Bringing a touch of India to my creations...
I am Anjali Vandemark.I am an artisanal perfumer and make handcrafted perfumes in small batches from my studio on Bainbridge Island, WA U.S.
I was born and raised in India where my childhood was filled with abundant, fragrant tropical flowers. From a young age, I was surrounded by precious attars, the choicest of incense, resins, and aromatic spices. I developed a keen nose for scents and a deep connection with fragrances early on.
Memories From India
One of my earliest memories is being around my grandmother. She owned a small block of real Mysore Sandalwood. She'd give me the important task of making Sandalwood paste for special ceremonies. I remember grinding that precious wood on a sahan―a special stone used for this purpose. For days afterward my fingers would stay perfumed. My soul is forever imbued with the divine scent of Sandalwood.
In my family, we gave special attention to fragrances on various festive occasions. Every year, my father and I would go to a small, artisan perfumer in an old part of town to buy expensive attars for our guests. Attars are handcrafted, artisanal perfumes made by centuries-old processes and sold mostly as soliflore extraits.
Mom would call the agarbatti-wallah at home. He would bring two bags full of the various incense brands from all parts of India. We would spend a long time smelling and evaluating them to select the best. We'd burn guggul & raal―resins from the local Sal trees and perfume the house.
The best part was going to the flower market. We'd buy Jasmine garlands that we wore in our hair. The rare and expensive Kewada flower was a luxury afforded only once a year. Mostly we would buy marigolds that I strung into garlands.
I spent several years studying perfumery on my own working with both natural and synthetic materials to bring my experiences to life.
My vision is to create perfumes infused with my cultural heritage as I explore the art of olfaction as a medium to tell a story.
I hope you find as much joy in wearing my perfumes as I have in creating them.
Namaste, and thank you for visiting.
