08/07/2023
I Jewels Solheim have just arrived in Avalon and and did not know of Jan Kusmirek's passing... have just learnt from Shirley (who sent me an email in June, but it sadly was not seen and somehow went into the ethers)... such belatedly sad news!
I loved reading this tribute. Sharing below here.
I have had many dreams and deep experiences in the shared Alchemy with Master Nose JK.... my mentor, colleague and friend. He will be greatly missed by so many. I feel honored to have known him and worked with him on many levels of alchemy. Prayers to your family and blessings on your transition. 🫶See you Anon dear magician. 🙏✴💔
Daphne Lorian Sacha Heath Tamar Lily Kempf
Shirley Routley 🤗
RIP Jan Kuśmirek 7th June 1946 - 31st May 2023)
It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Jan Kusmirek, the founder of Fragrant Earth.
We will remember him as the kindest of men and the most brilliant of thinkers. His love of beauty extended way past his tireless pursuit
for excellent quality in aromatic ingredients into perfumery, music, poetry, history, and stories of Glastonbury’s Ladies of the Lake.
His brain was rich with curiosity, adoring the quest for knowledge.
His astute mind analysed, assessed, and saw to the truth of so many situations, medical, cosmetological, political and otherwise.
His understanding of how fixed oils affected the skin was unparalleled and he remains one of the foremost authorities on the biome and how environmental factors may influence disease. And yet, alongside his scientific and rational brain, he possessed the most glorious imagination able to create stunning word pictures that drew his listeners in.
Jan knew, (put very simply), a great many things.
Over the years, he scattered teaching seeds far and wide, generously casting them and carefully watching where they fell. When a sapling mind burst forth, he was there to nourish and support them, always for the good of the industry that he loved so much..
He was a teacher, a creator, a builder, and a great friend. Myriad projects have been made better by his input and while he created many wonderful things, he has probably nurtured equally many things for other people that no-one talks about.
Jan was the most honourable of men. A man of great vision, and a visionary man. He wandered through the streets of Glastonbury, dapper in his suit, as all the finest gentlemen do, smiling at hippies in floating dresses and men in steam punk hats waved back, familiar and accepting of everyone, as he always was.
He will be missed by his life partner, by Glastonbury, by his family, by employees of Fragrant Earth, by his friends and by a much wider aromatic family worldwide. His humility perhaps prevented him from knowing just how important his presence was. We know how much he was admired and respected, but sometimes we wonder if he did.
So please, we’d ask you to join us.
Close your eyes for a moment and bring to mind some of the ways he touched your life. Perhaps it was feasting over great food which he adores, listening to his soft spoken teachings, or listening to him chuckle, chortle, or guffaw.
He did like to laugh, did our lovely Jan,
Or maybe simply, it was being able to open a bottle of essential oil and trusting it as the best quality, beautiful version he could source
for you to enjoy. Of course, that legacy lives on and will always do so through Fragrant Earth.
This has been a terrible shock for all of us. So, if, like us, you are not quite ready to let go yet, perhaps peer up into tonight’s inky sky. Search for the star that scintillates brightest and imagine that mischievous twinkle in his eye. Maybe light a candle as we have and
watch as the flame flickers like his cheeky smile when he’d said something and waited for the penny to drop. For us, it will continue.
To learn more on the incredible work of Jan Kusmirek visit: www.jankusmirek.org
Jan Kuśmirek (1946 - 2023)
