Fragrance box
The scent box...
...is a creation of Ann and Lies Jacobs. She is a Master of Visual Arts, she feels what others don't, and, among other things, gives a voice to plants.
...requires a quiet, dry place in your living space, where it can be closed again after use, such as in your bedroom or living room.
...is a handmade, fragrant and healing work of art:
Handmade
The dried aromatic plant parts that fill the box are harvested from Ann's own aromatic garden. The garden lives its own semi-wild, unforced life, sowing and planting organically when the time is ripe. During the summer, when plants are abundant, Ann sometimes goes picking in permitted natural locations, such as quiet roadsides and forest edges. The aromatic plants are all dried naturally in the garden's drying shed… dark, dry, warm, and ventilated, all contribute to the optimal drying process. Ann considers herself a worldly person and loves to decorate her fragrance boxes with a touch of the world, for example, with vetiver root from India, iris root powder from Italy, or a few drops of essential oil of French tarragon and wild lavender from France.
Fragrant
The dried aromatic plant parts smell subtly delightful! Some boxes smell of flowers and herbs, others of hay and earth with a hint of patchouli or anise. The moment Ann sits at her herb table, surrounded by numerous aromatic plant parts, she is in her element and can intuitively blend the natural scents until the sun sets.
Healing
If you close your eyes and slowly absorb the natural scents in the box, breathing in and out calmly, you'll not only smell the different subtle layers of fragrance but also experience a sense of calm in body and mind. The scent box offers a safe, first introduction to the healing properties of plant scents. Natural plant scents are also strongly connected to feelings, emotions, and memories (olfactory memory), through our limbic system in the brain as the center of scent processing. For example, most people smile when they smell a damask rose, and during a scenting session in the drying shed, memories of a southern vacation and a warm Belgian summer surfaced.
Artwork
The lid of the fragrance box is painted by Lies Jacobs. She experiments with natural dyes and techniques. She explains: “When I receive the filled boxes, I bring them to my studio. Painting the lids has become a special ritual. Each box has a unique exterior, carefully and thoughtfully crafted. I work in a fixed order, with appropriate music playing in the background. I open a box, look at it, smell it, and let the sensory impressions sink in. Then my hands are guided, the right colors emerge naturally, and the painting feels effortless and natural. This process is enhanced by the soothing scent. Each box has not only a unique scent but also a personality, a small work of art that invites discovery.”
Collections
To provide some structure, there are currently four collections.
The collections are reminiscent of their traditional habitats, though they were harvested elsewhere, sometimes to protect the plants. For example, Ann harvests woodruff in her garden every year, even though it's a woodland plant and shouldn't be picked in the forest. The natural scents can be preserved for a long time by closing the box after use, something Ann is always amazed by!
Out of the forest and at the edge of the forest
By the water
From the fragrance garden
Between and in the fields
