I’ve been meaning to mention Goods 4 Girls for awhile now, ever since I first found out about it through my friend Lara. I was reminded of it today when I came across Party in my Pants via Bust magazine’s newsletter. Party in my Pants (aka PIMP) makes reusable cloth menstrual pads and through their shop they offer a way to let you purchase pads to donate to Goods 4 Girls.

Goods 4 Girls is a fabulous non-profit that collects new cloth pads to distribute to women and girls in Africa without access to menstrual care products. I was so happy when I found out that so many other people had the same reaction I did to companies like Tampax and Always, who have been recently airing commercials about how many young girls in Africa end up missing school due to lack of access to menstrual care products. Tampax and Always claim that by purchasing their products you help them fund sending lots of their disposables to these girls, thus ensuring they don’t miss school anymore.

Personally I think this is a little ridiculous. While the thought is nice, the way they’re going about it is all wrong (but of course they make the disposables, so they’re not going to advocate reusables). Deanna Duke had the same reaction to this issue and decided to do something about it by starting Goods 4 Girls. Check out their blog to see all the amazing work they’ve already accomplished in a very short time or donate to help out the cause.

Social Responsibility, Sustainable Living, Blogs We Love, Charitable Giving | 3 Comments »

Check it out, the New Orleans Craft Mafia made the cover of this week’s Gambit Weekly. (That’s the weekly free alternative mag here in NOLA.) There’s a picture of me and NOCM founder Rachelle and overall it’s a pretty fabulous piece of press!

New Orleans, Indie Craft | No Comments »

CROW Clothing is a brand new eco clothing company for men and women which is unveiling their new collection online today.

All of their garments incorporate sustainable fabrics such as soy, organic cotton, bamboo, hemp and lyocell, and they also make good use of fabric scraps in their collections as well. They’ve created clothes that will look good after being washed in cold water and dried on the line, and they’ve employed local sewers to do all of the assembly.

Their products are shipped in 100% post-consumer recycled packaging and once the clothing has been well-loved and worn out, it can either be composted or sent back to the company for recycling. They also donate a percentage of all sales to Now Art Grants, a program which nurtures artists who create work that engages social change.

I really love the idea of what they’re doing. I hope their first collection is a huge success!

Fashion, Sustainable Fashion | No Comments »

I just found out about this great company who makes reusable shopping bags and manufactures them entirely in New Orleans.

They also employed a New Orleanian for their web designer and they donate five percent of all their profits to a New Orleans charity.

They sent in some info to Styledash and I just posted about them over there - check it out.

New Orleans, Sustainable Living, Bags & Purses | No Comments »

I had the pleasure of meeting some of the folks from Curious Tribe waaayyy back during the Antigravity Expo in February. I just now got around to finally checking out their site. Why did I wait so long?? (The answer of course is that I’m insanely busy, but that’s no good excuse.)

The site was created by a group of friends intent on changing the world. It’s updated regularly throughout the week, and since it’s written by multiple people there’s a great mix of viewpoints and topics covered.

Some of the posts are uniquely New Orleans, but there’s also a lot of cool stuff about culture, fashion, music and more. I discovered quite a few great new artists while browsing back through the archives.

These guys are working on getting a print magazine started as well. They’ve got a lot to say, so go check it out.

New Orleans, Blogs We Love | No Comments »

Long time no post, eh? I’ve been staying pretty busy, as usual, these days. A full-time job and writing for multiple blogs and a monthly magazine column and running dismantled and being a member of the New Orleans Craft Mafia and trying to maintain some semblance of a social life sure is a lot to juggle. It’s totally worth it, of course, but it does feel like a lot sometimes.

I’ve been trying to bring more of an indie-friendly and eco-conscious vibe over to Styledash via my posts there. I’m proud of one of my recent Earth Day posts about the Top 5 ways to green up your wardrobe. I’ve also been doing a regular series called Indie Designer Interviews and trying to showcase more independent artists there.

