Halogen's Green Gifts list ... and more!

I thought it was pretty cool to see my upcycled sail pillow on Halogen's 25 Green Gifts for the Home list. I'm in good company with Alice Water's 'In The Green Kitchen Cookbook' and this "Ever-Green" Aluminum Holiday Wreath from Eco-Artware



But when I went to the site and saw this video, I was sold on something completely different. Check it out:

Tying the Knot

I recently shipped off this large assortment of upcycled sail luggage tags to a bride to be from Montauk, NY. She is having a nautical theme wedding (in a few weeks!) and the tags will used as place cards. Each tag has an authentic sail seam running though it and they are all finished off with a lovely blue tie (shown in knotted bundles). I love the idea of the guests keeping them and using them for travel well after the wedding.

Best Wishes!

Introducing: Recycled Sail Pouches

Say hello to Reiter8's latest addition: the recycled sail zippered pouch.

These pouches are perfect for when you are heading out for a day on the boat or beach and need to keep sun block, glasses, keys, an ipod plus a little cash from sloshing around loose in your beach bag.

Whether you use it as a pencil case or cosmetic case, the heavy duty chunky YKK zipper will keep your belongings from wandering away into the abyss that lurks in the bottom of every bag.

$25 each
Available here.

Clay, Wood & Cotton

I'm delivering some recycled sail bags and pillows to Clay, Wood & Cotton today! Upcycling handmade mavens Kristen (Cakehouse) and Kristy (Beacon Bookmarks) have joined forces and opened a lovely shop at 149 Main Street in Beacon, NY which is full of handmade goods.

Crafts Night is every Thursay from 7-9 pm. You bring your project and they will supply the snacks! They also host classes. Check here for more info. Getting to Beacon is easy from from NYC by car or train: Check here for directions

Spring hours are:
Weekends 11:00 am - 7 pm
Weekdays 11:00 am - 6 pm (Closed Tuesdays)
Thursday: 11:00 - 9pm

Modern Printed Matter

Modern Printed Matter runs their greeting card/stationary/design business out of this lovely studio/store on 420 Main Street in Warren, RI.

"In addition to our own paper goods, our studio store is filled with a selection of hard to find handmade gift items from independent designers across the globe." (Included among them are Reiter8 products!)

Owner and designer Anna has recently joined forces with fellow new mom Elizabeth of Muse to share the space. This little shop now boasts the addition of beautiful handcrafted jewelry from independent designers across America.

Below: Modern Printed Matter's new fabric stitched cards and Muse's Silver Red Woven Bracelet.



Store hours: Tues - Fri: 10 - 5:30, Sat: 12-5, Sun + Mon: closed

Blogcation

Hello again. Time flies. I've been happily busy - living and working and the ol' blog just fell off the end of the 'to do' list time after time. Hey, it happens. But, I'm back.

What to share first?? Below is a picture from the Newport International Boat Show that I attended in mid September. I kept finding that the scene was too much to take in on the wide angle and was repeated drawn to the places where the boats meet the water. I'll be back tomorrow (do I dare promise?) with more.

A Stow Away and Good Deeds

Recently, I had a stow away. I was wrapping orders and one of my purse orders 'jumped' into a pillow order and started out on it's journey to Ohio ... via San Francisco.

Kind and honest Melissa, who was the San Francisco pillow recipient, brought this to my attention upon opening her package. She was incredibly understanding. 'We all make little mistakes - that's what makes us human!' She was happy to help re-route the stow away. (I must say, UPS also helped to make it easy. I was able to create a UPS shipment online and email a shipping label for Melissa to print and attach.)

So, a HUGE thank you to Melissa, who's lovely blog: fancy and folly is definitely worth a visit.

The purse has been delivered to it's rightful owner (thanks again UPS for free email delivery confirmations) and my faith in humanity has been restored. However, from now on I'm packing orders one at a time.

Special Delivery

Whaling captain James Colnett established the wooden post barrel on the Galapagos Island of Floreana in 1793. At the time whaling was a big industry, ships were typically gone for 2 years at a time. The Galapagos Islands were a frequent stop for these ships. Outbound ships would drop off letters after rounding the cape and the ships returning home would mail them.

Over the years thousands of ships have stopped to send and receive mail at Post Office Bay. Many have posted a sign of driftwood or other materials memorializing their visit. This is the only area in the Galapagos were graffiti is still acceptable. This tradition has continued over the years, and even today visitors may drop off and pick up letters, without stamps, to be carried to far destinations.

My parents recently visited the Galapagos Islands. During their trip, they stopped off at Post Office Bay and dropped in several postcards.

