I've been waiting M-O-N-T-H-S to share with you what's been in my head. Now, thanks to darling client Bryan and his digital camera, I can.
My prototype for this project was an old dishwasher utensil basket laid on its side. Not too glam (especially as mine was literally salvaged from a dumpster at the city's recycling center), but it allowed for the incubation of an idea.
I then went on the hunt for a serving tray, not knowing how I was going to marry the need for holstering vials with the prettier staging advantages of a tray. I finally found perfection in this Morango Vanity Tray with open, divided sides by designer Tracy Porter.
I ordered this item just before Christmas, and it took a few weeks to arrive. In the meantime, I scoured books at the library to learn the principles and variations for the weaving craft known as caning. After that, I had to decide on what material to use. Actual cane comes in relatively short lengths, which makes for a lot of stops and starts, so, while I love the color and look of the material, I opted to go with a less-expensive, easy-to-use ribbon instead.
The weaving took quite a bit of time, but it was very pleasurable. I made a few missteps, but none too bad.
If I were to do it over, the thing I'd do differently is create my ribbon "plane" below the top edge of the tray rather than above it. I know from the dishwasher basket experiment that vials sit more stably when held low (especially given that, with this tray, the vials are standing on a slick glass surface). Alternatively, if the ribbon were a millimeter wider or the tray's side slots fractionally closer together, the vials would be better gripped, rather than simply supported. (When I move the tray, a few will tilt and need to be righted.)
Note that with regular cane material (which is thin and round like yarn or rope), the open spaces appear rounded, but because of the width of the flat ribbon, the gaps in my caning are square.
Since fragrance samples come with all manner of labeling, including some that stick out like tags, I relabeled most of my samples, which I simply found another fun part of the organizing process (I caught you smiling, Tang!).
Now, how do I use this beastie? Well, I like to sit with it at night while watching TV and just sniff through it. I'm now on a quest to insert some of the best representative fragrances, even some I'm not crazy about, in order to build an encyclopedic reference. I especially like how I can keep every scent I have right at my fingertips; so now I can store away all the odd decants and just keep a little out to wear as I like. And, of course, I plan to dazzle friends and visitors, too!
My prototype for this project was an old dishwasher utensil basket laid on its side. Not too glam (especially as mine was literally salvaged from a dumpster at the city's recycling center), but it allowed for the incubation of an idea.
I then went on the hunt for a serving tray, not knowing how I was going to marry the need for holstering vials with the prettier staging advantages of a tray. I finally found perfection in this Morango Vanity Tray with open, divided sides by designer Tracy Porter.
I ordered this item just before Christmas, and it took a few weeks to arrive. In the meantime, I scoured books at the library to learn the principles and variations for the weaving craft known as caning. After that, I had to decide on what material to use. Actual cane comes in relatively short lengths, which makes for a lot of stops and starts, so, while I love the color and look of the material, I opted to go with a less-expensive, easy-to-use ribbon instead.
The weaving took quite a bit of time, but it was very pleasurable. I made a few missteps, but none too bad.
If I were to do it over, the thing I'd do differently is create my ribbon "plane" below the top edge of the tray rather than above it. I know from the dishwasher basket experiment that vials sit more stably when held low (especially given that, with this tray, the vials are standing on a slick glass surface). Alternatively, if the ribbon were a millimeter wider or the tray's side slots fractionally closer together, the vials would be better gripped, rather than simply supported. (When I move the tray, a few will tilt and need to be righted.)
Note that with regular cane material (which is thin and round like yarn or rope), the open spaces appear rounded, but because of the width of the flat ribbon, the gaps in my caning are square.
Since fragrance samples come with all manner of labeling, including some that stick out like tags, I relabeled most of my samples, which I simply found another fun part of the organizing process (I caught you smiling, Tang!).
As far as organizing the scents themselves, I arranged the rows across the short direction in this way: Guerlains (filling the left-most rows, front to back, in the photo below), simple florals, specialty florals, Orientals & patchoulis, chypres, woods & leather, spices, gourmands & ambers, fruity & sweet, citrus, fresh, green, vetivers, and Demeters (on the right).
There are currently 70 to 80 vials here. There are holes for 221. I like the 1ml vials best for this particular purpose, but all sizes fit fine.
There are currently 70 to 80 vials here. There are holes for 221. I like the 1ml vials best for this particular purpose, but all sizes fit fine.
Now, how do I use this beastie? Well, I like to sit with it at night while watching TV and just sniff through it. I'm now on a quest to insert some of the best representative fragrances, even some I'm not crazy about, in order to build an encyclopedic reference. I especially like how I can keep every scent I have right at my fingertips; so now I can store away all the odd decants and just keep a little out to wear as I like. And, of course, I plan to dazzle friends and visitors, too!
