Perfumer Anne McClain of MCMC Fragrances works right around the corner from us at Design*Sponge. We’ve been lucky to peek inside her beautiful home and get to spend time with her outside of work hearing about the passion she has for her work and what inspires her. Travel is an important component of Anne’s inspiration, so recently she decided to launch the Humanity Fragrance Project as a way to give back to the communities she visits.
For each fragrance edition, Anne will volunteer with an organization in need and create products inspired by her experience there, and a portion of the proceeds will benefit the organization. For the most recent addition (the second in her series), Anne traveled to Cambodia and volunteered at the Working for Children Rainbow Orphanage in rural Siem Reap. She traveled there with six friends and family members and spent two weeks with the 37 children living at the center, as well as taught English at the village school. (You can see photos from the volunteer trip here and here. The resulting fragrances, AMARA and SAVANN, are now available at Anthropologie. Brooklyn Glass joined in and designed a special edition glass heart, available on the MCMC site, with proceeds going toward building a new boys’ dormitory at Rainbow Orphanage, which is desperately needed after this year’s monsoon season.
To get readers and perfume fans involved, Anne is offering 100 sample packs of AMARA and SAVANN perfume to Design*Sponge readers! Each pack includes 1.5ml samples and a self-addressed postcard to the MCMC studio in Brooklyn, which Anne is asking you to send back with notes about a moment you’ve felt compassion. The results will be posted on their blog and hopefully continue to raise awareness for the project- and funds for the charities. The first 100 DS readers to email Anne at humanityproject@mcmcfragrances.com will have the samples mailed to them (U.S. only, please). If you’re interested in joining the project, just sent Anne an email! We’re so excited about our Greenpoint neighbor’s work and can’t wait to see where she travels and how she helps out next. -Amy