Meet the Team -- ecoleeko 02/06/2010
  Your Name: Sue Lappan Shop Name: Ecoleeko Shop Address Other Sites: Website Blog Please start by telling us a little about yourself, your family, and your art form. My name is Sue, and I started Ecoleeko. I hand make colorful and fun eco-friendly plush toys, bath mitts, baby rattles and more using organic cotton and bamboo fabric that I hand dye and print. Everything is made using natural materials, threads, yarns and fillings. Meet the Team -- greensprings0 01/28/2010
 YourName: Jo Cullumbine Shop Name: Green Springs Body Works Other sites: Website Blog Please start by telling us a little about yourself, your family, and your art form. My husband and I live in the Green Springs a small mountain community in Southern Oregon. For the past 30 years I have been committed to eating locally grown organic food, recycling and making a better world for future generations. Five years ago I decided to share what I have learned about aromatherapy and making herbal infused organic skin care products with others by renting a booth at the local growers markets. On my birthday in 2008 I opened up a shop on Etsy so that customers who have bought from me in the past could find me online and I could share my work with online consumers. I waited tables while my kids were growing up and taught PE while planning my escape. Five years ago I quit waiting tables to devote myself to my growing business. I still teach one class a day at the university, it helps keep me fit, brings in some extra cash and I love being around young people. My other passion is spinning and dyeing yarn. I spin yarn from organic fibers found locally when possible. I use natural dyes and combine my handspun with recycled yarn and fibers to make one of a kind novelty yarn. I sell the yarn and garments at the Rogue Valley Growers Markets and hope to one day open a second shop on Etsy. We have two children who have produced five grandchildren that we adore. Both my son and daughter followed in our footsteps, building their own houses, sharing our appreciation for nature and living a sustainable lifestyle. Our son Justin is the founder of Lomakatsi a nationally known organization dedicated to reforestation. Daughter Brett is a doula and is studying midwifery, while home schooling her three children and building a straw bale house. They raise goats, pigs, chickens, ducks, bees and have a beautiful garden. She is a source for my beeswax and goat’s milk. Brett and her husband also started selling at a growers market in Woodburn, Oregon and it is a family affair for them. They sell vegetables; honey, fruit, jam, goat’s milk soap and organic skin care products. Where and how did you start or learn your medium? My son and daughter had eczema when they were little and I tried everything on the market to help them but nothing worked. I read that goat’s milk soap could be soothing so I started making goat’s milk soap. I began studying plants, herbs, and essential oils and the rest is history. Will you share one thing that defines or inspires you as an artist? Nature Does where you live and create influence your creative process? Most definitely, we searched for years for the perfect place to raise our family and think we have found it. I am just worried that Global Warming could change it and am doing everything in my power to prevent that. I am seeing climate change first hand, normally we have snow on the ground most of January but instead of snow this January we only got rain and it only snowed once in December, luckily it was at Christmas. What is the best piece of advice you can give aspiring artists? Don’t quit your day job for a while. It takes time for people to find you but once your customers get to know you and your work they will keep coming back and tell people about you and your business will grow. I was so discouraged my first summer at the Growers Market I almost quit. I sold very little but the next year was better and now my slowest market has turned into my busiest one! I have also met some wonderful customers who have turned into good friends. Do you have any short or long-term goals you would like to share with our readers? My goal is to network with likeminded people in my community both local and online to barter for goods and service. I have gotten to know some fantastic people doing so. I trade my Face Food for olive oil from a fellow vender and also trade for local beeswax. For me it is so important to know the source of my ingredients. I could get my beeswax from China or on EBay much cheaper but I know that it would probably have traces of pesticides as honey can be produced cheaper using pesticides on the hives. I could not imagine using it on my or someone else’s skin so I make sure to only use organic local beeswax. I also plan to do more workshops teaching people how to make creams, lotions, potions, soaps etc. I also enjoy going into to classrooms and teaching spinning and knitting to the kids and hope to do more of that. What first attracted you to using organic materials? I saw the difference eating organic made in the way I felt and looked, and knew I did not want to use anything with pesticides or chemicals on my skin either as skin in our largest organ. How do you think that buying and manufacturing organic handmade products benefits society? If everyone would only use organic products I believe it would clean up the rivers and streams and help stop Global Warming. I see a day when organic is the norm and the price will reflect that. It is already happening in my area, organic bananas for instance cost the same as conventional only .79 per lb and organic local lettuce is usually the same of less than conventional. Where or how did you come to start selling on Etsy? Ottoman who happens to be a recent featured seller on Etsy and customer at my growers market told me about it. How did you come to find a home on the Etsy Organic Team? Organic was the first team I searched for when I joined Etsy. I love this team! Support an EOT member! 01/05/2010
 Submitted by Herbolution. Please, vote for eco-friendly item and support natural on Etsy Voter! We found out that our eco-friendly product from Herbolution is nominated on Etsy Voter for this week! :) And we kindly ask you to cast your vote for Organic Lavender scented Computer Keyboard Wrist Support set. This lovely set is created to help you relax and your hands be happier while working on the computer. Thank you so much for your time and effort! EOT 12 Days of Christmas -- Day 12 12/12/2009
Submissions by fluffnflowers. On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...a few gardening gifts!  EOT 12 Days of Christmas -- Day 11 12/12/2009
Submissions by flowerchildcreations. On the eleventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...some great baby finds! EOT 12 Days of Christmas -- Day 10 12/11/2009
Submissions by fluffnflowers. On the tenth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...four fantastic organic hats! EOT 12 Days of Christmas -- Day 9 12/09/2009
Submissions by GreenWorks. On the ninth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...four touches of luxury! EOT 12 Days of Christmas -- Day 8 12/08/2009
Submissions by fluffnflowers. On the eighth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...four fabulous fibery finds! EOT 12 Days of Christmas -- Day 7 12/07/2009
Submissions by fluffnflowers. On the seventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...eco-friendly interiors! EOT 12 Days of Christmas -- Day 6 12/06/2009
Submissions by herbfriend. On the sixth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...four fabulous gift ideas! | EtsyOrganicTeamRead about organic products, meet EOT members, find out about promotions, and more! ArchivesFebruary 2010 |
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