Ramblin' Rose Hat Co.

This past August, after years of waiting for the right moment, I was able to fulfill a wish of having a hat made just for me. The idea of doing something like this was planted by my local friend Geninne, who when I shared how my current hat doesn't stay on my head if there is wind, said that if I were to have a hat custom made that would not happen. She then told me about the local hat maker Sam of Ramblin' Rose. I had heard of Sam via the small maker community we have here in Santa Fe, but hadn't explored her work. Once I did, it was clear that this would be the way to go, however the timing wasn't quite right.

Then, in August two things happened collided:

1. It was my birthday month and Greg asked me what I wanted.
2. I received Sam's "first to know, custom hat spots" email, stating that she was now open for new bookings.

The synergy between 1 & 2 was quite auspicious, thus I moved forward with my wish.

First step to kick off the process was making an appointment at her super cute workshop on upper canyon, to nail down measurements and design.

The process can take anywhere between 6-8 months, depending on supply chains, etc., thus, I've been practicing patience, knowing that it likely wont be ready until mid January if I'm lucky.

SHIFTING, thinking circular

Supporting Sam is a step in empowering and investing in a small, local business. Former investment banker Catherine Austin Fitts shares how the most important investment we can make is in our community. This requires a paradigm shift, instead of making purchases in anything having to do with the conglomerates, that invest our money in global companies who do not have the best interest in human beings, the animal kingdom nor Mother Earth.

Since "sen sir ship" has become a thing now, where we are not allowed to speak our minds and our freedom of speech is being threatened, I will begin to use code, like the ancient alchemists who had to hide their work and develop symbols to communicate under the guise of the dark lords.

Supporting and placing our money into specific investment companies (V), is undermining all of us. It' super important to step outside of that box and think in a circular format.

INDIE!

I am also supporting an indie, female maker and the slow fashion movement. Instead of purchasing a less expensive hat, investing in a handmade item that is made for me, by the hands of a local maker is part of the new economy which we all can be part of manifesting.

There's a phrase going around that states fashion is the second most polluting industry after oil, guess what, that's not completely true, another example of why its so important to do thorough research on things before just taking someones (a conglomerate or an organizations point of view, especially when an organization is funded by a creepy computer company.) Getting back to fashion, the most important aspects to keep in mind when making purchases is the follow,  inspired by a list on EcoCult:

• Consume less new, conventional fashion.
• Buy secondhand instead of new whenever possible
• When you have to buy new, buy it from an indie maker, or if its a bigger company choose a more sustainable label that has measured its emissions for the company or per product and is striving to reduce and offset its footprint.
• Support political action to limit global carbon emissions from every source. However, be mindful, once again everything is not what it seems Part of the dynamic here on planet Earth is that duality is everything.

If we each make the effort of spending our time, energy and money in a mindful way, we will be part of the big shift into a circular, holistic based system that holds the micro along with the macro in our collective heart.

New Mexico Adventure: Las Conchas Trail

On Monday, August 17th, we decided to head toward the Jemez Mountains and River to get some forest bathing in from a different area than our usual fifteen minute drive up to our local woods. Since we had not been to the area, and most of the lodging sites that met our criteria were booked, we deemed the trip would be more of an "exploratory mission" for a grander, future adventure.

Los Alamos

From Santa Fe we headed North for 35 miles, up winding roads toward the town of Los Alamos where we stopped at the French cafe Fleur de Lys to grab a few items for a picnic in the forest. I find the city of Los Alamos slightly creepy, mostly due to its history with creating nuclear weapons and the Manhattan Project where the government recruited scientists to live as virtual prisoners during the infamous Manhattan project. There is a quiet, unsettling energetic quality in the Los Alamos area, reminiscent of The Hawkins National Laboratory from the Stranger Things TV series or perhaps a better example is the high-security facility in Guillermo de Toro's The Shape of Water.

As we drove through the town, past Oppenheimer Drive, (named after Julius Robert Oppenheimer, the theoretical physicist credited with being the "father of the atomic bomb") that uneasy feeling continued, exasperated by the charred trees viewed topping the mountain above the city. The skeletal trees sticking up out of the landscape like matches were due to the Las Conchas Fire of 2011, that burned over 150,000 acres. Both Greg and I felt emotionally impacted by the sight of the devastation. Little did we know that a fire had started in the Rio En Medio area of the Santa Fe National Forest. Perhaps on an unconscious level we were picking up on it.

