You guys know I love me some Juniper Ridge. They’re the NorCal wilderness distillers and the world’s only “wild fragrance” company – a group of artists, travelers, and nature-lovers that scour the West for the plants we all brush up against while hiking to capture their essence and turn it into unbelievable fragrances.
Back in Modern Hiker’s early days they were kind enough to send me a generous sample pack and I fell in love – using a soap made from California Bay Laurel turned my morning showers into fragrant memories of hiking in the Santa Monica Mountains after a rain storm, while burning some of their Piñon incense brought me right back to a camping trip on the Colorado Plateau. Last summer they invited me up to the Santa Lucias to meet their crew and see how they collect and distill oils and join them on a hike to Junipero Serra Peak.
Now, I’m psyched because they’re about to release a new limited edition fragrance named after our very own Topanga Canyon and they’re doing an in-store demo right here in L.A.
If you’ve had the pleasure of hiking the coastal canyons here in the spring, you know it’s a pretty magical time. The air is full of bursting wildflowers and fragrant plants for just a few weeks before the summer sun kicks in and as soon as it’s over you can’t wait until next year for another round. Well, that’s when the Juniper Ridge team was running up and down the coast capturing that scent and turning it into Wilderness Cologne and Perfume, Solid Cologne, and Beard Oil (!).
All the Topanga Canyon products will be available June 1st on their site, but Founder Hall Newbegin and Chief Storyteller Obi Kaufmann will be doing distillation events in SoCal this weekend. On Friday evening, they’ll be doing one at Silver Lake’s Mohawk General Store; Saturday afternoon they’ll be at the Levi’s store in Malibu; and on Sunday they’ll be at Atwater Village’s Individual Medley.
I think the stores are still finalizing some details so be sure to check with them to see when the Juniper Ridge Van is scheduled to arrive. Enjoy the fragrances and let them know Modern Hiker says hi!
Tags: atwater village, in-store demo, juniper ridge, Los Angeles, Malibu, silver lake
