Oleander

Music & Visual Arts Lifestyle & Fashion Culinary & Travel

Nr. 5 - July 2011

M A G A Z I N E

Passion for Music & Lifestyle

INTERVIEW

with Natural perfumer

Nina Judin

is a creation by

Passion for Music & Lifestyle

M A G A Z I N E

Welcome to the 5th edition of Oleander Magazine.

In this edition I have an interview with Nina Judin, a lady who I have

met 3 months ago when I visited a country fair market in Amsterdam.

I immediately was struck by the charm and originality of her

presentation. She reflects the inner content and visible beauty of her

products in harmony and passion with her own personality.

I can not say other than that I was really happy to meet a creative

spirit with such deepness of soul and gracefulness.

Therefore I sincerely would like to recommend her products to

anyone who is interested in the scent of Natural perfume and

who would like to offer an original present to someone special.

Boni Li-A-Sam

Boni Li-A-SamEditor

Nina Judin was born in Finland (1974) and moved to

Amsterdam, The Netherlands in 2001 where she works and lives

with her family. Before Nina dedicated her craftsmanship into

the creation of her own perfume line she has been educated

to become a successfull artist in handmade bookbinding. An

art form she studied and professed in Finland, Estonia and in

the United Kingdom(1995 – 2001). She still practices the

craftsmanship of bookbinding in her atelier in Amsterdam.

Nina’s Nature perfumes are natural, uplifting scents to perfume

your body, whilst nourishing your skin and giving you an

aromatherapy boost at the same time.

InterviewNina Judin

When did you become aware of yourinterest in fragrances and perfumes?I became interested in natural perfume after a period of wearing no perfume at all during pregnancy. I read a book that promoted "green living" and discovered some recipies for Do It Yourself cosmetics. I decided to create my own body care products. "Facialand body oils and perfuming them withessential oils, the juice from the plant in oil form. And then one night I had a very special Dream. In this dream orvision,my grandmother had left me some purses containing little bottles of perfume bathing in coloured light.I took this dream as a message from mygrandmother in Heaven to create myperfumes not only for my own use, but to let them serve other people's well-being as well.

How did you develop the creation of your brand Nina’s Nature?When I started to develop the perfumesfor sale, I had some trouble finding just the right name at first, but then it clicked – Nina's Nature is very fitting. My brand was born and for me it was veryclear how I wanted to present myself to the public by making use of colours, fonts and other visual information in mypresentations that breathes the overall harmony I want to express.

Have you always been supported by

other people to develop your creative

and artisic aspirations?

No, but I had the luck of being

Left alone with my aspirations in

this creative field. My parents

did support me by acknowledging

the fact that I am aware of my

intuition and that I want to act

upon my intuition.

ylang-ylang

Jasmin

sandalwood

lavandula

What or who inspired you in the past

to begin your brand Nina’s Nature?

And who or what still inspires you

today?

I am very self driven. So, my inspiration

comes from my inner core. However,

the fashion designer Vivian Westwood

is my hero! She has created her own

fashion label, was successful in the

1980’s and still going strong. She is

also active in the promotion of the

environmental movement worldwide.

I had a dream once where Vivian

Westwood once told me: ‘You can

do it...!!’

And the primary inspiration to my

perfumes is to bring the Natural

composed perfume to the people.

All composed by one hundred

percent of natural ingredients.

Because I believe that other

people should have access to the

thing I value so much myself.

Do you have other interests

besides your art in creating

perfumes?

Oh yes indeed! I give Soul Support

to people who want to be more

open and creative. I am an

experienced book binder as well.

Together with a colleague of mine

I have an atelier where I make my

books and give consults on

bookbinding and the "creative

path". Of course you can mention

to the readers of this magazine to

visit my website for more

information on this topic.

(www.ninajudin.com)

Also gardening and cooking are

my very favourite hobbies.

What is your favourite animal and

most favourite landscape?

I have three favourite animals.

