The eagle eyed amongst you may have spotted this handsome chap lurking in yesterday’s post. His name is Avery and he’s a handsome little ceramic French Bulldog that recently joined the family. He was a gift in fact, from my lovely husband, who had taken note of the many subtle hints I have been dropping over the last few weeks, hints such as; “I’d quite like one of those Avery ceramic bulldogs for my birthday”, “can I send you the link to those Avery ceramics?” and “have you bought me that ceramic bulldog I wanted yet?”. It’s a wonder he managed to pick up my artful subtlety…
Avery offers a practical menagerie of ceramic animals, ranging from canines to birds and primates, with much of the animal kingdom in between. I think I even spotted an alligator in the mix somewhere. I was first introduced to these zoological treats at the new niche fragrance and candle space at Selfridges, which is utterly wonderful by the way, do visit if you’re in London. The idea behind these ceramics is that they are as much of an objet d’art as they are a scented vessel. One can spray their little pet with a healthy dose of a favourite fragrance to scent the entire room, in addition to making it visually beautiful (and a little bit kitsch, let’s face it) with the cute appearance of the white ornament itself.
Such a handsome object caused quite a dilemma though and it’s fair to say that Avery’s arrival posed a tricky question: what on earth should I spray him with? There are so many things I want my house to smell like – flowers, fruits, woods and anything Mugler, for example – so deciding which scent to douse the doggy (not a euphemism) with wasn’t easy! I needed something long lasting and beautiful (of course) that wasn’t oppressive or too heavy to have in the home. The scent had to be befitting of a French Bulldog with a gold plated nose and fur of pure white. Shalimar is the only thing that would do.
So Avery took a big ole bath in 10 spritzes of Shalimar Eau de Parfum – a royal bath if there ever was one. He now smells of heavenly bergamot woven into a glorious fabric of velvety vanilla, smoke and animalics. I’d say that he doesn’t quite fill the room with scent, but close up he radiates with fragrance, specifically the 1920s glamour of Shalimar in full force, and the scent is as strong today as it was three days ago when I first sprayed it. Let’s face it, with an object as wonderful to look at as this delightful canine, one can compromise on diffusion.
My only gripe with Avery is that he came with no instructions, so I sort-of just guessed that I should just spritz away and hope for the best. Some guidance on what to do and how to do it wouldn’t have gone a miss, but as I say, that’s a small complaint when the overall execution of the object is so wonderful. What’s more, one can build an impressive collection of ceramic animals to fill their entire house with scent. Personally, I have my eye on that life-size Bulldog (at least, I think it’s a Bulldog) pictured below. Perhaps I should start dropping hints for Christmas? That should give Nigel enough time to save his pennies…
To find out more about Avery’s scented ceramics go to averyperfumegallery.com or take a gander around the new niche fragrance and candle space at Selfridges, both are most definitely worth a visit. The ceramics are available in a range of animals (dogs, rhinos, toucans, alligators, donkeys, pandas, chimpanzees and owls, to name but a small selection) and sizes, starting at £32.
Disclaimer:
Images are my own. Ceramic purchased for me by my husband, because he’s lovely.
The Candy Perfume Boy 