Soylar Candles

Our friend Julie told us about a nifty new home-based business here in Long Beach, Soylar Candles, run by a stay-at-home mom named Irene. She came up with the ingenious idea of using all her kids' old baby food jars and other old jars as candle holders, and she now creates and sells the candles online.

Not only are the jars recycled, she uses solar energy to produce the candles, which are are all custom made with phthalate-free soy with lead-free cotton wicks. They are adorable and make a great gift, plus they leave only a tiny footprint! If you're in the LB area, there is free pick up, so you can even avoid shipping costs. She also offers lots of other green goodies, like organic beanies for kids and reusable shopping bags. Good luck, Irene!

Rebecca Mann on Etsy

An old friend of mine named Rebecca is ridiculously talented - photographer, ceramicist, foodie, artist. She's now taking Etsy by storm with a new shop. I'm sure these amazing mobiles are going to be a big hit. Click here to visit her Etsy shop, and click here to check out her cool blog (feauturing her beautiful boy Calder!).

LB Organic T-shirts at Merry's

Long Beach Organic recently held a Summer Solstice party at our community garden - alas, we didn't make it, as it was just a week after Chloe was born! But I hear it was a great event, and they made these nifty t-shirts to commemorate it. The T’s are made ethically of organic cotton and printed in good ol’ Long Beach. Local artist and gardener James de Boer did the design, and they're available+ in men’s and women’s cuts.

To get your T-Shirt stop by Merry’s Fashion with Passion, Tuesday – Sunday 11ish to 6ish. Bring a check to Long Beach Organic or $15 cash. For each purchase made at Merry’s shop, $1 will be donated to the charity Pennies for Peace, which builds schools to educate children, particularly girls, in Afghanistan. Merry's is a great shop, offering all kinds of goodies made in developing nations, with money going straight back to the artisans behind the good.

LB Depot for Creative Reuse

For the past year and a half, I've somewhat obsessively saved things like egg cartons, twist ties, wine corks, the green plastic baskets that berries come in, and gift bags (and we've had a lot of those!). Once upon a time all those things would have gone in the trash, but now we can put all that random stuff to use by donating it to the Long Beach Depot for Creative Reuse! The brain child of the incredibly sweet Lisa Hernandez, the Depot is one of those win-win propositions - people like me can put a serious dent in their waste and re-purpose all kinds of stuff, and artists, teachers and other creative sorts can put all that stuff to use! Shopping there is such a blast, and gets your creative juices flowing. I always leave there trying to think of ways I could use some broken ceramic tiles, wooden nickels and beer caps, among other things. There is a section of free stuff for teachers to use in classroom projects. How cool is this??

This "magical shop" is now an official non-profit, and they have a list of ways we can all suppor their mission to "Promote, Inspire and Encourage creative reuse of all those items that don't make it to the thrift stores but too good to put in the trash!"

1. Sign up online for eScrip and follow the instructions to register your grocery and credit/debit cards. Everytime you shop at Vons, etc, or use your cards, the merchant partners contribute to us at no cost to you! We are under "The Long Beach Depot for Creative ReUse".

2. Please tell all of your Artists friends, Teachers, Students, etc. about "The Depot"."

3. Write, Call or Email anyone who's connected with the Media (newspapers, magazines, t.v., etc.) including stars like Ed Begley, Jr., Oprah, Ellen Degeneres, Tyra Banks, Justin Timberlake, Al Gore and yes, even President Obama on the importance of small "green" businesses like "The Depot" that help boost the economy and is good for the environment! Let them know that "The Depot" would be a great model for others to emulate across the country! Imagine Creative Reuse shops in every community!

There is also a link on their web site for those of you who may want to contribute via Paypal.
You can also follow them on Twitter: twitter.com/creativereuse

"Choose to ReUse...Art is Education!"

Fab Etsy Stuff for Babies

We were given so many amazing baby gifts from sundry Etsy sellers, I really have to give a shout out to these terrific artists and crafters.

Devilish Grin
Margie gave Chloe this incredibly adorable kimono (with matching booties!) from Devilish Grin. I'm so in love with the fabric - wish I could get a mommy-sized dress in that fabric.







Organic Quilt
We received two quilts from Organic Quilt, plus some great burp cloths. Again, the fabrics are so gorgeous. Chloe hasn't used these quilts, I'm waiting until she gets through the massive spit up stage!






Tiddly Winks
I was the shopper here...just had to get Lily the Lion for Chloe, plus a little Elephant for wee Lola.








Backwoods Babies
Karin gave us this nifty portable changing pad (the one on the far left), which we actually use as her main changing pad in the living. This thing has probably gotten more use than anything else we received!

Bundled
Sophie gave us a now-indespensable diaper organizer thingy from Bundled. It's perfect, compact and so cute (again in fabric that I want to turn into a dress!).



I'd like to include here some small, non-chain shops that have great things for kids. We love Etsy, but we also want to support locally-owned businesses!

No Sugar Added in Claremont, CA

Sol Baby in Hermosa Beach, CA

Ashley (and Anne!) at Pacific Art League

Our friend Ashley Smith created this gorgeous painting of his wife Anne - it's uncanny, how perfectly he captured her (with kitty and pregnant belly!). I love how realistic it is, yet so dreamy and sublime. I know Ashley more for his theater work, and I always forget what an amazing 2D artist he is. Fortunately the Pacific Art League in Palo Alto, CA took notice, and accepted this piece for their upcoming exhibition"Figures and Faces." It opens Friday, August 7. Oh how I wish we could travel north for the opening! The painting is titled is ANNE, oil on board, measuring 14.5" x 33.5. Congrats Ashley!

Fantastic Plastic in Johnson City, TX

I discovered Rebecca Tolk's lovely Holga photography at Yard Dog Gallery in Marfa, TX last year. Not only are her moody, mysterious shots so appealing, she mounts them on little wooden boxes made from reclaimed barn wood. How cool is that? I learned from her newsletter about the show above, the Fantastic Plastic show in Johnson City, TX, my old stomping grounds! I love this concept, a show of works all created by the cool old vanguard of cameras - Dianas, Holgas, pinholes, etc. The show opens tomorrow and runs through Sept. 19. Click here for details.

I hope they do this again next year when we'll be living nearby again! Who knows, maybe I'll dust off my Diana camera and try to enter one of my shots. This image, "Oatgrass," is Rebecca's work in the show.