Itβs the most magical time of the year in Tucson, when the monsoon brings cloudy days, strong downpours and the scent of aromatic desert plants after the rains.
If you want to capture the scents, smells and feeling of the monsoon, to make the season last all year long, here are nine businesses that are selling monsoon-related products.
From stormy jewelry, to ceramics and candles, thereβs something for every monsoon enjoyer.
Arya Tara Candles
Candles by Arya Tara
Arya Tara specializes in hand-poured, small-batch candles with unique desert-inspired fragrances that bring the smells of the Arizona landscape into your home.
Merve Colpan, owner of Arya Tara, obtained her masterβs degree from the world-famous perfumery school ISIPCA in France, and blends each of the scents herself.
βWe have a separate Arizona collection that is all about what we smell in Arizona,β Colpan said. βThe desert creosote, monsoon or prickly pear harvest, so more summer scents.β
While Arya Tara has several different fragrance lines, Coplan said the Arizona scents are by far the most popular with locals.
βThe first one I released was Sonoran Monsoon,β Colpan said. βIt was more focused on the agave, and the scents that you get when you break an agave leaf. I blended it with a molecule called geosmin, and that is actually the molecule that we smell when it rains. It is released from the ground, when raindrops fall. And I took that molecule and put it into the candle, so that when you burn the candle, itβs very fresh and rain-like.β
Candle from Arya Tara
Colpan uses coconut apricot wax for the candle base, which she said is ideal for diffusing the various scents, and sustainable.
Other candles in the line feature classic desert plants, including piΓ±on pine and of course, creosote, and are scented with distilled oils to capture the most authentic smell.
Candle prices range from $22 to $54.
Cicada
Stacey McClure, owner of Cicada, in her studio space in Oro Valley.
Itβs well known that scents carry memories, and Stacey McClure, owner and creative director of Cicada, said each of her companyβs scent profiles tells a story.
βWeβre a memory driven and inspired brand,β McClure said. βSo all of our fragrances β we call them memory scents β theyβre based on scents and stories of the landscape of the Southwest.β
To McClure, the monsoon is the most iconic scent in Arizona.
βItβs very nostalgic,β she said. βMemory No. 1 is one of our best sellers, because people love that scent.β
The Memory No.1 collection uses creosote and a blend of woody notes to invoke the feeling of the monsoon. The line includes a soy coconut wax candle, as well as fragrance body lotion, and perfume oils made with Arizona-grown jojoba oil.
βIt really gives you that after the rain, mesquite and the palo verde scent.β McClure said.
The lotions are made primarily from a mix of hydrating mango butter and cocoa butter, and have been particularly popular, according to McClure. Her newest products, which will be available soon, include room sprays, a foaming bath elixir, and bar soaps.
Products in the collection range from $16 to $28.
Connected EarthΒ Clay WorksΒ
Monsoon Graffiti bowls and plate created by Sara Curtiss Westlund.
Artist Sara Curtiss Westlundβs vibrant monsoon graffiti work represents the joy around the monsoon.
βI feel like thereβs a sense of community around it, and itβs rejuvenating,β Westlund said. βThereβs a sense of childlikeness about it.β
In her design for her monsoon graffiti ceramics, she wanted to capture a relaxed, spontaneous style.
βThatβs the feeling I wanted,β Westlund said. βAll of the bright colors and all of the different kinds of plants and the animals and everything.β
Because Westlund makes each piece by hand, every piece is entirely unique.
Monsoon Graffiti plate byΒ Sara Curtiss Westlund.
βI donβt have a set pattern for any of them. When I sit down with them, I just draw what I feel like I want to draw on each one,β she said.
Right now, her Monsoon Graffiti print is available on plates, bowls, espresso sets, mugs, teacups and saucers, but Westlund has plans to expand her design to vases, possibly some larger dishes and larger bowls. You can purchase her ceramics at several businesses around Tucson, including Pop Cycle.
Prices range from $30 to $50.
Flowing Waters Soap Co.
Flowing Waters Soap Co. can be found at markets around town.
Creosote isnβt just beloved for its calming, nostalgic scent, but for its beneficial and medicinal properties, and the Bracamonte family behind Flowing Waters Soap Co. brings that traditional knowledge into the 20th century with their soaps and personal care products.
βMy business is about Indigenous medicine,β said Melana Bracamonte. βWeβve taken family traditions and incorporated that into our products, and thatβs where we derive our history from, our lineage. And obviously, here in Tucson, being from the Sonoran Desert, weβre taking desert plants that Indigenous people have used for thousands of years and bringing them to a variety of other people from other places.β
Beatriz Bracamonte, seen here atΒ a Las Mujeres Verdes market in September,Β is the owner and maker behind Flowing Waters Soap Co.Β
Their βDesert Rainβ soap is made using harvested creosote and captures the scent of the Sonoran Desert and the aromatic desert foliage after the monsoon rains.
βCreosote is very abundant here in Tucson,β Bracamonte said. βThatβs the only plant thatβs incorporated into that soap. And as we all know, when it rains, thatβs the plant that gives off that smell that we as Tucsonans, or Indigenous people here, identify with the monsoon.β
A bar of soap from Flowing Waters Soap Co. costs $12.
Tough Kitty Designs
Monsoon Trinket Dishes by Tough Kitty Designs.
Linnie Damm, the creative behind Tough Kitty Designs, draws inspiration from vintage pop culture and the desert in her designs for jewelry and ceramic works.
Her popular βDesert Dreaming Monsoon Trinket Dishesβ depict the summer storms that Arizonans are so familiar with, and Dammβs favorite season of the year.