My parents postcard dated 4/2 took just 35 days to travel 3148.2 miles (Thanks distance calculator!) ... without a stamp! It was personally delivered to me last night by Clinton Hill resident John. He knocked on my door and handed me the postcard which I assumed it had been miss-delivered to him by the post office. When he explained the tradition and that he had carried this with him from his recent travels to the islands, I was floored. I felt like I won the lottery. A hello from my parents personally delivered from around the world by a neighbor - how cool is that?!

In this age of emails, tweets, voice mails and text messages, I can tell you NOTHING compares to a personally delivered 'hello' from a friend or family. A truly unique and special experience. Thanks Mom and Dad and John!

Nautical Treasure!

Recently I visited Stone age Antiques in Miami Fl. What a treasure trove! Chuck full from stem to stern, this place is packed with all things nautical and more.

It's small shop front is completely deceiving as this place rambles on and on and on. Ship models, mermaids, stuffed fish, anchors, buoys. They have everything you'd expect and tons that you wouldn't.

Case in point:



More photos on flickr.

Wake Up Call

Crush and Lovely made this sweet film in a series asking fifty people the same question: Where would you like to wake up tomorrow? Here's Brooklyn's response:




I particularly loved the music by Au Revoir Simone Watch videos featuring other cities and questions here.

My answer?
I would want to wake up with my family at Hemingways in Watamu Kenya where we spent part of our honeymoon o so many years ago.




Although waking up this morning in total coziness while it's 17 degrees and snowing out wasn't all bad.

How 'bout you?

What a Concept!

My 'recycled sail' google alert picked up this story. The truly beautiful images of Christopher Ottersbach's concept air travel vehicle stopped me in my tracks. Aelus, named after the Greek ruler of the winds, is an airship that floats through the air thanks to it's helium filled 'sail' and was designed for travel with little impact to the environment in mind.

The vertical shape and a fold out stand allows landing in many areas far from airports. People can travel to exotic and untouched places without leaving traces. The concept is not about a fast arrival but about sensibility to the environment and traveling.

Love it.

original post and photos via Tuvie

Bon Voyage - WIP

Still stinging from that $70 round trip ticket to Belize that Travel Zoo got me all hyped up about and I was too slow to grab.

So, new product: luggage tags.

Get 'em here.

Zen and The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

This was not my only view as we sped over the Brooklyn Bridge on the 'scooter-cycle' yesterday but I thought it would make a cool picture. Look closely, it's the Brooklyn Bridge reflected in my husbands helmet. I call it a scooter-cycle, because it looks like a scooter but is got 250 cc's and can zip along like a motorcycle. When he hits 60 mph I give him the slowdown squeeze.

Focusing only on the helmet while we rode for a while reminded me the book Zen and The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance and particularly of the sweet of a moment at the end of book. It's the part when the son stands up a little bit on the foot pegs while he and his father are driving on a motorcycle and he's ohhing and ahhing, because for the first time during his 17 day trip across the States he seeing beyond his father's back.

Have a great weekend and make sure you're taking the opportunity to look beyond.

Counting Sheep

We enjoyed a ridiculously beautiful day yesterday at the NY State Sheep and Wool Festival at the Rhinebeck Fairgrounds. (I forgot my camera - the above photo is by Garret C. Lown.)

We hadn't been in a couple years and we entertained by the recent addition of Punkin Chuckin. Local school teams built giant catapults that hurled pumpkins (and water jugs in a warm up) at targets set up to 300 (?) feet away. They were awarded points for distance and accuracy.

My favorite vendor is Brooks Farm - the colors and quality they products is stunning.


The dog trials are great - amazing how focused those border collies are - make our dogs, 3 yr old rescued cock-a-poo litter mates, seem like toys in comparison because of how untrained and goofy they are.

The sheep competitions are educational - there's an ongoing commentary during the judging followed by a thoughtful explanation of placement by the judge. The paddocks are great for listening to the constant bleating and observing the range of breed in attendance.

That's really the tip of the iceberg - there's so much more - llamas, spinning, cooking, winetasting...check out the site for all the info. The festival is held on the 3rd weekend in October - mark your calendar for next year.

Back in the game...

That blog suspension went a little longer than expected, apologies.

I'm back - kind of. Tomorrow I'll be heading up to Beantown to run the Tufts 10k. Originally called the Bonnie Bell for it's sponsor back in 1977, I ran in that inaugural year (and a few thereafter) with my sister, Meg and our track team, Liberty AC (one of whom won the race: then high school senior Lynn Jennings in a time of 34:31.) It was a fun race and just having turned 13, I was ripe for the goodie bag of cosmetics with the prized jumbo watermelon lip smackers lip gloss... on a string to wear around your neck!

