She Puts People and Planet First

Every dollar you spend is a vote for how you want the world to be and who you want to control it. I recently asked Sarah Jane of Bodhi Handmade about her business, her brand and how she puts people and planet first and here's what she said...

"When I first moved to Alaska, it was for a job that kept me really busy. By the time my second daughter was born, the summer seasons were so busy that there were days I left for work before my girls were up, and got home just in time to put them to bed for the night. Not only did I not find much time to make things with my hands, I did not have much time to be a mother. My children are by far the most beautiful thing I have ever brought into this world, and I needed to be with them more often, to enjoy the beauty of who they are. My unhappiness about not leading the sort of life with my children that I had envisioned, along with some life changes, led my husband and I to decide that I should leave my job. I needed to be at home with my children, whatever that meant."

"It is important for me to put things into the world that are beautiful to me. I try to spend part of every day creating something. It does not always matter what: a simple thank you card, a dress, a fall garland, or even a sketch on a napkin. It is in the process of creating that I find joy.

I believe that community is often as important as family, they are kind of the same for us. I am constantly humbled and amazed by the community of support that I have. When I was first at home with the girls, trying to figure out what was next, I started kicking around the idea of doing some sewing for income. The support that came from so many people, in so many forms was overwhelming. I do my best now to show my gratitude, and give back to my community.

Being “the boss” gives me the freedom to drop what I am doing and take the girls for a walk when we just can’t ignore the sunshine, or to scoot the work aside for a project that they want to do. It also allows me to involve my children in the process where that is possible. Not only do they appreciate what handmade really means, but my six year old can run a sewing machine, my 4 year old can open and close a safety pin to put a tag on a skirt. And I am learning as much from them as they are from me. It is a real gift for all of us. It is also incredibly satisfying to me to be able to adjust what I do based on feedback, both from my children, and from other people who are involved in the process. When something is not working, I have the freedom to immediately change it.

Although I am still just getting started, and my business is not a dependable source of income yet, I have already felt the satisfaction of being able to give time and resources that I have when and where they are needed. To give an example: When the first tsunami hit Japan, I was awakened early in the morning by a phone call from a concerned family member, and a possible evacuation scare. In the end, our island was in no real danger, but I could not go back to sleep. I lay there thinking about the people who were affected, who were not able to just go back to bed that morning. I could not go about my day just pretending nothing had happened. So I dug out a stash of beautiful scraps of fabric imported from Japan that I had been saving, and started making items to list in my Etsy shop, donating 100% of the money to tsunami relief. It was a small thing, but it was something. And when I donated that money, it felt so wonderful to be able to take some sort of action rather than just feel helpless, or become complacent."

"As bodhi handmade continues to grow, I am hopeful and excited. I know that we will always be finding new ways to “give back” and integrate what we value into how we make our living. And for now, I am doing what I love with the people who I love most."

Learn more about Sarah Jane's products, business and life in Ketchikan, Alaska on her blog.

Handmade Freedom

Can shopping promote freedom? Hmm, maybe that seems like a stretch. Certainly the accumulation of stuff for stuff's sake can't equate to freedom but just maybe how and where we shop can help ensure choice and diversity.

Fingerless Gloves by Tickled Pink Kints

I decided to look for some answers by being my own guinea pig and went in search of fingerless gloves. My closest big box store offered two kinds of fingerless gloves. The styles were slightly different and only came in 3 color combinations - pink, black or pink and black.They were, thin, poorly made and at $2 and $3 appeared to make a strong case for “you get what you pay for”. The buyers for major retailers make many preliminary decisions for us. They limited color, style, quality and price. They separated me from the maker and the process. Aren’t I smart enough to make those decisions myself? According to Jeff Milchen at ReclaimDemocray.org “As fewer giant corporations dominate both production and sales, our options - determinded by a powerful few - will be drastically reduced.”

Persian Green Mohair Fingerless Gloves by Love and Knit

Now consider my expericence shopping for fingerless gloves from small independent sellers. I typed fingerless gloves into the Etsy search box and came up with 21,619 items. While some of the shops have the same style/color limitations as “Big Box”, combined they created great diversity! I could chose from long, short, fold-over mitten, with buttons, without buttons, stripes, fancey, plain, men’s or women’s, natural or man made fibers. I narrowed my search further and found for example that just one of Tickled Pink Kint's 10 fingerless glove designs can be ordered in 16 different colors. (Sierra? Ruby Red? Sea Blue?).

