Expert folding and a brilliant mind = one fabulous pair of earrings. Francesca Vitali of Frucci Design cut magazine pages into 2mm strips and then proceeded to fold the tiny strips into yet tinier 3D shapes. Francesca was recently awarded the ‘best in show’ at the American Craft Council show in San Francisco, where I found these great earrings. So great to see a green product recognized for its outstanding design. Francesca’s other creations are made from recycled shopping bags, scientific catalogs, maps and other paper sources bound to be meticulously folded into beautiful jewelry pieces.

We are pleased to welcome a new brand to the Embodies family, Greenbees. These boots literally pull abandoned tires out of the landfills; for every tire pulled from the landfill Greenbees produces 4 pairs of shoes. Each pair of shoes is hand made by artisans from leathers that are dyed without any formaldehyde. Leathers are sourced from meat industry by-products. Shoes/boots come in a recycled box and for every pair sold Greenbees plants a tree through the “Trees for the Future”. Greenbees pledges to adhere to the highest environmental and labor standards. AND… they are super comfortable and look fabulous.

Nathan Vincent takes crochet 3D. Exploring gender expectations, Nathan merges typically masculine objects with a traditionally feminine medium. Nathan’s artwork is all done by his own hand and crochet hook in the evenings following his day job. The juxtaposition of the tactile, soft yarn with the normally masculine hard subject matter is fascinating as further seen in some of his other work depicting crocheted guns.

COLOR. Not much more to say with this eye candy. Formulated free of any Formaldehyde, Dibutyl Phathalate(DBP), Toluene, and Camphor, these polishes are also cruelty free and 100% vegan. As an added bonus the polish remover is truly the miracle; formulated with ONLY Natural Soybean Esters, Biodegradable Dibasic Esters and Lemongrass Essential Oil. It actually smells GOOD!

While sourcing local fiber, I came across this great site offering 2+ night stays on small, sustainable farms. Feather Down Farms thus far has 3 locations, one in Illinois and two in New York Sate. The farms are selected for their commitment to “preserving the long-term sustainable future of our countryside.”

Picture arriving to a tented cabin with a stove and all of the essentials, including down comforters and a basket containing ingredients for a home cooked, fresh-off-the-farm dinner. Even your pets, up to 2, are welcome for what promises to be a refreshing reconnection to nature. more+

Came across these graphic dresses late last night.  From the collection Venus in Sequins, these dresses are spectatular pieces of art and the hand work in the sequin stitching and embroidery  is outstanding!

Each dress was designed by Philip Colbert for his label the The Rodnik Band, as a limited edition.  Usually consisting of just 5 pieces for style, each dress takes over 3 weeks of intense hand crafting. For more information check out his website http://www.therodnikband.com.  As ridiculous as some fashion is, this collection feels like the muse was iconic modern art that was brilliantly translated into wearable art.  Not everyone’s cup of tea, but I love the nude dress!  Truly could be displayed as art and worn all in the same day.  The Rodnik Band itself is a brilliant remake of the traditional fashion label.  So inspiring…

Recently read an article in the NY Times regarding “Zero Waste Design”. At first glance this concept seems obvious to all of us who are more eco minded, who wouldn’t maximize their raw materials when laying out a pattern and designing clothing. Well, apparently some don’t.  So, kudos to those folks who understand that eliminating waste ultimately means consuming less.  Ultimately from the landfill perspective, it doesn’t matter if “Zero waste design” it is a trendy way to market a designer or if it is indeed a lifestyle practice.  Less waste, we all win.

I chuckled when sewing up my latest cardigan for the boutique.  As I snipped the last hanging pieces of yarn, I thought back to the article and noted that my waste in producing the sweater was literally a few pieces of yarn.  That is why I love knitwear as you are literally creating fabric and you can create only what you need.  Those few pieces of yarn to were contributed to my “to be felted pile”.

Apparently I had no idea.  I’ve been sourcing organic yarns for the knitwear collection that I’m hand looming for fall.  These three yummy cones of organic cotton arrived  for my samples.  At the end of the day, we closed the boutique and the entourage of dogs, myself and packages all headed off to FedEx to drop off shipments. I ran into FedEx and dropped of the orders only to come back  to the car to find that a dog had pulled a cone of yarn from the opened box and begun eating it. Really.  Really in 3 minutes or less…

Clearly the lack of pesticide and chemical residue created the perfect pre-dinner snack for the hounds.  (Scroll down to see a faint image of the little muncher in question.)  Organic cotton does not use any petroleum products, formaldehyde or chlorine bleaches in the manufacturing process a place where “natural products” often get slapped with a slew of chemicals.  Happy to know Dylan’s snack didn’t expose him to any toxicity.

The organic cotton that I’ve been working with does not have any dyes either; it is grown organically as colored cotton.  What is absolutely brilliant about Dylan’s little stunt is that it exposed the the color developing process of this yarn.  Water, heat (and supposedly you need baking soda) naturally change the ph of the yarn, “developing” it into a deeper, darker color.  Thank you Dylan for making me even more excited to try out the yarn.  And now I know it isn’t just the moths who like the taste of organic cotton!

From Credo “According to draft language circulated by the FDA, the U.S. will oppose a proposal at an upcoming meeting of an important United Nations committee that would allow the labeling of genetically engineered food.

If the U.S. government has its way, a powerful intergovernmental group you’ve probably never heard of may soon prevent anyone anywhere from labeling genetically modified (GMO) food.”

Save GMO Labeling Sign the petition

Read “80+ Groups Oppose Banning GMO Labeling