We collect donated accessories & sell them through boutique events around the world. All profits go to new missions, social justice & human rights projects.
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Sweet Notions had a very busy February--this is the first chance we've had to update the blog after being on the road for over a month!
A quick summary:
Feb 8-9 -- First SN Boutique Sales Event at Cellar 17 was a success, thanks to JeanneMarie and her staff! We made many new friends, a few of which will be helping with the upcoming sorting party Sat. 13 in Tomball, TX to clean and tag all of the great items received the past month while traveling.
Feb 10-16 -- The original event in Hico was postponed due to weather, however, our good friend Cindy from Australia braved the snow and ice that week to come and check out what we were up to anyway!
Feb 17-21 -- Rescheduled Hico event. We moved our first Boutique Event to Friday & Saturday in Hico with the creative design gathering happening simultaneously all day Saturday -- both events ran as smooth as silk. Thanks to Heather with Bliss and Trish at Sugar Moon.
Feb 22 --The Matryoshka Haus team flew in from London. Upon landing in Dallas Shannon and I promptly picked them up in the loaded Sweet Notions 4 Runner and trailer and headed off into the sunset, first stop, Stephen F. Austin in Nacagdoches, TX. This was to be the teams first experience helping with a Sweet Notions boutique event, and, wow, did we ever have a great experience with the help of the ODK honor society gals! This was our first campus show and we now LOVE universites. We hope to have the opportunity to do more of them soon.
Feb. 24-28 -- The first US Matryoshka Haus board meeting, in Kerrville, TX. More encouraging than could have been expected, Shannon has put together an incredible and capable board with a real heart for championing the progress of Matryoshka Haus and Sweet Notions.
Mar. 2 -- Sweet Notions first intern, Elizabeth Jones, arrived in Austin from London for a 5 month stay. She was introduced quite quickly into meetings!
Mar. 3-7 -- The team splits up. Half of us head to the farm outside of Hico to meet up with Matt and Miriam to discuss sustainable agriculture, and the other half heads to Tomball to get the office organized.
Of course, we consistently worked at setting up new shows, established collection events, put together organizing parties to help get people involved and we're always training and developing the staff -- not too bad for a single month! We're still very excited about the potental of 2010.
The global fashion industry generates over a trillion dollars a year. So what we wear - and how it's made and sold - can have a huge positive impact on our society and environment.
We're still learning how to navigate the new site as well as tap into our true inner blogging voice, so, in the mean time we thought perhaps highlighting some of the sites that continue to inspire us to do what we do would be helpful.
Many of these spotlighted have been and will continue to be valuable resources for Sweet Notions, especially while figuring out how to run a successful new enterprise and boiling down our core values to make sure we're standing on a sturdy foundation.
It's completely devoted to innovative new business ideas, from the US to China to Sweden.
They explain what makes new concepts tick & is required reading for entrepreneurial minds!
We appreciate that most of the companies they highlight are socially and environmentally conscious.
CRED Jewellery is the original Fair Trade jeweller. As pioneers they have pursued the dream of Fair Trade jewellery and brought it to reality. They were the first European retailer to sell independently certified Fair Trade gold, and the first high street boutique to exclusively sell ethical jewellery. In 2003 they produced the world's first truly ethical wedding rings: wedding bands made from gold from a traceable source that was certified as environmentally and socially responsible, which remain their bestsellers.
Scoutie girl scours the world of independent craft & design and puts the best – or at least their favorites – right there for the world to see. They believe in the power of independence, the power of creation, the power of handmade to change the world. They believe that mass-production and rampant consumerism have created a culture that is hungry for “more” & “cheap” – they believe that handmade can change that, reconnect us with our fellow (wo)man and put life back into a bit of perspective.
Scoutie Girl is part of a vital and energized handmade*craft*design blogosphere. They believe that blogging is an art form – that creating a friendly, personal space that inspires & moves you is a lofty goal and a delicate process.
Answer: Yes! We all know the old rule we grew up with-- never mix silver and gold, but this simply no longer applies!
Well known jewelry designers are mixing gold and silver together to create amazing necklaces, bracelets, and earrings that allow for tremendous versatility.
If you need some convincing, see any recent fashion mag. Models are shown rocking mixed heavy metals and have for some time now.
Personally, we love the combo. Pictured is an exciting piece found on Net-A-Porter.com (Falconiere- Frantz Necklace)
But, how to make it 'work' for you?
To start, include a few two-tone pieces (for example a watch that has silver & gold in it, or a ring that has mixed yellow & white gold). Once you start that 'look' happening, you can add different pieces of silver or gold, and they will all look great and quite intentional together.
It's that time of year again and we're all looking for some tricks to use until our new year resolutions start showing results! Here are a couple of ways we've found to use accessories to hide a little December overindulgence.
