“Soils are sensual

they are the living skin of the planet

with texture, colour, scent ...

Grab some, lift it to your nose!

Close your eyes and explore the beauty

of a dynamic hidden habitat that lies below our feet 

the foundation of all life”

 

– Jo Gibbons

 

Erde & Verda
are remarkable perfumes, developed from an ambitious idea and realised through the passion of award-winning landscape architect Johanna Gibbons of J&L Gibbons and artisanal organic perfumier, Madalina Heneck of Wild Olive Artisans. They bring the complex and evocative scent of the soil into a perfume that could inspire and connect us through our senses to the profound biodiversity of soil.

It has been a long journey to get to this point and the result is a brave and beautiful perfume - totally unique and produced in small, limited batches. Today is the day to launch this visceral art and science of soils. A message in a bottle on World Soil Day 2023. 

 

RESIDUE OF RESEARCH

These fragrances blend two lifetimes of knowledge and passion, in the field and in the lab. They encapsulate molecules of a profound nature. Erde & Verda are sustainably sourced and ethically crafted.

Erde (Mother Earth) & Verda (spring growth) are handmade, small batch, natural perfumes.

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“A response to World Soil Day

A celebration of complexity

A collaboration”

 

– Kate Blee

 

 

“The word friction is translated as a word of difficulty but it is a beautiful necessity of life - it is friction that generates movement, heat and relationships both in the landscape and in human terms.”

These charcoal and watercolour drawings continue Kate’s work with gravity and friction - here are a series looking at exposed geology where earth’s forces are visible. The drawings bare witness to the great movement of the earth and the drama and weight of its power. The use of charcoal gives the drawings both strength and softness.

 

The movement and erosion of rock is action in slow motion. In these drawings I am looking to capture the dynamic quality of rock layers and some of its great complexity ”