I'm thankful to honey bees

because they help out in my

garden. I like the mythological bird

the Phoenix. I really love

the tiger for its beauty and sheer

power. I'm inspired by this

predator, probably because I am

a tiger myself according to Chinese

astrology.“ I have a few different

favourite landscapes . I love the

hills, forests, rivers and grape fields.

But I absolutely adore the French

region Dordogne-Lot for its

beautifull castles and the castle

gardens. It is my absolute joy and

vision to live in such a castle one

day, growing my own crops and

have some cows and goats in my

garden for the fresh milk they are

able to provide.

rosa damascena

MANSION, CASTLE OF LA BOURDAISIÈRE. FESTIVAL DES PLANTS

Phoenix – painting by Nina Judin

What is your favourite kind of music?

I like Soul and classical music very

much. I love the pianoplaying of

Maria João Pires. And I listen to old

jazz on the radio and I like the bands

U2 and Fun Lovin’Criminals (the

"100% Colombian"-album). The

singer Beyoncé and some emerging

local (Amsterdam!), hot artists as well.

Give your own description of

spirituality?

Oneness is a life force that is flowing

into everybody and everything. If you

have a ‘hunch feeling’, then the

force of creational energy gives you

valuable information for your instinct

to follow and act upon.

What is your favourite kind of food?

I absolutely love to eat and create

"fusion kitchen" meals. I like to mix from

different ethnic kitchens -Indian,

Mediterranean, North-European,

Indonesian, Arab - but not all in one

dish.

What is your current and next project?

At the moment I'm working on the

scent "Papa", and looking very much

forward to a couple of interesting

meetings shortly that could bring even

more blessings to my perfume business.

I have a busy period of bookbinding

behind me, and am now diving into

developing the perfume business

further, with gusto."

What is your own definition of

success?

True happiness comes when you do

your best at peace, without forcing

and appreciate what life gives you in

the here and now.

www.ninasnature.com

■

Woodis a warm, woody, “orange- green” perfume oil for men and women. It is like playing hide and seek in the woods on a hot summers’ day… woodlands fresh, with a hint of warm jasmine.

This perfume supports your spiritual growth, connecting you to your true Self.

But wait a minute – it’s not only spiritual. There is certainly a sensual undercurrent to this perfume!

SpecialsCustom made scents, beautiful bottles

Tigers painted by Wildlife artist Jason Morgan

www.onlineartdemos.co.uk

by Nina Judin

TABBOULEH

TABBOULEH - a fresh summer

dish, serves 4

INGREDIENTS:

1 big or 2 small red onion(s)

2-3 cloves of garlic

1 teaspoon cumin

2 dl couscous

2 dl vegetable stock

1 lemon (juice of)

2-3 tomatoes

1 red bell pepper

1/2 cucumber

1/2 dl chopped parsley

4 table spoons chopped mint

1 green chilipepper (in the photo

there are 3, but you need just one)

salt

ground black pepper

(optional: bacon cubes)

Method:

1. Heat some oil in a pan. Toss in

chopped onion(s), finely chopped

garlic and cumin. You could also use

cumin seeds, but this time I chose for

ground cumin.

Fry until the onion is soft. Add

couscous and the hot vegetable

stock. Stir well, turn off the heat and

let it rest with the lid on the pan until

all liquid has been absorbed by the

couscous.

Pour the couscous in a large bowl,

squeeze the lemon juice and pour it

on the couscous, stir and let it cool.

2. Add the cubed tomatoes, pepper

and cucumber. Be sure to scrape

away all the seeds from the green

chili, then chop it in tiny pieces. Chop

the parsley and mint. Add chili,

parsley and mint into the tabbouleh.

Season well with salt and pepper.

Tip: If you're sharing this meal between

vegetarians and non-vegetarians, you can

fry some bacon cubes until crisp, and serve

them in a separate little bowl next to the

tabbouleh. This way our carnivore friends

can add their boost into the tabbouleh and be happy.

Rover 75

Long Wheelbase