I'm sorry to say that I never felt the desire to carry on the traditions my grandmother presented us while she lived. It was the farthest thing from my mind... so I thought.

"Each of us came into this world with seeds of our predetermined destiny incubating within. The fruit these seeds are capable of bearing are over and above all that we can dream, think or vividly imagine."

In my pre-teen years my artistic talents began to sprout, as did my sales and marketing gifts. I did everything from making elaborate paper dolls (selling them to neighborhood kids) to refilling my mothers empty Avon jars with cold creams and perfume of my own creation and selling them door to door. My mom, Deborah Vera Hudson-Stevens, like most typical moms wanted me to begin thinking seriously about my artistic endowment, so she encouraged me to apply to The Fiorello LaGuardia High School of Music & Art (this was before it merged with it's sister school The High School of Performing Arts). It was to be the last incredible thing she did for me because she died suddenly, without warning 4 weeks after I became a student of "M&A". I was by no means a bright student academically. In fact, I barely got by, but oh how I loved art and design. My mom really knew what she was doing, for I found another love in high school, his name was Anthony Curtis Abercrombie. That love has lasted for twenty five years. We have been happily married for fifteen years and have had many creative ventures together. Anthony C. Abercrombie is a fabulous artist, photographer and businessman. He is an art teacher and the Vice President of A Scentimental Journey. He is one of the nicest men you'll ever meet and he is my soul mate. I want to thank him for putting up with the tough times we endured as he let me pursue my dreams.

"Life is a continuous flow of doors. When one closes, God is always faithful to open another that leads to a place as bright as the morning sun."

Throughout my life I suffered from eczema and had extremely sensitive skin. Most store bought products were too harsh and irritated me. As a child, my mom would take me to the dermatologist where I was given tar soap to cleanse my body with and was told to only bathe in room temperature water. Needless to say I hated it - the worst thing was it did nothing to improve my condition.

After my mom died, my two older sisters and I left Brooklyn and moved to Staten Island. At that time I had begun reading about natural options for health and beauty in magazines. It was then that I made my first trip to a health food store. I'll never forget - it was a long trip from where I lived. When I finally stepped into the store my life changed. I never knew natural products for health and beauty were an option. The smell of the chamomile and natural grains and pure soaps should have calmed me, but it sent my heart racing. I bought cook books and herb books, and seeds to grow my own sprouts. I bought castile soap and Rachel Perry cosmetics. I was in heaven. From that moment on I began my quest to learn how to use plants to restore and maintain health.

"Every adversity has within it a God inspired opportunity."

I went on to pursue my art education at Fashion Institute of Technology. During my first year at "FIT" I was encouraged to enter the Miss Black America Beauty Pageant. I was shy, insecure and living through the "motherless daughter" syndrome. The pageant director saw something in me I certainly did not see in myself. She told me she believed that I could win. That statement literally changed my life. I decided to go for it. Oh yes, you probably guessed it, I won. I won because another seed began to pop up from within me during the weeks of pageant preparation, it was the seed of positivity. In fact I was given a book called, The Seeds of Positivity by the founder of the Miss Black America Pageant, Mr. J. Morris Anderson and it had a major effect on my life. The most important thing it taught me was that if I could see it and believe it, I could be it. That statement may sound common place to us now, however back in 1978, where I came from I didn't know too many people that spoke that kind of language. I went on to represent New York state in The Miss Black USA Pageant in Dallas, Texas and thus came my entry into the world of fashion and beauty.

"The power we have to make or break another human being is scary. We must respect the awesome power our words have to build up or tear down every single time we open our mouths and speak to one another. "

I spent the following five years combining my love for color and fashion as a freelance makeup artist, promotional model and cosmetic salesperson for just about every major department store in New York City. I then started my own jewelry company "Carmen's Collection", was recruited to dance with Roots of Brazil Dance Company, and together Anthony and I developed a fashion photography business. It was around that time that we began selling beauty products and eventually fragrance through direct sales and multi-level marketing companies. We were extremely loyal to every company we worked with, though we often were reprimanded for being too creative (reinventing the wheel was the actual term they used). At the same time our family and friends were begging us to put our energy into building our own company. It was funny because we always thought being a multi-level marketing distributor equaled having your own business until the last multi-level company we dedicated ourselves to (a fragrance company from England) folded without notice. I must say I have no regrets about our multi-level experiences because we know of many multi-level success stories. Those experiences gave us a business foundation and the people skills we needed to develop A Scentimental Journey.

"Often times we insist on remaining in a space that doesn't fit us anymore. We don't realize we've grown too big for that space so we continually adjust in that tight place until we become comfortable being uncomfortable! Let go of the present and let God lead you into your wealthy place."

When the last multi-level company we were devoted to closed its doors, for the first time in my life I found myself without a sense of direction. I retreated to, where else but South Carolina with the book Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude, my bible and a writing journal. My aunt and uncle invited me to stay at their condo in Myrtle Beach. What was so amazing was that I was pregnant and did not know it. No, not with child, I was pregnant with a dream, a dream that was the conglomeration of a lifetime of seeds I had sown. At Myrtle Beach, South Carolina in 1993 God blessed me with Scentimental Journey, a mélange of everything I love. I returned to New York with a nearly complete business plan. With the anointing of God, years of research and the help of my husband, I began developing luxurious products that people with problematic skin could use. Products inspired most certainly by my love of flowers, herbs and essential oils, but my most important inspiration came from the love I have for people.

" Nothing is too wonderful to happen — if you look to God for your good and you hold on tight to your dream."

I told you my story to inspire and encourage you. Not because my life is so great, but to remind you of how great our God is and how much He loves his children. He loves us so much that He has preplanned for each and every one of us a good life, a divine life, a life that is over and above all that we could ask, think, or vividly imagine. And no matter what challenges we are forced to face, if we stay in tuned to the prompting of the Holy Spirit we will eventually reach that place God has prepared just for us — now, in this time!

"Scent-cerely" yours,
Carmen Rena Abercrombie