Category Archives:buy handmade

06
Feb

Review: Gaia Natural Cleaners

Gaia Natural Cleaners

We love green cleaning supplies around here, but not everyone has time to make their own from scratch. When you can't create your own DIY green cleaners, your next best option is to buy your supplies from a small company. That's why I was thrilled when Karen Troutt from Gaia Natural Cleaners asked if I'd like to review some of her handmade green cleaning supplies. Heck yes, I would!

Karen sent me the dishwasher detergent and laundry detergent to try, and I was super impressed with both!

Gaia Natural Cleaners: Ingredients

Instead of using toxic chemical fragrance, Karen scents her lemony detergents with totally natural lemon peel oil. Here are the complete ingredients lists for both products, with links to their profiles on the Skin Deep Database:

Laundry Detergent: sodium carbonate, sodium carbonate peroxide, sodium bicarbonate, sodium cocoate, water, glycerin, sodium silicate, sodium chloride, lemon peel oil

Dishwasher Detergent: sodium bicarbonate, sodium carbonate, sodium chloride, citric acid, sodium cocoate, water, glycerin, lemon peel oil

Pretty much all green lights! The only ingredient I needed to dig a little bit more on was sodium cocoate. Skin Deep didn't have any data on it, though they did give it a green light. According to the Good Guide, it's not a toxic chemical.

The only non-greenlight chemicals were sodium silicate in the laundry detergent and lemon peel oil. Here's more on those:

  • Sodium Silicate - This was on the low end of the yellow scale, and it looks like the concerns are for cosmetics that go on the skin, especially around the eyes. So don't put this laundry detergent in your eyes, OK?
  • Lemon Peel Oil - The concern here is when there is too much of this ingredient in food products. So don't eat these detergents either.

Gaia Natural Cleaners: Review

Like I mentioned above, these both worked great! My dishes sparkled just as much as with the dish soap I'd been using, and my laundry came out just as clean as before, too. If you're looking to add handmade cleaning supplies to your regimen but don't have time to make your own, I definitely recommend these!

I should clarify that the dish soap is for use in a dishwashing machine, which is awesome. I have not had good luck finding a good, natural dishwashing detergent. This one worked better than the one I was currently using, and the ingredients are much, much better.

The laundry detergent also really impressed me. Last week my poor baby boy had a wretched stomach bug. This is seriously the sickest he has ever been, and he...er...generated a lot of very dirty laundry in the process.  The Gaia Laundry Detergent worked great! No smudges or stains. And I probably did four loads of laundry over the course of the week just to keep my poor kid in clean clothes, so consider this mom-tested and approved.

My only complaint about these products is the packaging, and honestly I'm of two minds about it. I love that she uses those reusable, recyclable cardboard tubes with fitted metal tops. Environmentally, they are so much better than single-use plastic bottles. I did find them very hard to open, though. I'm actually thinking about raiding my supply of glass jars and transferring the detergents to easier-to-open jars once I use enough up that they'll fit into a quart-sized mason jar.

The hard to open thing wouldn't bother me, but since I have an almost-toddler at home, I'm often starting a load of laundry or dishes with him on my hip. Opening those tubes with one hand is impossible.

I would definitely use both of these products again, and thank you so much, