- Anya McCoy Perfumer:
Company:Anya's Garden
Web:anyasgarden.com
Anya McCoy is a highly esteemed figure in the world of natural perfumery, celebrated as a pioneer and mentor. Her journey in the realm of fragrance began in Philadelphia, where from a young age, she was enchanted by fragrant plants. Visits to a neighbor's rose garden, exploring the pine grove in a nearby park, and growing flowers for her family kindled her passion for scents. As a child, she would spend hours sniffing, applying, and analyzing different fragrances, laying the foundation for her future career.
In her teens, with the emergence of essential oils in hippie stores, her love for 100% natural aromatics truly blossomed. In 1976, her formal foray into perfumery commenced. After discovering several books that unveiled the industry's secrets, she started blending perfumes using only natural aromatics. Her innate scientific and artistic sensibilities enabled her to develop unique methods and processes suitable for an artisan perfumer. By combining ancient perfumery knowledge with innovative techniques, she brought a fresh perspective to the creation of perfumes.
Anya's work has not gone unnoticed. She has been featured in numerous prestigious publications such as Vogue, Palm Beach Cottages and Gardens, The New York Times, Glamour, Allure, Whole Living, and Glow (Canada). In addition to her own retail line, where she offers a range of captivating 100% natural perfumes, she undertakes custom perfume work. Moreover, she provides private label fragrance products to hotels, boutiques, and perfume companies. Her expertise extends to developing natural fragrances for various bath and body products like soaps, lotions, and hair care items.
In 2007, Anya made a significant contribution to the world of natural perfumery by initiating the first online natural perfumery course through the Natural Perfumery Institute. This course opened up the opportunity for international students, who were unable to travel for in - person education in this art form, to study natural perfumery. She authored the first American textbook on perfumery for this course and designed innovative charts, recording forms, and electronic data sheets for students. Through a systematic and rigorous curriculum, she introduced students to professional perfumery methods such as weighing, dilution, and understanding specific gravity. As an educator and mentor, one of her prime goals is to ensure that artisan perfumers adhere to perfume industry standards.
Some of her other notable achievements include founding the Yahoo Natural Perfumery Group in 2002, which became the largest repository of information on the subject in the world. She was the first artisan perfumer invited to join the American Society of Perfumers in 2013. In 2018, she authored "Homemade Perfume," a book catering to hobbyists. Since 2006, she has written over 400 blog posts on natural perfumery, numerous research articles, a dozen book reviews on essential oils and natural perfumers, and many articles on the development of natural perfumery in the 21st century. She has also initiated several internet perfumery projects, such as "Mystery of Musk" and "Outlaw Perfumers," and has written extensively on aromatherapy, herbalism, and natural perfumery on forums and blogs.
Anya McCoy's influence in the world of natural perfumery is far - reaching. Her commitment to promoting natural, sustainable perfumery, combined with her educational efforts and creative output, has helped shape and grow the community of natural perfumery enthusiasts and professionals alike.