Luckily the forest that burned in the Las Conchas wildfire is slowly coming back, evident by the scrub oaks and aspens. I asked a Forest ranger about this and she confirmed my suspicion explaining that pioneer trees appear first. The scrub oak is one such tree, arriving on the scene early, as a slow-growing tree that are unpalatable to livestock and thus able to mature at significantly reduced sizes in arid, nutrient-poor soils, under harsh conditions. Other common pioneer tree species include red cedar, alder, black locust, most pines and larches, yellow poplar and aspen. 1

As the scrub oaks become dominant, their crowns form a thick canopy laying down a layer of leaves to produce mulch and, eventually, soil. By the time they have matured (which can take 40 years or more), the oaks have produced a layer of relatively rich, crumbly topsoil under a mulch of forest litter. With continuous cover, the forest soil will now be shaded and cool, and humidity within the environment is increased providing hospitable conditions for the taller trees to move in. They could not have survived in the harsher environment which the scrub trees prefer. But thanks to the enhanced soil and air created by the scrub forest, the taller trees are soon thriving. They’ll eventually shade out the older, shorter, slower-growing scrub. Once that occurs, then a “climax” forest has begun to form. At this point, the woodland is returning to a steady state of relative stability, and is on its way to becoming a mature forest once again. 2

This is reminding me of the slow moving Ents from Lord of the Rings, and how human time is completely different from the great cycles of nature and trees.

Valles Caldera

Continuing on our journey along Highway 4, we descended down into the Valles Caldera National Reserve, the site of "a spectacular volcanic eruption created the 13-mile wide circular depression now known as the Valles Caldera"3 over 1.25 million years ago.

The beautiful view of the Valle Grande meadow contains what appears to be an island, Cerro Jara, rising out of the expanse of prairie. It was humbling knowing that we were standing on the site of major magma flow as recently as 50,000 years ago. For context, the incident which created this magnificent valley was formed by an eruption 500 times greater than that of Mt. St. Helens in May of 1980! Regrettably the photo above does not quite do the beauty and magnificence of the scene much justice.

Las Conchas

Continuing along highway 4 we arrived at what we thought was going to be the first stop on our adventure, the Las Conchas Trail, which is located along the East Fork of the Jemez River. We parked and headed in stopping along the path to have our picnic lunch and then continuing along the scenic trail.

The Principal of Correspondence

Yesterday, I left the perfumery a bit earlier than usual, arriving at the casita with enough time to fully experience and take some time breathing in the spectacular biome of Santa Fe at sunset. At first I was just standing in awe, looking out at the landscape and sky, then as the mind began to settle down, I closed my eyes and visualized roots streaming down from my feet into the red, rocky earth.

All of a sudden the wind kicked up, so I connected with the elemental and felt the clarifying, clearing vibes that the wind offers us. As I did so, I perceived the note of “petrichor” a rather earthy scent that rises from dry soil when the rain falls. Thus, I was reminded of nourishing elemental water which is so important here in the high desert. I opened my eyes, and in the distance, traveling quite quickly, fog and rain clouds were heading our way.

I then looked straight above me and noticed the last rays of the setting sun, elemental fire, were hitting the clouds as in the opening photo. Sun, as an example of elemental fire, creates life and relates to creativity, passion, the spark of life and intuition.

As I walked back to our casita, past the fragrant and gently swirling open of the daturas buzzing with the sounds of nectar hunting honey bees filled my being. It’s at that moment that I noticed how the colors of the sky, in that one sacred moment, mirrored the color of the datura flowers.

