The current collection… or obsession?
by jrd4t on Sep.18, 2009, under Fragrance Bottle Photos
I used to have my collection neatly in a row on a dresser, neatly tucked in a closet. It grew to the point of needing one of those three tiered risers for cans that you can get at Bed, Bath, & Beyond. It started busting at the seams, so I got a great cabinet at IKEA that seemed to fit my needs perfectly.
I bought a set of diode spotlights, and a set of diode strip lights (that even had multiple colors… fancy!) and wired the top half of the cabinet to be the new display. The middle drawer was perfect for samples, so I installed a little diode light in it as well that automatically turned on when the drawer opened, and also lined it with high density foam, covered in black velvet.
Well, the hobby grew, and it grew tight in the cabinet. The bottom half had up til then only held the boxes and a few spare bottles. I made a trip back to IKEA and grabbed another set of diode strip lights (no fancy colors for the bottom… yet) to convert the bottom to more display space and make the top less crammed. I left the very bottom shelf empty to toss all the extra samples and miscellany that wouldn’t fit in the middle drawer. I got it all put together and I have to say – I’m pretty pleased with the whole thing, though it makes it easy to be late for work. It’ll need a tripod to get a sharp picture without using strobes which I haven’t gotten around to doing yet, but this turned out better than I thought it would handheld with just those diode lights. I took the photo of the top half and the top two shelves from the photo of the bottom half and just photoshopped them together… so you’ll have to use your imagination that the drawer splits them.
Here’s the middle drawer with samples. I left out the very bottom shelf, since it’s far from organized and looks more like a big mess of vials, cards, boxes, and such.
So there’s my collection. How do you store your smelly treasures? What types of cool ways of organizing samples have you come up with?
I realize that might be a bit over the top, but the way I see it – if you enjoy it, then it’s worth the effort!
September 19th, 2009 on 11:51 am
You must be very proud of your collection and your storage. Wow! My fiance took me to Ikea for the first time last month, and he showed me many options for storage for my perfume collection. So far, I own only ONE full bottle of a niche perfume (Creation Mathias Figue, which is a completely unique take on the idea of fig frag), so I don’t need a cabinet yet. I have a lg selection of samples and decants, though, and I love my storage– tho it’s not nearly as elegant as yours! I store the samples in a set of scientific vial holders, with the tops pulled off the boxes, placed into attractive art boxes which fit them perfectly. We heated metal sockets (from a wrench set) in boiling water to widen the individual slots for larger decants. The boxes are organized and allow everything to stand up, which prevents leakage. And the boxes together go into a custom made leather bag.
Wow. I love your cabinet and the photos. It’s brilliant– keeps them away from light, but incredibly well displayed…
September 19th, 2009 on 5:36 pm
Thanks! It really is a lot of fun. My collection grew faster than I ever imagined, so I’m sure you’ll be on the search for a cabinet soon!
September 25th, 2009 on 10:01 am
You do realize that no-one will dare post theirs after the glory that is your collection?
Though I do enjoy the pretty bottles I own, I haven’t made much effort to make any sort of display out of them. I’m still relatively shy about my fanaticism, and don’t like to invite comment from just any visitor. Perhaps later. Meanwhile, I’ll live vicariously through the likes of you. Keep up the good work!
September 26th, 2009 on 7:15 pm
Oh I’m still very much that way. I had everything in a spare closet and only moved it to the cabinet once it got a bit out of hand. Even at that, it’s in my office/spare bedroom out of common view.
I think if you set things up as a display, you’ll be hooked!
January 31st, 2010 on 9:38 pm
I can see you have got “Homage” from Amouage (or another attar). I would really enjoy if you could review it, I’ve heard so much about it, while never been able to try it.
February 5th, 2010 on 8:17 am
Hey there – definitely will post my thoughts on Homage soon. It’s a pretty fabulous attar and unlike anything I’ve ever tried.