I’ve got a couple of shows coming up in the next few weeks here in New Orleans as well. I’ll be doing a trunk show this Thursday evening with some other local artists & designers, including some of my fellow New Orleans Craft Mafia members and local Etsy artists. If you’re in town, come by this Thursday, May 1st from 6-9pm. We’ll be at Magazine Metals (2036 Magazine Street) and there will even be free beer (while the keg lasts of course). I’ll also be at the Crescent City Craft Market on Sunday, May 11th from 2-6pm at The Big Top gallery.

What else? This blog is really cool if you want to read more about environmentally friendly style and design. Oh, and I’m totally in love with this adorable dino bag from the new Envirosax kids series of reusable bags. Is it wrong that I kind of want one of the kids bags for myself now?

What have you been up to?

New Orleans, Blogs We Love | 2 Comments »

Diana Ferry, an indie jewelry designer whose work can be found at D Celestine Limited, contacted me to let me know about about a fabulous event she’s organizing.

The event, called Pink at the Plaza, will take place on Saturday, May 17th from 10am - 3pm in Charlotte, North Carolina and will benefit the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. This event will feature artisans and crafters from the area and beyond selling their handmade goods, with a percentage of profits to be donated to the Walk. The first 50 shoppers will receive goodie bags and there will also be a silent auction to raise additional funds for the Walk. Some of the Avon Walkers will also be set up selling their goods in order to raise money for their participation in the Walk.

If you’re a crafter who is interested in participating, they’re accepting applications until Saturday, April 19th. It’s a great cause and it sounds like it will be a really great event. I wish I could be there for it!

Indie Events, Charitable Giving | 2 Comments »

Ever since reading Living Green, I’ve been much more focused on trying to eliminate harmful chemicals from my life, especially in the area of makeup and body products. As the author pointed out, skin is the body’s largest organ, and why put something on your skin that you wouldn’t want to eat or can’t pronounce?

With so many indie bath & body companies out there, on Etsy and the rest of the web, it’s fairly straightforward to find soaps and lotions that are all natural and don’t include harmful chemicals. Some things are a little trickier… makeup for instance. There are some fab mineral makeup people on Etsy that I really want to try - I’ve been keeping an eye on both Mixology Makeup and Coffin Color for eyeshadow. The thing that’s really been bugging me lately is mascara. I haven’t exactly seen an indie solution to that one yet. Ideal Bite has a tip dedicated to non-toxic mascaras, but I also just discovered this other great site through one of their recent tips: Skin Deep, the cosmetic safety database.

This incredible site was launched in 2004 and gives easy to navigate safety ratings for almost a quarter of the beauty & body products on the market — over 27,000 products with over 7,000 ingredients. I recently switched to Crystal deodorant, shortly after finishing reading Living Green. I just compared my old antiperspirant-deodorant, Dove, with the new deodorant on the Skin Deep list. On a safety rating scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest hazard, Dove has a rating of 6 and my new Crystal deodorant has a 0 rating. Considering that many antiperspirant-deodorants have been linked with breast cancer, I’m really glad I decided to make this switch. I’ve been really happy so far too. Granted, the real test will be the sweltering summer months, but so far, so good.

Sustainable Living, Bath & Body | 9 Comments »

Now that the days are starting to get warmer around here and I want to spend all of my time outside, I’m coveting this killer halterneck hoodie style by dressedbydanni. This sexy top is easily adaptable for daytime or for going out at night.

Each one is made to order, so you can get it in a range of solid colors or try one of the super fun, limited edition fabrics for a truly unique look.

Snag your very own halterneck hoodie at dressedbydanni.co.uk.

Fashion | No Comments »

My old co-worker Erin recently got in touch with me to get some feedback on an Etsy shop she’s helping her friend set up.

I went to check it out and immediately fell in love with the enchanting artwork! Erin’s friend is self-taught painter and printmaker Mariann Johansen-Ellis who creates whimsical pieces inspired by childhood. One look through her Etsy shop or website is guaranteed to put a smile on your face.

Mariann was born in Denmark, has lived in southern Spain and now resides in Singapore, where she is collaborating with Sunbear Publishing to create a series of illustrated children’s books to illuminate the plight of endangered species.

To find out more about her work or see films demonstrating her printmaking process, check out her blog.

Etsy Finds, Artists, Blogs We Love | No Comments »