My mom also ran the race that year. She started running out of boredom and curiosity after carting me and my sister so many times to and from track practice. One day she stepped out on the track herself and ran a lap. Then two and so on.

She joined the track team that I had run with. She has run marathons although these days, sticks to shorter races. She has steadily plugged away, jogging longer (literally) than my sister and I. I remember how trilled she was to turn 65 because her chances of winning were now renewed in this, her new age group.

So she will be running the Tufts 10k again. This will be her 32nd year...straight. She hasn't missed one. I have traveled to run with her for the past 3 years. Now that I'm no longer a scornful teen who wants to run away from her mom, it'll be nice to keep pace with her - if I can! Wish me luck - I'll need it!!

More on the race here. A bio of my mom and all the other 'lifers' here.

Windjammer Weekend

Former Harbor Master and Scooner 'bum', Annie Higbee has organized the Windjammer Weekend in Camden Maine for 14 years. The event is being held this weekend Aug 29-31st and promises activities and entertainment for all ages . Check out their website for a full list of events which include talent shows, lobster crate races, a harbor dog show, lots of demos and a build a boat contest. And of course a gorgeous fleet of windjammers will fill the harbor including the Stephen Taber (pictured above) - the oldest registered sailing vessel in the US which still operates cruises.

We were fortunate enough to stumble upon the event last year - the talent show is a hoot! It's a really great hometown, relaxed atmosphere and if you are in the area or can be, I highly recommend it.

Here's a short video covering last years event:

Between the Cracks

Seem to have slipped between the cracks and gone off grid last week - somewhat unintentionally and definitely uncomfortably.

It was our vacation, but I thought a little work (ok, maybe a lot) wouldn't hurt. The kids are older and won't need my attention as much which will equal a little more free time. I saw it as a good opportunity to install and learn quick books (I know - what a geek!) and enter a bursting folders worth of receipts. Seemed harmless enough. I also brought a rubbermaid container full of stock and mailing materials so I wouldn't have to close shop completely.

Enter the vacation gods - limited internet access and no cell phone service and fog and rain in the forecast for days on end. When I did get cell phone service, it was only to discover that in the haste of switching carriers, my account was wiped out before I had a chance to listen to waiting voice mails or sync up all my stored numbers. The gods tried, but I persisted - I'll check emails only once a day. But doing it that way gave me no time to actually respond/react to emails as quickly and thoroughly as I usually do because rain + kids = mommy time.

Quick books got installed but not before 4 or 5 days of procrastinating - or was that vacationing? - I don't know because there was a nagging feeling of not being productive (isn't that one of the goals of a relaxing vacation?) I was officially caught in no mans land - somewhere between working and vacationing but not doing either with any flair or success.

I (kind of) got it towards the middle of last week when I let go of my own work expectations and the guilt that closely follows for under performing and actually had fun with the family spontaneously running to the beach when the clouds temporarily parted to let the sun peek down and burn off the ever present fog. That's it really: taking advantage of an opportunity and dropping everything to run away into the sunshine for a brief moment. In this age of 24/7 access and being the sole proprietor, it's hard to turn if off - but it's also a necessity. At least to press the pause button on it all.

I'm back at home now. Kicking myself for lost opportunities to spend time with family and friends and hike the beautiful Maine coast. Forgiving myself and most importantly vowing to NEVER take a work on vacation again.

Dream Away

There was barely enough time to breath this weekend. I left our dining room in mid sail bag chaos and packed it in for a weekend in the Berkshires. We barely stopped moving.

One of the highlights, and there were many, was the reveal when we went out to dinner at the Dream Away Lodge in Becket, MA. Driving, driving, driving through the dark woods and wondering if we were on the right path paid off when we turned on 1342 County Rd to see a small parking lot filled and beyond a white house with a wrap around porch sprinkled with colorful Christmas bulbs and neon signs.

There were families milling around the front yard fire pit. Being a bit late for our reservation, we b-lined it for our table, through the porch, past the colorful bar and stealing a quick peek into other kitsch packed rooms that were later filled with live music.

We were dining with old friends not often seen which left us with plenty to talk about which was good because somewhere between the new cook and the party for 25 our dinners got very lost. Luckily, the food was tasty and ambiance is enough to lure us back for another try and enough to recommend it to others.

Alas, it's Monday morning, back in Brooklyn and back to tame the chaos...

Vacation

Back from vacation today. Lovely to come home to lots of orders and inquiries. Time to shake the sand out and get back to business.