⛰💨💧🔥

Auspiciously, or rather "correspondently", I have been re-visiting The Kybalion by Three Initiates, "a study of basic hermetic teachings that outline an ageless wisdom. In ancient times (and even today) these teachings were not understood by the lay person, but were readily understood by students, after the axioms and principles had been explained and exemplified by the Hermetic Initiates and Masters to their Neophytes. The Kybalion was originally written in the early 1900's and is now in the public domain. A priceless gem!"1

Just before arriving back at our casita I had listened to a brief outline of the Seven Hermetic Principals, the second being The Principal of Correspondence which "embodies the truth that there is always a Correspondence between the laws and phenomena of the various planes of Being and Life. The old Hermetic axiom ran in these words: "As above, so below; as below, so above." And the grasping of this Principle gives one the means of solving many a dark paradox, and hidden secret of Nature. There are planes beyond our knowing, but when we apply the Principle of Correspondence to them we are able to understand much that would otherwise be unknowable to us. This Principle is of universal application and manifestation, on the various planes of the material, mental, and spiritual universe — it is an Universal Law. The ancient Hermetists considered this Principle as one of the most important mental instruments by which man was able to pry aside the obstacles which hid from view the Unknown. Its use even tore aside the Veil of Isis to the extent that a glimpse of the face of the goddess might be caught. Just as a knowledge of the Principles of Geometry enables man to measure distant suns and their movements, while seated in his observatory, so a knowledge of the Principle of Correspondence enables Man to reason intelligently from the Known to the Unknown. Studying the monad, he understands the archangel." 2

1. & 2. The Kybalion

Shop Small, Shop Local & Shop Indie

This is important, remember, remember, the 7th of December! Tomorrow, Saturday, is a big holiday shopping day for many attending local artisan markets. I encourage you to visit and patronize the small, indie, local artists in your hood as well as online. Perhaps mixing up some of your purchases from various venues, instead of purchasing all online from big corporations like the one named after the rainforest.

Santa Fe, NM is a beautiful, bustling hub of diverse arts, individuality and colorful people, this is why we are called The City Different. Our town is also the oldest capital city in US, a place where you will find people of all ages meeting to chat, get a bite, browse, buy real things and bump into locals on a daily basis....while enjoying the scent of burning pinon in the winter.

I'd like it to stay local, without the conglomerates that have started to filer in the last few years. My sense is that may have happened with the icky governor that was luckily voted out in our last election. Our town is filled with tiny, terrific local food spots, galleries and sweet, locally owned stores.

I say NO to a homogenized, generic ghost town and choose not to support those businesses. If your town means something to you, please have a think about supporting local, independent businesses this Holiday season. The fate is in our hands. Support the little gals & guys.

And here is a reminder of a local tour/market I will be participating in...

BACA STREET ARTS DISTRICT TOUR

Come visit me and talented other local makers at @CAFECITO

👉🏿 December 7, 2019 / 10am – 4pm

👉🏿 922 Shoefly St. Santa Fe, NM 87505

👉🏿 (505) 310-0089

Fellow artisans featured with me at Cafecito include:

Olive Tyrell

Barro by Lucrecia

Frond: Interior Plantscapes

Kirstin Mitchell: Origami-Inspired Jewelry & Art

Laws of Nature Jewelry

Wallflower: Gifts for the Garden

&

Wrapped Rockz and Bridget Green

The 19th Annual Arts Holiday Sale begins at the corner of Cerrillos Road and Baca Street, everything is within walking distance. Glassblowing, sculpture, jewelry, furniture, gem stones, pottery, clothing, paintings, cards, refreshments, and so much more!

The Baca area is the southern end of the Railyard that has been transformed into a mecca of modern and dynamic architecture, a nice contrast to the adobe tradition within this beautiful and historic city.

You can find tour maps and more info at Liquid Light Glass @ 926 Baca Street #3, Santa Fe, NM or by calling 505-820-2222

Baca Street Arts District Tour

You are invited to the Baca Street Arts District Tour

The 19th Annual Arts Holiday Sale begins at the corner of Cerrillos Road and Baca Street, everything is within walking distance. Glassblowing, sculpture, jewelry, furniture, gem stones, pottery, clothing, paintings, cards, refreshments, and so much more!

I will be part of the tour at CAFECITO
👉🏿 December 7, 2019 / 10am – 4pm
👉🏿 922 Shoefly St. Santa Fe, NM 87505
👉🏿 (505) 310-0089

Have you been to Cafecito yet? This has become my new fave for a delicious meal surrounded by impeccable architecture. Located in the Baca Street Railyard district, international architects Andres Paglayan and his wife Solange Serquis created Cafecito as a tribute to Buenos Aires.

