At the Aftel Archive of Curious Scents you can smell more than three hundred natural essences derived from fruits, flowers, trees, grasses, etc. -- and take three samples home!
Smarter Travel video: Inside the Aftel Archive
A Selection of Exhibits
In my practice of perfumery, I have curated hundreds of gorgeous botanical essences from all over the world. They are all part of the extraordinary lineage of scent that reaches back to the beginnings of human culture and is entwined with the earliest history of medicine, cuisine, adornment, and worship. The books, engravings, essences, and raw materials I have collected are an endless source of beauty and fascination.
Touch and smell the raw botanical materials that become perfume essences. Compare essences that have been aged for a century to their modern counterparts. Pore over more than a hundred antique books from my collection, retracing the amazing history of natural aromatic materials. Every item in the Archive is authentic and original, including the hand-tinted postcards and engravings, some of which date back over four hundred years.
Come smell, touch, read, imagine! Learn and experience the history of natural fragrances. Immerse yourself in beauty, slip into a world apart, a lost past. Allow yourself to step outside of time.
Click for a video tour of Mandy showing you all the Archive exhibits!
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Details: Open only on Saturdays 10 am - 6 pm. Tickets are $20 for a 1-hour time slot ($12 for kids under 18) Tickets include 3 letter-press scent strips to dip in essences and take home.
