D.S. & Durga - Big Sur After Rain - Hand Soap

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D.S. & Durga, a perfume manufacturer based in New York, produce small batches of perfumes and colognes using the finest raw materials. All fragrances are created exclusively in-house. They draw inspiration from ancient herbal knowledge, indigenous ritual medicine, folklore and legends, historical movements and Americana (the culture of the United States). The fragrances tell stories of gold prospectors, nobility, pioneers, female founders, salons, workbenches and cowboys – fragments of half-forgotten legends, movements, events and foreign lands.

D.S. & Durga's manufacturing process is reminiscent of the pre-industrial craft workshops of North America. The processes are time-consuming and unproductive. Both factors are more important than the quantity. D.S. creates the formulas. He grew up surrounded by the idyllic scents of a picturesque town in New England – by the sea and in the woods. When he won his first bottle of cologne in a holiday camp competition, he developed a lasting fascination for fragrances. In 2002, he moved to New York City with his band. Durga creates the designs. She was born in the shadow of New York, but travelled the world as a child. She studied architecture in Los Angeles and design in the Netherlands. She returned to New York to design buildings – and met D.S. in front of one.

Soon they began making tinctures from flowers, herbs and spices as aftershaves for friends. When they noticed that none of their friends were shaving anymore (in 2007, mind you), they started mixing oils, resins and plant extracts. The result was a small series of perfumes and colognes that their friends loved. Durga had an idea: she could distil her designs into an architecture of scents and D.S. could write songs as scents.