Back when I was living in Dublin I began to pick up a small addiction to Lush bath products. The UK cosmetics retailer makes heavenly soaps and bath oils. Too bad our small little City Centre apartment didn't have the space for a bathtub. So instead I would hoard Lush products for the times when Jonah and I would travel, taking advantage of hotel rooms and other provided accomodation. We did a lot of travel those days, and I certainly needed the small moments of respite, relaxing in the enveloping realm of olfactory bliss.

However, if designer Jenny Tillotsen has her way, I'll be able to luxuriate in my own scent bubble at any time, thanks to a series of scent-producing brooches she has created. "Scent Whisper" is a jewelry set that dispenses fragrance. The set is comprised of a spider and bombardier beetle, which communicate wirelessly, triggering a small sample of scent from the beetle when a message is whispered to the spider.

Jenny was another panelist on the Siggraph 2005 Special Session panel on Extreme Fashion. Her work on "scentsory design" is fairly unique, and very well developed. Though she's deemed herself "non-technical" Dr. Tillotsen has a bevy of research to back up her assertions that incorporating scent-based design into the everyday will improve quality of life. Like many, I may have been skeptical at first (just mention our sense of smell and some people will immediately think something vulgar) but I have seen Jenny present her work at multiple venues in North America and Europe, and each time I am impressed with her deep dedication and vision. What really gets me is the undeniable fact that whether or not we are aware of it, scent influences our mood and perception. I mean, what would Dublin be without the smell of hops wafting through the streets? Who would our loved ones be without their distinct scent? And most importantly, why was I stockpiling bath ballistics in my own little bubble bath arms race? (Certainly not for the nice fizzy water alone.)

And let's face it, these beetle/spider sets look cool! (They certainly did in the Siggraph 2005 Cyberfashion Show.)