The U.S. Small Business Administration says that the average American shopper will spend $704.18 on holiday gifts and seasonal merchandise this year. So while you’re making your list and checking it twice remember, each dollar is a vote for the kind of world you want. Vote wisely.

Fingerless gloves in Violet by DonataFelt

Ltd Edition Yellow Cashmere Frilled gloves by Ileaiye

Storm Warmers from InnerWild

Small Business Saturday

Started in 2010 by American Express, this movement has already made a significant impact on cultural awareness of the benefits of shopping with small businesses.
Traditionally,  Black Friday is gobbled up by big boxes and then Cyber Monday is controlled by mega giants on the internet.  Independent business got elbowed out, so Small Business Saturday is all about staking a claim on one day this weekend to focus on doing holiday shopping with small business. Although the movement currently promotes brick and mortar shops, I would love to see it expanded to indie artisans who sell online.
This year promotion on Twitter and Facebook have been viral. It has over 2 million ‘likes’ on Facebook by people pledging to spend money. American Express is offering $25 to cardholders who shop at registered businesses. All quite impressive for a second year movement.
Cinda Baxter, founder of the 3/50 Project, was a national spokesperson for Small Business Saturday. The 3/50 Project encourages consumers to commit to spending $50 of their current monthly budgets with independently owned small businesses they care about.
Here you can download promotional tools for your business Facebook page
You can submit your Small Business Saturday deal here. I, OneClayBead, will be listing one of a kind pottery seconds for sale, with studio pickup for local residents. If you have a Small Business Saturday deal to offer, leave it with a link in the comments below, and register it as well.
Use the hashtag #smallbusinesssaturday or #smallbizsaturday to promote your shop on Twitter.
As we start our People and Planet First campaign, it’s encouraging to know that there is such a tremendous desire to support small indie businesses. Let’s organize and get the word out there about the benefits of buying handmade and supporting our vintage seller friends on Etsy, too.

People and Planet First- a call for entries

earrings from tuckooandmoocow

Every dollar you spend is a vote for how you want the world to be, and who you want to control it. The intention of People and Planet First is to identify small indie businesses who offer quality gifts for the holiday season that create just, sustainable, and joyful livelihoods. We will encourage these artisan and vintage sellers to tell their individual stories, and spread the word about how we offer alternatives to the perpetuation of Wall Street greed.

Our goal is to raise awareness that indie businesses offer a profound alternative to the Wall Street corporate structure that must produce quarterly profit for stockholders who do no actual work to make any tangible goods. Our businesses support individuals, families, and communities who care about the planet that must support our children and their children.

organic baby hat from SewnNatural

We would like to invite other Etsy teams to join us! This is a season when we can look past our differences and celebrate the ideals we hold in common. ArtisansGalleryTeam is a group of studio artisans with advanced skills and professional business practices who came together to share our support for the Handmade Movement. Although our team is small and exclusive, we recognize that our values are shared by many other Etsy sellers and teams.

So here is the plan:

1) We will use our team blog as a place to coordinate and promote our own interpretation of People and Planet First. We invite all interested Etsy teams to participate!
2) From 11/21 – 12/18, we will link to other teams who post on their own team blog about how they support People and Planet First. Leave a comment on our blog (here) to get on our calendar. Ideally, we want a post every single day for the duration!
3) We ask that participating teams add the People and Planet First widget to the team blog, so that others can find the other participants, and follow the series. This should be in place from 11/21-12/18. It will link to our blog, with the calendar for all participating team blogs.
4) We ask each participating team to make special gift guides on their blog post day that celebrate People and Planet First. These should be tagged Peopleandplanetfirst, etsyteamtreasury, and also with your own team tag.
5) We ask that no coupon codes, discounts, or donations to charitable causes be offered in conjunction with People and Planet First. Unless you are making corporate CEO pay, you deserve full price for your hard work! If your team is doing that, please just keep the promotion separate.

What can you write about? You can pick one team member or several to discuss your indie business lifestyle, what the money you earn pays for or allows you to do, and how eco friendly practices are part of your business model and personal life. If you would like to write a researched piece on the power of supporting small businesses, that is fine also.

Want to join us? Just leave a comment saying so below. Sarah of TuckooandMooCow will contact you with your day to blog, our People and Planet First button, and instructions to post it on your blog. This will allow your readers to find the other posts, and let others find you as well. If your team wants to publicize our awareness campaign, let us know that, too.
Thank you for your consideration. We wish you a joyful and prosperous holiday season.