Fellow artisans featured with me are:

Olive Tyrell: Landscaped Inspired Clay Objects

Barro by Lucrecia

Frond: Interiors Plantscapes & Functional Art

Kirstin Mitchell

Bridget Green

Laws of Nature Jewelry

Wallflower: Gifts for the Garden

Wrapped Rockz

The day includes artist demonstrations, music, farolitos, glass blowing workshops, and holiday shopping (me). More than 20 artists will join the galleries and shops in the neighborhood for a weekend of festivities.

The Baca area is the southern end of the Railyard that has been transformed into a mecca of modern and dynamic architecture, a nice contrast to the adobe tradition within this beautiful and historic city.

You can find tour maps and more info at Liquid Light Glass @ 926 Baca Street #3, Santa Fe, NM or by calling 505-820-2222

Chamisa distillation

Last week, during a filming session at the perfumery for an upcoming feature, I distilled the beautiful golden flowers of Chamisa with my small glass still. The result is an enchanting, mellow yellow hydrosol that smells of liquid sunshine.

The main notes are from monoterpenes like d-limonene, which contributes to the warm, sunny scent. There is a darker yellow rim of the hydrosol which indicates a tiny amount of essential oil. I’m going to do a run in Spiritus, my cooper still, to see if we can capture more of the essential oil.

Chamisa, a perennial shrub native here in New Mexico is a member of the Aster family (Asteraceae) and goes by many names including: Rabbitbrush, Rubber Rabbitbrush and the latin Ericameria nauseosa.

The scent of the hydrosol has very little in common with flowering plant, which is quite fascinating. Although many are allergic to the pollens found on the flowers, the hydrosol does not carry that encoded message and may actually work as a type of homeopathic remedy.

The Golden Cloak of Autumn Arrives to Santa Fe

A few of the sign posts signaling the arrival of Autumn here in Santa Fe, New Mexico have been sighted. We begin with a flowering native commonly referred to as Rabbitbrush, Chamisa, and Rubber Rabbitbrush,  the latin is Ericameria nauseous and/or Chrysothamnus nauseous.

Chamisa

Above: Chamisa in June

I find Chamisa particularly interesting to watch through the seasons. In early Spring the little, elongated leaves begin to emerge with a gorgeous sage/teal color which stays through Monsoon season until late Summer when you start to see the golden yellow flower pods. In late August early September the flowers begin to open with the landscape around Santa Fe turning gold.

Above: Chamisa in August 2019

Above: Chamisa at the end of her bloom cycle September 2017

Chamisa is a drought tolerant, perennial with great value to the pollinators and animals that browse and forage. The leaves, flowers and seeds are all food sources as well as a source of shelter for small animals, hence the name rabbitbrush.

I've witnessed chamisa to be quite tolerant in the harsh desert climate where water can be scarce while the heat and wind intense. Another lovely feature of chamisa is that it provides us with a hydrosol and essential oil.

Cholla

Above: Cholla, April 2019

Above: Cholla, September 2019

The cholla (pronounced "choy-ah") cactus, also called cane, jumping and walkingstick cactus (Cylindropuntia imbricata), is another one with variety through the seasons. From my observation, in general, the fruits begin to turn yellow gold in late Summer/early Autumn and maintain this hue almost right up until May when the cholla seems to awaken with a very short window of spectacular magenta flowers. There is some variation from plant to plant, as I have seen some of the stalks go to seed and some of the fruits dry up. This is one that I am still getting to know, and as you may recall helped in bringin forward the Perfumed Bestiary series.

I've been told that The Shed in downtown Santa Fe, cooks with the fruits of cholla.

Above: Cholla, May 2019

Above: Cholla, Late June 2019

Opuntia

Our other local cactus is the Opuntia, commonly known as Prickly Pear. The fruit is the part called the prickly pear as well as tuna, sabra, nopal (paddle, plural nopales) from the Nahuatl word nōpalli for the pads, or nostle, from the Nahuatl word nōchtli for the fruit; or paddle cactus.1

Above: Opuntia, June 2019

The fruit of the opuntia is edible, another feature of the plant is that the insect is extremely valuable in the plant dye industry. Although cactus plants exist in many parts of our Earth they native to the Americas.

This beauty comes in many colors and has a cycle which is not quite as striking through the four points of the season wheel. Below is the peach colored blossom from June with of photo of how it looks now in September.

Above: Peach Opuntia, September 2019

I've heard that besides the cochineal that live on the plant, the fruits can also be used for plant dye, thus I will be mindfully gather them and doing some tests.

