Meet Astra
On her work
When I just started working with perfumes I had this vision of my own natural perfume-atelier with a little shop and workshop space. This vision sparked so much joy, but I do tend to have a lot of dreams and they seem to be forever changing. I am a big believer of not holding onto anything and following that ever changing stream. In doing that I’ve learned that some of my dreams are more consistent than they seem. Working from my own perfume-atelier is one of those dreams that through time faded out so many times but then always found it’s way back again. I now see, slowly but steadily, my vision is turning into reality.
On time schedule
I have a fulltime dayjob, so my moments of perfume are mostly in the evenings or weekends. During those moments I find myself in this timeless zone, somehow it’s always enough.
On sharing her craft
Of course I love the process of creating by myself a lot, but than to be able to share this, that’s pure joy! It never stops being a pleasure to see people’s reactions to all the different scents and hear their stories of memories awakend by the aromas.
On inspiration
When it comes to inspiration, for me there is no ‘what’ . It just comes . At some point the perfume itself just wants to be created, so I’ll create it. To me the process of perfume creation is all about surrendering to intuition, Of course there’s soul food like music and nature, that always helps to tune in, but inspiration can arrive in any moment.
Tips for starters
Start with what you have. I started ceating perfumes at my kitchentable while dreaming of my own perfume-atelier. And although I now do have the luxury of my own workspace, I still find myself working at that same kitchentable most of the time. It’s where my most precious creations are born.