Description
Tucson Incense by Astier de Villatte
125 sticks with box
Planted in the Arizona desert, surrounded by giant cactuses with amazing shapes, stands Tucson. Wander downtown, along streets lined by colourful houses. Crushed by the heat, take a break in the shadow of a mesquite, watered by a little glass of mezcal. Intoxicating scents of the Far West float in the air: lightly smokey and sweet aromas of wild grasses, parched wood, immortelle flowers, and red earth, burnt by the sun. Contains essences of Rosemary, Immortelle, Rose, Atlas cedar, Lignum vitae, Vetiver, Birch, Labdanum, Oregano, Thyme, Laurel, Black pepper and Patchouli. Perfume designed with Alexandra Monet.
The best incense in the world is found on the island of Awaji, due to its favourable climate. For more than a thousand years it has been made here by the Koh-shis or Masters of Aromas, a tradition passed down from father to son. They alone perfectly master the four stages of production: the dosage of exclusively natural materials, precious woods, herbs, plants, vegetable resins, and perfume; the kneading of the dough, pressed and worked for a long time, then left to stand for two weeks to soak up the fragrance; the cutting of the dough, rolled into long, narrow ribbons, to the desired size; then drying in the west wind for three days before bundling the sticks.
Precautionary measures:
Light the end of the stick with a match, blow out the flame and leave to smoke. Plant the stick in an incense burner or a bowl of sand. Do not use in a flammable environment. Do not leave burning without supervision. Keep out of reach of children and animals.
Box of approximately 125 sticks.
Burning time 30 minutes each.
Made in Japan
About Astier de Villatte
Created in 1996, Astier de Villatte has many facets:
– An artisanal ceramics workshop in Paris, the only one of its kind, which takes up and modernises the tradition of Parisian manufacturers of the 18th century.
– A typographic printing press in the Paris suburbs, the last in France (and one of the last in the world) to print lead books.
– A publishing house, with three first publications, the atypical guide Ma Vie à Paris, the art book Drawings with the poly-talented artist Lou Doillon and now the new edition of Mitsou de Balthus.
– A perfume creation workshop where, in collaboration with exceptional noses, colognes, incense and a whole collection of scented candles on the theme of an olfactory world tour are invented.
In 2008, it was a novelty, a scented dishwashing liquid launched for fun at the store and sold in the thousands, which propelled them into the magical world of scented products. With their associate, Emilie, in collaboration with Françoise Caron, star perfumer at Takasago, a Japanese fragrance creation company, they launched their Eau de Cologne, their Hand Care and their first collection of scented candles on the delirious theme of a olfactory world tour. Over the years, the collection of scented candles and eau de cologne grew, thanks to the creativity of other highly talented perfumers, including Nathalie Feisthauer, Alexandra Monet and Christophe Raynaud.
Eager to extend the range of perfumes for the home, Benoît and Ivan leave for Awaji, the island of Japan specialised for hundreds of years in the manufacture of the best incense in the world. Thus begins a new adventure, combining the know-how of Awaji’s family workshops with that of the great Parisian perfumers.
More than collaborations, for Astier de Villatte it’s about stories of friendship and aesthetic affinities leading to the creation of a universe that wants to be unique in its kind.
Today about fifty workers, mostly Tibetans, work in the manufacture of ceramics and Astier de Villatte lamps, two people are employed by the printing works, and about fifteen people are divided between the two Parisian shops and the offices.
