The Redhead's Green Thumb

Convenience items at the grocery store urge us to buy their products, designed to be used then tossed, so that we can make our lives oh-so-much easier - AND keep giving them money, of course.
Better to pay for something handcrafted and reusable!

These reusable "Swiffer-style" dry cloths are AWESOME. QuiltingMama makes these cloths from easily washable flannel - you get four in this listing for a reasonable price, and you can remove all the dust from your house without guilt. There are several other Etsy sellers who make different swiffer covers, too - check out littlebigmamma for reusable Wet Jet covers made from crocheted cotton!




Boxwoodgoods has my next suggestion elegantly and ecologically covered! Made from 100% organic flax and cleverly stamped to reveal the material used, these are a fantastic way for you and your family to wean yourselves from paper towels or paper napkins. These are also suitable as a housewarming, hostess, or wedding gift - no matter if your recipient is eco-friendly or not, they can't help to be charmed by these adorable and affordable linen napkins.
The same shop also offers cocktail napkins - and both sorts of napkins are currently available in flax or hemp/soy.

In this same spirit, using cloth towels in your kitchen is recommended, as well as washcloths - please consider that every disposable item you purchase has to end up somewhere... and that's most likely in the dump. Cloth dishtowels, napkins, and dusters will last a very long time and save you tons of money, too - so what's not to love?

Labels: earth day, eco-friendly, etsy

Etsy Green and Clean Guild Trunk Show, Friday, December 14, at 6 pm EST.

Never been to an online trunk show? Well, never fear, we’ve got the details for you:


What do you need to do?
To get there:
Go to Etsy Virtual Labs:

Click on whatever room has the most people.

Guess what - you’re in!*

Online trunk shows are very different from chat, so the practices are different. So please, cooperate with these guidelines:
1. Every seller presenting at the trunk show will do a short presentation: who they are, what their stuff is, and no more than 3 items that their shop offers.
2. Please jot down your questions during the presentation - AFTER the presentation, there will be a Q&A
for all sellers.

It’s preferred that you keep all extraneous talk focused on the trunk show. However, stuff comes up. If you need technical assistance or have an immediate issue during the presentations, please privately message xiane or magickalrealism with any questions.


* You have to have an Etsy account. However, that's really quick and easy and RECOMMENDED if you don't have one already! You'll love Etsy!


***

Seriously, guys - this is a great way to check out the amazing bath and body goodies that my teammates and I make and sell on Etsy. I'd love to see some of you there, if you're able with such short notice!

Labels: egcg, etsy, trunk show

I'm looking for feedback here, faithful and friendly readers, and let me tell you why!

I was lucky enough to participate in the online portion of the Global Microbrand: Using the Web to Stay Small whilst Selling all over the World workshop given by Antonio Gould and hosted by Etsy Labs. Why do I mention this? Well, I was even luckier - my shop and business was chosen to be the example for demonstrating what I can improve, and what I'm doing right, in regards to my Microbrand. I learned quite the armful of useful tips, and found that although I'm doing some things right, there is *always* room for improvement.
My first plan of attack? Well, it is actually something I've had in the back of my head for a while, but I'd been dragging my feet over. You see, if you know anything about me, you know that I wear all black most of the time, and I adore purple and red. However, no matter what I prefer on my body, black was doing me no favours as a background color for my websites. I have some problems reading black text on a white background, as I feel it to be too bright for my eyes - but people have complained that the bright text on a dark background wasn't working for them. That was a very important fact to have driven home tonight, and I've responded by changing my template here. Where do you come in? I need you to let me know what you think! I absolutely can't abide looking at a white background, it gives me headaches... so this was a compromise. Can my dear readers deal with it?

Just as an aside: I feel so lucky. I can't stress that enough. I am privileged to have access to a wonderful site where I can sell my wares AND that offers invaluable information for *free* - and they go out of their way to create selling opportunities like the trunk shows, too! I intend to take advantage of all of these gifts and thank them by bringing as much business back to Etsy as I can. I love that we all win this way!

Just to reassure you, as I sign off for the evening: I will be redoing my website, too. It suffers from the same curse - black-background-itis. That needs to change!

Labels: etsy, luck, microbranding, opportunities