Above: Juniper berries, September 2019

There are many other plants that thrive in this high desert landscape, like the pinon, juniper, asters, etc. which I will share as I continue to learn, study and communicate with them.

1 Wikipedia

Getting Dirty

Before my friend and muse, Mona Lewis, arrived in Santa Fe for the Poetry of Scent & Color workshops, I had been foraging for dirt, rocks and plants to run some tests. The dirt and rocks were to be used for creating pigments and the plants for eco printing onto fabric, as shown below.

Heading out to find these materials heightened my connection to the land and enabled a new way of seeing, a heightened perception of the colored soils and plants that grow in and around my work and home environment. I started to see the subtle variations in the hues of the earth and detect whether the reds were warm or cool.

I also started driving more consciously so that observing the plants growing by the roadside and soil colors were easier to perceive. In the process I discovered and new way to connect with the land and the sense of this place. This is now become a new mindfulness practice which is resulting in much more awareness, its like my eyes have expanded their capacity, as if they were lungs inhaling triple the amount of oxygen than before.

Although I have very little background in chemistry and none at all in geology, in the last few weeks I have noticed that at the core of the relationship between plants and minerals is that all matter is composed of chemicals.  Matter is defined as a mass that occupies space, for example plants, rocks, mountains, humans and animals. The chemicals that form matter are tiny particles which are invisible to our eyes.

In alchemy we refer to matter as our "prima materia", the first matter, the ouroboros, where everything begins and ends. Ancient texts mention the symbol of the ouroboros appearing in Egypt circa1690 BC. The serpentine image later appears in Greece where we get the origins of the word “oura” meaning “tail” and “bόros” meaning “eating”.  In many alchemical texts the image depicts a serpent or dragon, or both, eating its own tail. The circular image reminds us of how nature is cyclical, the "eternal return” and primordial unity.

The alchemical illustration above depicts the omnipresence of philosophical matter, with the cubes representing the prima materia.

"The Stone that is Mercury, is cast upon the Earth, exalted on Mountains,
resides in the Air, and is nourished in the Waters."[1]

As a visual and aromatic artist I've come to realize that I strive toward illuminating this "omnipresence" whether it is through a painting, photograph or fragrance.

Creating eco-dyes and grinding down soil for pigments has become a deepening experience, not only as a way to bond with the land and plants but also with my self. I've started to become aware how the colors of the land here in New Mexico are as diverse as the skin pigments of those who dwell here, from the very fair northern Europeans to the darker pigments from Africa. Our skin tones are a reflection of Mother Earth and she a reflection of us.

"As Above So Below,

As Within So Without"

Jennifer Butler, the visionary stylist from Los Angeles, teaches that humans have specific tonalities to their skin, such as violet, pink, gold and peach. The main underlying color of my skin is violet, which is the foundation of the color palette my essence resonates with (see photo above), where as my daughter Eve has peach as her undertone.

Learning how to hunt for rocks, soils and plants that will pigment for paint or imprint on clothe has been tremendously rewarding, opening new pathways of thinking. How this adventure will evolve and integrate with plant perfume is still unfolding as I continue to see and sense the subtle connections that unite scent and color while working continuing to work harmoniously with the Earth.

Images & Text

Photos & text ©RoxanaVilla

Alchemical Emblem "Atalanta Fugiens" 1617 by Michael Maier enhanced and collaged by Roxana Villa

[1]  Michael Maier (1568–1622) A German physician and counsellor to Rudolf II Habsburg in Prague.

2019 Santa Fe Studio Tour #44

The 15th annual Santa Fe Studio Tour began this morning at 10am with over fifty artist's studios participating. It's a great chance to chat with local artists, learn about their process and support their work. For more information visit the Santa Fe Studio Tour site.

The perfumery is “un-officially” part of the tour since Greg is showing his work in the school portion  of the space. We are STUDIO 44 (an auspicious number), conveniently located in the mid-town Arts District of the city at Lena Street Lofts. Come be enchanted in our synergistic sensorium, grab a matcha from my neighbor Iconik Coffee or hand-made, vegan ice cream from Sunset Swirl across the way. Then head over out to visit the rest of the artists in our collective participating in the studio tour. Todays visitors shared that our space was there favorite!

