Excitement at the Living Green Expo

This weekend is the Living Green Expo in St. Paul, and you should go. Yes, there will be everything about everything eco-friendly/earth-loving/conservationist/sustainable/carbon-footprint-less. But, did you also know that Twin Cities Green will be releasing their new brand at the Expo? It's true. And they'll be featuring some Recycling is Rad products, sneak peek as follows:

Planters at the New City School Silent Auction

My boys go to the greatest school ever. All the teachers know my kids by name, not just their individual teachers, and I'm pretty sure the kindergarten teacher is secretly a saint. I'm sure there are lots of awesome schools in the world, but this one is our awesome school, and I want to support it however I can. So this year for the annual silent auction fundraiser, R is R donated a few bags, and these herb planters.

The planters are just the right size for your kitchen counter, and these ones have stevia, fernleaf dill, and lavender growing in them. Stop by New City School in northeast Minneapolis on Saturday to bid on these and lots of other items during their silent auction event. (There will be food!)

New City School Silent Auction
May 1, 2010, 6:30pm
New City Center
229 13th Ave NE, Mpls
Admission $5 (There will be food!)

Exclusive Womanhood Weekend Deal

Recently my good friend Katie Howard called me up and asked if I might be willing to donate some purses as raffle prizes for a women's weekend she was helping put on through Applied Insight. I've known Katie since forever, and I'm pretty sure we're both completely indebted to each other for life for all that we've put each other through, so of course I was excited to have a chance to support something she really cares about. It's true, a small part of me was totally thinking, No one will want these, but I sent a box anyway. And this morning got an email from MaryAnne Radmacher telling me that fights were breaking out over the purses, this one in particular, I guess. Awesome. Except by fights she meant selfless gift-giving and hugs, which is even more awesome.

Anyway, the point of this story is that Katie and I would really like to carry on with that same spirit of gift-giving and hugs. So I'm offering all the women who attended Womanhood: The Weekend a special deal--10% off any custom order or anything in my Etsy store. Just mention the Womanhood Weekend when you email me (bekah@recyclingisrad.com) to discuss your custom order, or contact me on Etsy about orders from my Etsy store. Hugs!

Friends That Are Great

So, check out my new look. My awesome friend Troy DeShano (who is awesome) just finished designing my logo, and I love it! I'd been searching for the perfect designer to work with forEVER, and Troy was definitely the guy. I've known Troy for years, though we don't even live in the same state anymore. I started following his blog last year, www.strongodors.com, and when I saw his design work, I knew I had to convince him to make me a logo. I'm so happy with what he did; he was able to somehow intuitively capture what Recycling is Rad is all about without getting a lot of input from me ("um, I want it to look cool"). Also, it has pink.

To sum it up, Troy DeShano is great. Check out his sites: www.troydeshano.com andwww.strongodors.com. His blog is a great read, and, obviously, a great visual. Troy also happens to be married to a super talented lady who is totally inspiring to me; she's a culinary diva, and she makes crafty things, and she's a fitness instructor, and they have kids. Basically their house is one big pile awesomeness.

PS: Here's one of my favorite illustrations that Troy has done:

New! Recycled Garden Containers

I.

A few weeks ago I was looking at an article about modern planters in the latest issue of Dwell Magazine. I love plants. Obsessively. And really wanted all the amazing planters the article featured, until I started looking at what they were retailing for. Because seriously, I know there are people who can pay a thousand dollars for something that holds dirt, I just don't think I will ever be one of them, however fantastically designed said dirt-holder may be. Sometimes, when I really want something I can't have, I start wondering if there is any way I could make whatever-it-is myself. It's really embarrassing how long it took me to think of using recycled plastic for the material, but once I did, well, now my house is full of homemade pots.

II.

I'm really happy with all these pots. I have a stack of empty ones on the front table I'm getting ready to deliver to a local retailer, and I keep picking them up and saying, These are so cute! And awesome! I can't believe I didn't think of this till now! (I always get annoyingly excited about new ideas.) I've been keeping the very first pot I made on the kitchen table full of herbs--rosemary and chives and mint. They're doing great, and I love having a tiny herb garden right in the kitchen.

III.

The garden containers are available in a variety of shapes and sizes to anyone anywhere right now through custom order (email orders to recyclingisrad@gmail.com) and coming soon to Etsy. The pots will also be available very soon at local retailer Twin Cities Green in Uptown.

Go Bikes

Minneapolis is the new number one city for bikes; so says Bicycling mag (Take that, Portland.) So here's to all the crazies riding through the winter. And by crazies, I mean folks more awesome than me.

I made this bag for a local bicycle commuter who was inspired by the another design of mine. We only got one quick shot of this one, but it does have a stability strap on the chest strap (not shown), which is totally the way to go if you ride. Nothing more annoying than elbowing your bag out of the way every four minutes.

(PS: I was just kidding, Portland.)