces. What are fall traditions in your home and workplace if not connective thread? Some traditions are threads carried forward from your childhood, some are ones that you’ve patched in in places where you need more support.
I’ll leave you with my recommendations, what I’m burning/watching/listening to.
What we’ve been pouring: lots of best sellers like Amber & Moss and Teakwood & Tobacco Standard Candles, plus packing up Sunset Incense Cones in new boxed packaging!
Reading: Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
Burning: Apple Picking with a touch of Orange Cardamom, and Moonrise Incense Cones
Watching: Hocus Pocus 2
Drinking: Pots of Rishi Lavender + Mint tea
Listening: Normal Gossip podcast and our Marketing Manager, Meghan’s, spooky tunes
Over ‘n out,
Kristen