I’ve been quiet on social media the last few months. So much so that people have speculated that Poesie is winding down. It’s quite the opposite, we’re winding up. We’ve been busier than duck feet underwater. A lot of groundwork (or footwork if you prefer) has been done and is still being done. Like a seed overwintering so that it can bloom again. It doesn’t look like much is happening, but so much is.
If you read my previous post, you know I wish I had brought you all along, but I just didn’t have the energy to give. I was in a season of renewal, getting ready for the work of resurfacing as something more in line with who I am now and what I want Poesie to offer in order to bemuse, delight, comfort, enchant, and surprise.
That underground work might be the hardest. It can feel lonely and sometimes even hopeless. It never seems to be over when you’re ready for it to be over. The number of times I’ve optimistically said, “we’re almost there” over the past months is -- well, a lot. But -- dare I say it -- we’re almost there! And as we reveal some of the planned changes, I hope you’ll love our plans as much as we do.
The open palm of desire.
Wants everything.
It wants everything.
It wants soil as soft as summer.
And the strength to push like spring
-- Paul Simon, Further to Fly
I’ve been thinking a lot about the notion that to receive anything new, you have to let go of what you’re holding. As a Hoarder Lite™ I’ve struggled to let go of material things; I get all sentimental about objects, as if they can crystallize a particular moment in time allowing me to hold onto them. Allowing me to hold onto who I was in that moment and whatever good feeling it contained; like totems.
In high school, the unattainable object of my overwhelming crush bought me a Sprite at our weekly bowling night. I liked this joker so much I joined a bowling league. I was THAT far gone. Anyway, I saved that silly plastic straw for years; a plastic straw - for years.
Once, I saw Harry Connick Jr. perform, leaving a red solo cup on the piano. My friend and I asked a very skeptical security guard for the cup. It turned out to be half full of water with a couple of rose petals floating in it. We took our prize back to the car and solemnly shared the water. Then we divided our sacred bounty. She took the rose petals and I kept the cup. That’s right, ✨I once drank after Harry Connick Jr. in his prime.✨ Don’t be jealous of my boogie. I have experienced no magical awakenings as a result. Still waiting.
Those materials I hoarded were not because I loved the thing, it was the desire to hold onto who I was or who I thought I could be in a moment. The thing about holding onto who you were is that (1) it’s impossible, and (2) why would you want to? When I look back at who I was, I would not want to trade places for an instant, even though she had perkier tits, shinier hair, and a lot more life ahead of her. Alas, it is better to have more life in you than more life ahead of you dear friends. I want Poesie to reflect the vibrancy of what I can offer now as a perfumer, evolving/refining my craft and finding my unique stamp on things.
So yes, our rebranding is coming this fall (no, I’m sorry, I’m not ready to give a specific date because I don’t yet have one - I’d be setting us all up for disappointment). Here’s what I can share. Our general catalog will change. We will reduce the overall number of general catalog scents available so that we can offer them in more formats, including some which have been requested for ages (if you’re reading this and you asked for a larger spray EDP. I see you and 🫶). There’s also room for the catalog to grow with new scents, maybe a future favorite of yours that you haven’t even smelled yet. I needed to “let go” in order to make the space needed to create new scents. After all, it’s not the perfume production process I fell in love with, it was the artistry/creative process of it. The current plan is to bring retiring scents back periodically (yes, we are tweaking this process to make it more structured and less FOMOy). I mentioned new bottles in my last post, so you know something good is coming. Naturally, prices will also be changing. If you’ve bought anything lately - you know costs have gone up and that includes perfumeing supplies. We held off changing prices as long as we could, but alas, it’s time.
UPDATED LIST
RETURNING TO GENERAL CATALOG
Amaterasu
Enchanted Forest (officially joining GC)
Full Moon
Green Girl
Heartless
Innocence
Library Ghost
Madar
OYSTER!
Sleepy Ghost
Soft
The Dead Rise (officially joining GC)
Twice to Tea
Velvet Moon (officially joining GC)
Villa Diodati
Village Bakery (officially joining GC)
Whisper Your Bitter Things
NEW TO GENERAL CATALOG
Kindness & Mischief
Montmartre
Rich Ghost
Titania
RETIRING FROM GENERAL CATALOG (but not gone forever, these may be back for seasonal and special releases)
Always With Me
Athena
Cardigan
Daydreams
Elemental Tea Party
Forest Cat
Goldfish Princess
Hera
Infamous
Marlowe
Myself Invisible
Perfect Happiness
Secret Boyfriend
Tiny Phantom
Versailles
We Fly With Our Spirit
Year Without Summer
We hope you’ll be as excited as we are about these changes. We truly think you will be. So, in closing, thank you for being patient with us as we sort out ALL the details needed to bring you kick-ass, hand-made products. We expect a little bumpiness as we roll things out. We’re trying hard to keep that to a minimum, but life happens - and we work on a human scale, at a human pace, with all that encompasses.