Being a VIP at any event comes with various perks. For VIPs at this year’s Roots N Blues N BBQ Festival, these perks include updated portable toilets by local sponsor and store Makes Scents.
According to owner and self-proclaimed “aromaknowledgist” Christina Kelley, Makes Scents helps the portable toilets smell good and puts in nice hand sanitizers and lotions for VIPs to use.
Makes Scents, located in the heart of downtown Columbia at 19 S. Ninth Street, was founded in 1972 by a “long-haired hippie” named Sam, Kelley says. Just as their name suggests, it is a custom fragrance shop. Its merchandise includes everything from lip balms to candles to completely unscented products for those with allergies.
While this is the store’s third year as a sponsor for the Roots N Blues N BBQ Festival, it will be their first as a vendor.
Kelley applied to be a vendor as part of her store’s participation in the downtown promotional event for the festival, “celebrate your roots, discover the District.” During the week leading up to the festival, various retailers and restaurants, including Makes Scents, will have in-store specials available to customers.
“I’m excited to (be a vendor) because I think it’s such a great festival, and it has such a great, broad range of people that come,” Kelley says. “I think it’s a great way for us to introduce what we do to a bunch of people and see if it’s successful.”
Kelley says she is also looking forward to the festival because it is different from the typical off-site events Makes Scents attends.
“With this, because it’s really not a shopping event, it’s a music event; there’s downtime,” Kelley says. “Say you don’t really want to see that band, and you’re looking for something else to do. I think the shopping is going to be a more low-key, relaxing kind of experience.”
Makes Scents will bring a blending bar to their station this year.
According to Kelley, this “messy and involved” process begins by figuring out what kinds of fragrances the customer likes. Some examples are flowery, fresh, musky and earthy scents. Based on individual preferences, Makes Scents representatives will then create a scent that can be used in different products.
In the store, everything from lotions to body sprays to perfumes can be created. However, because there is limited room at the festival, Kelley says, they will only create perfumes and possibly lotions.
Kelley also recognizes that people will not want to carry around a lot of products, so she will focus on having pocket-sized merchandise available for the convenience of customers.
“Doing a blending bar really showcases what we do,” Kelley says. “When we do most off-site events, we don’t get to do this. We get to showcase great products, but not necessarily the thing that makes us special.”
Kelley said she is excited to participate in this festival because it brings music, art, food and community into one fun event.
“There’s amazing artwork, there’s amazing food and now there’s going to be amazing vendors,” Kelley said. “To see some of our local, really unique shops being represented at the festival, I think that’s just a bonus.”