I'm giddy about today's featured shop, Mermaid Lane Perfumes! I'm a fan of any and all things good-smelling, and Mermaid Lane Perfumes is the place to find unique scents made from healing and organic ingredients. Each perfume is made from organic jojoba oil, vitamin E, and a proprietary blend of natural botanicals. Owner Stacey will even create a custom perfume for you upon request... how neat is that??

Green Roses Mermaid Lane Natural Organic Perfume

CM: Tell us a bit about yourself...
S: I was an in house lawyer at a tech company for several years before "retiring" to have kids. They are 4 and 7 and amazingly, have yet to spill a perfume bottle. I hail from Southern California, but have lived happily in the Bay Area for the past 14 years.

Azure Mermaid Lane Natural Organic Perfume

CM: What got you interested in making perfume?
S: I never liked perfume until I smelled the "real" stuff while honeymooning in Australia, where essential oils are very popular. Synthetic perfumes have always given me a headache. I started collecting essential oils from all over the world until my collection grew to over a hundred, and I figured I needed a way to justify my habit.

Lavender Rose Massage Hair Body Oil - Dream

CM: How did you learn to make perfume? Did someone teach you?
S: My first glimpse at how perfume is made was in Grasse, France, the perfume capitol of the world. From there, I experimented. I was born with perfect pitch and played piano competitively for 15 years. When I started paying attention to scent, I realized I could also smell pitches, though scents are so complex that it's not an exact science.

Starfruit Mermaid Lane Natural Organic Perfume

CM: I love wearing perfume, but wouldn't even know where to start in terms of making it - what's the process like?
S: For me, the process starts with a concept. For example, after we watched Snow White for about the five hundredth time, I thought, what would a walk through Snow White's forest smell like? I think, evergreens, blackberries, crisp, clean air, clover blossoms, seven little men with beards (just kidding), and roses, to signify Snow White's innocence and beauty. My latest natural perfume, Fir Berry, is built around this fantasy forest concept. I used bulgarian rose, bright citrus notes, Canadian fir needle, long pine, and several other aromatic woods in this bright, jammy perfume.

White Stars Mermaid Lane Natural Organic Perfume

CM: In your opinion, what's the best thing about selling on Etsy? The most challenging?
S: Best thing about selling on Etsy is the amazing community of creative people you get to meet (like you!). It's hard to start a business. Being among others who understand what it's like is both reassuring and inspiring. Hardest part is when I wake up to an empty inbox. But that motivates me to shake a tail feather.

Paradise Mermaid Lane Natural Organic Perfumes

CM: What's your favorite item in your shop right now?
S: Favorite item in my shop is my Lagoon natural perfume, based on what I thought the Mermaid Lagoon from Peter Pan would smell like (all the Disney references are coincidence, really). It's a blend of neroli blossoms, petitgrain, and lime. But I don't tell many people that because I'm secretly hoarding it.

Lagoon Mermaid Lane Natural Organic Perfume

CM: Do you have a favorite shop or item on Etsy? If so, which one(s)?
S: I have lots of favorite shops, I could be shopping all day. I'm digging the clothes on idea2lifestyle - totally my look. What I sell off Etsy goes straight back into Etsy - a brillaint marketing plan, those Etsy VIPs!