yesterday, I was sort of proud, as I sort of managed to get all all done and more. The one larger pack with scents for the US is ready. I boxed all scents and packed them ready for shipment.  Thus, I can get the “shipper’s declaration” for dangerous goods (looks like this, pdf) done by an external expert. I need this to ship with Fedex. I could do it myself, provided I did a three day training etc. But I rather get it done by an expert. Next (today) will be the shipment papers, including detailed lists of what is inside the pack, who did it, etc.  I did TSCA (Toxic Substance Control Act, html) form for the US customs and normally, with all the papers put on the packaging, the large parcels to the US go through customs smoothly. Praised be the US customs, in comparison to EU levels of logjam.

And besides a few other things, I did the last adjustment round for the labels of the scents that I plan to present Saudi Arabia later this year. The labels  inside and outside of packed perfumes are sometimes different, depending on where the scent goes to. Thus, for some markets at least, my packing scents is more or less just in time. I just try to make sure that I have filled bottles. This has the advantage that I can easily provide correct labels for regions with very specific labeling standards. Like Saudi Arabia, where I have to put on Arabic warning messages, and an adjusted list of ingredients. My designer super guru provided me with Adobe Illustrator templates that I can adjust myself with Illustrator and print them later, myself again, giving me the flexibility to ship one boxed bottle to Saudi Arabia, if I wished to do so. This is, basically, also how I will be able to ship “une rose de Kandahar” (if ever the scent is ready): by producing a few dozens of labels for it. Think: super flexible.

Anyhow, the labels for Saudi Arabia are now with an agency, located in France, that will register my products and if all goes well, I will be allowed to ship to Saudi Arabia, after the packed perfumes have been inspected here, in Zurich, by yet another representative of this agency.

So you see: creating a scent is one thing; producing it is another dimension, and shipping it and making sure it gets beyond the borders is another challenge.

But I do not want to bore you with shipment logistics any longer. Here is a link to an article that I wrote for my column on Evelyn Avenue, on code, painting and beyond. And you will find the illustration there, on Evelyn Avenue, from my digital sketchbook, that I did in France. Enjoy this read and please leave a comment there, if you wish.

And yes, talking about Evelyn Avenue: The next label related task. I have to start working on the labels for the next scent in the series: Ingrid!