1. The Right Necklace
Glamour.com says, slip on a long, chunky necklace. Not only are statement necklaces totally trendy, but the elongated U shape will make your torso seem extra long and lean. Make yours stand out even more by wearing it over a light-color top.
2. A Properly Worn Belt
Belts are great fashion accessories that can be worn by anyone and fool the eye if done right. Women that are short or thick waisted can still wear belts without drawing too much attention to their mid section. The trick is that you need to wear the belt lower on your hips, rather than at your waistline. This will draw the attention away from your waist and elongate the look of your torso. Chain belts are trendy right now and look very stylish when slung low.
3. Keep The Eye Looking Up Wearing an accessory high on your body can be a great way to attract attention up. A scarf, brooch, great earrings or statement necklace can act as a focal point, drawing the eye up to your face. Always choose medium sized accessories - too big and chunky can add weight and anything too small or fine will disappear.
4. Lots Of Shoe, Lots Of You
Even though our shoes are the opposite direction of where we want to be noticed, they do make a difference in our overall look. The chunkier the shoe and more rounded the toe, the heavier you will appear. The best shoes for reducing apparent weight have a thin sole, medium to high heel and a reasonably pointed toe. Steer clear of mules and ankle straps, instead go for shoes that show more of your foot, creating a long line and visually elongating your legs.
Well the UK may have been bogged down with snow and ice but that didn't stop us from having a creative gathering! This past weekend we had 7 people at my flat (change of location due to weather). The purpose of the gathering was to generate ideas, and patterns for upcycling some of the items we have been collecting. This is part of an ongoing strategy to mobilize creatives to help us come up with marketable, reproducible items to teach people to make through the Design Camps. This is part one in the process of being able to launch Design Camps this year.
We had a great weekend and are planning two similar gatherings in February, one in the UK and one in the US. If you are interested in taking part please contact us.
This is the newest owner of a what has been a very special item to Sweet Notions, the coral necklace pictured. Being Jewish herself, she was most appreciative to know about its origins.
The Story: The necklace was given to me last year by my friend Lonia Winchester, who is close to 90. She is a Holocaust survivor who worked in the resistance movement against the Nazis in Poland--able to pass for a gentile because of her blue eyes and blond hair and therefore move among the Nazis undetected. She wrote a memoir about her life, "The Truth About Eyes," that she self-published, but I just found two copies on Amazon. Here is their review: "This is the story of a seemingly unremarkable girl who turned out to be a remarkable woman, who led not one but two heroic lives, very different from each other but having in common an uncommon instinct for survival."
I first met Lonia when she was just starting to write the memoir and showed up in a writing workshop I was teaching. She was over 80 at the time! Since then, we've maintained a friendship through phone calls and letters, and I visited her every time I was in New York, a few times each year. Last year she gave me the necklace along with a bracelet. She couldn't remember how she acquired them, but had them for many years. I kept the bracelet as a memento, but am passing along the necklace to this wonderful organization, whose work I know would please Lonia. As of this writing, she recently entered a nursing home, very weak and failing.
Fine cultured pearls should last for many years, even generations--- but only if they're properly cared for. We just found some informative tips on Luxist, which spoke with someone who knows the "how to's" of caring for pearls probably better than anyone else, Tiffany & Co.
Cultured pearls should be kept free of perfumes, cosmetics, perspiration and dirt, advises Tiffany & Co. Acid and akali substances can be harmful to pearls, including chemicals found in perfumes, skincare products, hair products and even perspiration due to the salt content. On the other hand, the body's natural oils (apart from heavy perspiration) are actually beneficial for pearls and keeps them from drying out. The issues are the same for colored pearls.
Tiffany & Co. advises pearl owners to follow the old adage "pearls should be the last thing you put on and the first thing you take off". Avoid getting your pearls wet and don't wear them when bathing.
If your pearls are soiled, clean them by gently wiping the pearls with a slightly damp cloth. Do not use a chemical-based cleaner on them, as they can become damaged.
Do not store your pearls with other pieces of jewelry, as they can be easily scratched. Separate the pearls from other items by keeping them in a soft bag or wrap them in a cloth before storing them.
Tiffany & Co. cultured pearls are strung on pure silk with knots between each cultured pearl. Over time, the silk will stretch, weaken and become soiled. If you wear your cultured pearls regularly, Tiffany's advises having the pearls professionally cleaned and restrung annually. This will prevent the strand from breaking.
Sweet Notions has received several beautiful strands of pearls, many of which with equally beautiful stories that came along with them. We've had the pleasure of passing along these gorgeous works of nature at many of our Sweet Notions Boutique Events.
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More information about RSS can be found here
RSS (Rich Site Summary) is a widely recognised and well supported way to publish various web feeds (blog posts, news stories, podcasts for example) via the internet. The feed is created in a format that is then typically read by an