Posted by Jess Stricker on 23rd August '10
Posted by Jess Stricker on 26th June '10
The Pilot for the Sweet Notions Design Camps launched this past Thursday. We were thrilled by the response of the staff at the Marylebone Project outside of London and the women that participated. Of course we immediately learned a few things that we can change to make them run better!
Why Pilot and how do you define a pilot? What is a pilot is and what do we intend to learn from this pilot?
Piloting and Proto-typing is central to our projects and is key when pioneering new concepts and initiatives.
A pilot project serves as a tentative model for future experiment or development. Planned as a test or trial, the goal is to get to proof of concept through a method that demonstrates feasibility and good practice.
We expect to learn if it works or not. We think the design camps are a great idea - it is the solution of what to do with the 50% of stuff that we collect that we can't sell, and it is about transformation, as well as mobilization of creatives and designers through the design community. But if it doesn't work for the women we are working with .. then it is just a good idea that didn't deliver.
So ... 1) We expect to learn if it is more than a good idea. 2) We expect to show the benefit creative pursuits have on confidence, mood, and the willingness to try new thing. 3) We expect to prove the link between creativity and confidence-building. 4) We expect to realize the potential for ecomonic recovery as well as therapy. 5) We almost know (but are waiting for proof) how community is built and barriers are broken down when individuals create together.
Please shoot us an email if you have extra supplies, such as jewelry making equipment or tools, or if you'd like to donate items to be repurposed.
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Posted by Jess Stricker on 24th June '10
Posted by Jess Stricker on 22nd May '10
Well, it doesn't have our bright pink logo...yet! We are ever so grateful to Bryon and his wife at Kerrville AutoBody for the paint job, they did fantastic work!
Something we've struggled with so far at Sweet Notions is having things that appeal to both men and women, my trip home gave me hope that perhaps
we've stumbled upon something...on the way back to Houston from Kerrville I got comments at EVERY stop about our repurposed 1940's Willey Jeep trailer! In fact, at one point I went into a sandwich shop for a quick bite and came out to find a guy there just checking her out from every angle and he told me about what kind of jem I had!
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Posted by Jess Stricker on 21st May '10
In Houston Today Jessica & Elizabeth are having a Garage Sale. It is one of those ways we keep moving stuff on. Some of the stuff we get given isn't right for the Sweet Notions Collection but it would also be hard to repurpose. So this is one of our ways to keep things from going to the landfill and part of our aspiration towards zero waste.
In London today, I am enjoying the bank holiday weekend and it is gloriously sunny! But I thought it was time to post an update on the design camps. Beginning in June we will begin a pilot of the Design Camps. We will have a team of creatives, OT's and social researchers working with women in the largest shelter for vulnerable women in London. We are still developing designs to teach women to create. If you want to be involved in anyway in the design camps please do get in touch!
newsdesign camp
Posted by Shannon Hopkins on 1st May '10
These tips are provided by HEB and can easily be done by any and everyone!
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--Turn off your lights, television, and radio when you leave the house to save electricity.
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--Wash your clothes in cold water instead of warm or hot.
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--Fix leaky faucets--they can waste thousands of gallons of water per year.
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--Remember to turn off your computer, printer, and other equipment when it's not being used.
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--Bring any unused plastic bags back to your local HEB (Texas) to be recycled. I just found out today that HEB actually DOES recycle their bags, unlike many grocery chains that say they recycle and actually throw them away (to go to landfill), in many cases.
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--Don't let the water run while you brush your teeth. Simply wet the brush and use a pre-filled cup to rinse
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--Carpool. Try to carpool to work. Many workplaces have a carpolling program.
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--Change your home air-conditioning filter every month to keep things running efficently. Pay a bit more for air filters that use recycled materials.
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--Remember to check your tire pressure regularly. If you keep your tires properly inflated you can increase your miles per gallon and extend the life of your tires.
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--When grocery shopping, bring your own reusable bags to reduce the number of plastic bags used. Leave some in your car or in whatever mode of transport you'll use to get there so you don't forget them!
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--Set your thermostat at 78 to 80 degrees during the warm months and 68 to 70 degrees during the cold months, you can reduce your energy consumption by 10%.
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--Everything IS bigger in Texas! Each Texan generates 7 pounds of trash each day!! We can do our part to reduce our waste by recycling paper, plastics, glass, and aluminum cans.
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--One CFL bulb uses 75% less energy and can last up to 10 times longer than an incandescent bulb.
tips and tricksrecycleearth day
Posted by Jess Stricker on 22nd April '10
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.
design campsmatryoshka hauson the roadboutique event
Posted by Jess Stricker on 9th March '10
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.
-Forum for the future
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Posted by Jess Stricker on 5th March '10
Posted by Jess Stricker on 27th February '10
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