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Date: 3/2/2021
EASTHAMPTON – Cottage Street recently welcomed a new fragrance shop, Tsvga Parfvms, which hosted its soft opening on Feb. 20.
“It is an honor to be part of the cultural district. I love this town,” said owner James Barry.
Barry shared that things went great with his first customer.
“I enjoy the privatized luxury boutique shopping experience and getting to give one customer my full attention,” Barry said.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, Barry indicated he will do private shopping by appointment only. He said there will be random times between appointments when a sign will be on the door that indicates the shop is open for public walk-ins.
“I do like the idea of only having one customer or one group at a time to give my undivided attention to, especially since I am doing this all on my own,” Barry said.
Barry told Reminder Publishing that Tsvuga (soo-guh) is Latin for the Hemlock tree. “Hemlock trees grow abundantly around here and I go on hikes and gather the needles in a bag to turn into perfume, it is one of my favorite smells.”
Barry had been making perfumes for one year but has been a niche fragrance collector for a few years now.
He shared that fragrance enthusiasts consider collecting a hobby and most of them have hundreds of bottles. Barry said he has between 200 and 300 bottles in his collection.
“I began reviewing on YouTube, gained a small following, then thought that since other art forms came to naturally to me, perfumery would too and I believe I was right. On day two of perfuming, I was already making stuff that I would wear,” Barry said.
He added that it is similar to a kid picking up a new instrument and learning how to play it within minutes.
Barry said that he makes niche, artisanal, and natural scents that are different from mainstream smells that you can find in the mall. His scents are always unisex because he does not believe in assigning gender to fragrance.
Before opening his store he sold all of his fragrances online at www.tsvgaparfvms.com and a niche fragrance retailer, www.luckyscent.com.
Barry’s perfume prices vary in size, he said his costs range from $39 to $325.
“I use materials that can cost $100 per gram. This is a completely different ballgame than the completely synthetic perfumes that people are used to that cost a couple of dollars to create an entire bottle. I source ingredients from all over the world and have built connections to find rare materials,” he said.
When he began making fragrances there was a handmade touch to every bottle. Barry said that he would cut up tree branches to create wood plaques for the bottles, brand them with his logo straight from the fire, and then hand wrap each cut with suede.
“That was no longer feasible as the brand grew so I switched to creating a painting to turn into a sticker for every label. The paintings are then sold with a bottle for the special edition version. Special editions have ranged from $200 to $5,000,” said Barry.
Tsvga Parfvms offers custom fragrances and gives customers the ability to make their own perfume by appointment.
Barry sells raw materials for people looking to experiment with natural perfuming at home, he sells oud chips for burning and oud oil for wearing like a perfume. He suggests that if people want to learn more about oud and experience it to visit the shop.
Aside from perfumes and scents, Barry offers paintings and sculptures. He shared that when he can, he plans to do an open mic but with no microphone for a more intimate setting.
Customers can book their private scent consult, gallery viewing, and make their own perfume appointments at www.tsvgaparfvms.com/booking.
Barry is also a full-time therapist. In the months to come, the backroom of his store will be turned into a private practice.