The scent bar is available for instant olfactory adventures, memory stirring and stories, as well as hydrosol spritzes. Stroll through our macrame permeable wall to the School of Lost Arts where Greg has set up his visionary art with banners, original art, his retrospective book to peruse, and favorite prints for purchase, and get information about upcoming classes planned in the space. Greg and I look forward to transporting you to another realm.

Sunrise Springs: Awakening Journey

If you are a regular reader of this journal, than you already know I'm a sensualist, and in fact my love of beauty, peace and feeling nurtured with nature is what brought me to making plant perfume to begin with.

The Greek Goddess Tyche, also known Fortuna, arrived last week with an invitation to participate in an “Awakening Journey” weekend at Sunrise Springs Spa Resort, all expenses paid!  This extremely special event is thanks to the careful curation of Caitlin and Amy, the dynamic duo of @SimplySocialNM on Instagram.

I was lucky to have had a taste of the resort back in August of 2017, on an exploratory visit of Santa Fe before moving from Los Angeles. Thus, when the opportunity to attend a weekend staycation presented itself, I spontaneously jumped at the opportunity, ignoring a very long list of items that needed addressing. Little did I know that I was an " instagram micro-influencer" and would soon make friends with an eclectic little tribe here in Santa Fe.

The group met within the gates of the stunning 70-acre property the afternoon of Friday, June 7th. Soon after arriving I was given an itinerary with activities and shortly whisked away to the spa for a luxurious massage, getting me present in my physical body for what was to come.

After some free time getting settled in my room, the group met at the Moon House for a cleansing ceremony including individual and group readings by Jessica Ibarra, a gifted spiritual guide. In the glow of our blown minds by Jessica's intuitive perceptions, we all sat down at the long rectangular table to enjoy a wonderful meal prepared by Chef Rocky Heron.

The next morning I awoke early and headed to the restaurant where I encountered a few of the girls at a round table enjoying their breakfast. Each of the attendees was given a special itinerary with lots of extra time to take advantage of the beautiful grounds and classes. Elizabeth, a gifted photographer and I choose to attend the "Best Kept Secret in Medicine" workshop with Dr. Sally Fisher. Although I was familiar with much of what was shared it was the perfect lecture to reset my commitment to healthy eating habits. Afterwards I headed to a Yoga Nidra class followed by my "Medicine Helper" appointment with Concha Garcia-Allen. From there I headed to the brand new repose pools to blissfully soak in one of the new natural artesian warm water "Repose Pools" to integrate the experience with Concha.

That evening, we all once again met at the Moon House for cocktails, sharing our experience of the day and our individual sessions followed by another stunning meal. At this point in the journey I was finally unwinding and letting go of my anxiety of being the "crone" of the group.

Sunday morning I once again woke up early and headed out to a morning yoga class before my 9am private mineral infused soak in one of the Ojoitos in the spa area. As I lay in the warm water looking out at the beauty of the landscape with the tall trees I thought "Gee, wouldn't it be grand if the spa was at the center of a community of homes with my fellow sisters from the weekend experience."

After the luxurious 25 minute soak (which was way too short!) I leisurely roamed the grounds with my camera for last minute captures. One of the reoccurring themes we all noticed in our evening sessions, were the concepts of the circle, reflections and we are all related. As I was contemplating these themes with fellow attendee Kelsey, I saw the circular tubs and the great grandmother Cottonwood tree reflected in the water. In awe, I felt the confirmation of our collective experience and the alchemical mantra As Above So Below.

At 11:30am I met my fellow attendees near the sweat lodge for a Nahui Ollin Dance in the Four Directions led by Concha followed by brunch at the Blue Heron. The dance and ritual was incredibly moving, I find indigenous dances and ceremonies to be very potent and stirring.

I am still in the process of integrating all that occurred over the weekend, it was a quite lot over a very short time. My only regret was that I would have liked to spend more time with the beautiful souls who attended the transformational weekend with me. At dinner Saturday evening, Barrett Freibert mentioned that its when we share our vulnerability that deep connections are made. I've been contemplating this idea since she mentioned it, as I believe most of us are in search of deep connection, or what Joseph Campbell calls the experience of "being alive."

The weekend gave me the opportunity to fully experience the spa for my own upcoming retreats.