βWhen I was working at Pop Cycle during the pandemic, we had a subscription box called the pop box, and they were looking for something that would be monsoon related,β Damm said. βSo I just kind of started sketching it out, and I came up with this storm design and put it on to clay, and all of a sudden it was huge. And itβs kind of become one of my mainstays. Iβve probably made hundreds, if not thousands of these things over the past five years.β
Monsoon Trinket Dishes by Tough Kitty Designs.
Each trinket dish is hand-carved, hand-stamped, and hand-glazed by Damm, and features a metallic palladium glaze.
βIt looks like itβs something forged from the earth, so it just makes me happy to make them,β Damm said. βItβs more of a labor of love than anything, but Iβm incredibly lucky to do what I love.β
Trinket Dishes are priced at $26.
Monsoon Mystics
Shower sachets called Monsoon Magic, which start with a base of creosote, are for sale at Monsoon Mystics, 657 W. St. Maryβs Road.
We canβt talk about monsoon-themed products without including Monsoon Mystics.
Torrie DueΓ±as, owner of Monsoon Mystics, has been creating monsoon-related products in Tucson for almost 10 years, and in that time, creosote has been a staple in many of her shopβs products, including bath products, body oils and lotions.
βItβs really great for blemishes and for dry skin, and it helps with its antibacterial and antifungal (properties), so it helps with keeping your skin clean,β DueΓ±as said.
Monsoon Mystics also carries several other creosote and monsoon-related products, including their βMake It Rainβ multipurpose abundance spray, a βMonsoon Magicβ oil roll-on, salves, and a monsoon candle scented with creosote rosemary vetiver.
βWe have our βCreosoTΓ©,β which has ginger and butterfly pea flower, and elder flower,β DueΓ±as said of a tea they offer. βItβs a little sweet and a little spicy.β
Creosote tea for sale at Monsoon Mystics, 657 W. St. Maryβs Road.
However, according to DueΓ±as, their βMonsoon Magic Sachetsβ are by far their most popular product. The cloth sachets are loaded with aromatic creosote, and a mixture of other customizable herbs to hang in the shower.
Beyond creosote and monsoon-scented items, they also offer t-shirts, stickers, cups and tote bags in their βFueled By Monsoon Magicβ line, and a portion of sales on those items is donated to local charities.
Most Products are priced between $15 and $40.
John Carrillo
Patterns in the Storm t-shirt, design by John Carrillo.
John Carrilloβs intricate βPatterns in the Stormβ screen-printed design is an artistic representation of the nature of water in the desert, and the seasonal monsoon storms of Southern Arizona.
The t-shirt itself is a collaboration between the Tucson-based artist and Pop Cycle, and Carrillo said the concept for the design began as a simple, meditative drawing in Carilloβs sketch book.
βI liked the rhythm, yeah, and its balance,β Carrillo said. βItβs the entire idea of moisture in the desert and cyclical, so I tried to try to impart a sense of a never ending cycle.β
The t-shirts are printed as needed in small batches by Carrillo in his studio, and he said the project has made him think about art production and the process of art in a new way.
βI really love to make art about my community,β Carrillo said.β I love my community, and I really love rain.β
If youβre hoping to get your hands on one of Carrilloβs rainy designs, youβll only find the collaborative t-shirt in Pop Cycle located atΒ 422 N. Fourth Ave.
The t-shirt is priced at $26.
Juvelarto
Stamped necklaces from Juvelarto Designs
Margaret Elandt uses her medium of brass, silver and gold to create jewelry that reflects her love of the natural landscape of Arizona.
βI think this is one of the most beautiful places in the world,β Elandt said. βThe Sonoran Desert, I think, is just incredibly magical.β
The design for her popular monsoon scene necklaces and hoop earrings depicts the beloved summer storms, and each scene is hand-stamped by Elandt into a polished brass or silver pendant.
Stamped Monsoon necklaces fromΒ Juvelarto Designs.
βI like the physical act of stamping, thereβs something about the hand-eye coordination that I really enjoy. So I thought about doing more scenic things, and thatβs when I thought, oh, I can do desert scenes.β
The stormy monsoon design has unsurprisingly become one of her most sought-after items.
Stamped hoops from Juvelarto Designs.
βPeople really responded,β Elandt said βIt was really affirming and lovely.β
Her jewelry works can be found in several locations around Tucson, including Pop Cycle.
Necklaces are priced at $42.
Sonoran Rosie
Sonoran Rosie offers a variety of herbal skin care, hair care and self-care products, made with sustainably hand-foraged desert plants.
Owner Rosie Crocker said she incorporates creosote into many of her products, both for the distinctive monsoon smell and the healing benefits.
Arizona Poppy sells monsoon-inspired diffuser scents in two sizes, 2 ounces for $36 and 4 ounces for $62, at 150 S. Fourth Ave.
βI make lots of different creosote products. Itβs scientifically proven to reduce anxiety, so itβs great for aromatherapy for the scent alone, but itβs also really great for skin care,β Crocker said.
Her creosote and monsoon products include a monsoon diffuser set, creosote shower bundles, and shampoo and conditioner scented with vetiver and rosemary.
βItβs an all-natural shampoo and conditioner, so it is not going to be harsh on your hair. Itβs free of sulfites and all that kind of stuff,β Crocker said.
Her βDesert Rain Body and Room Sprayβ is also a popular choice among customers.
You can find her line of herbal products, as well as jewelry from other local artists, in her downtown storefront, Arizona Poppy.
Most products are priced between $15 and $50.
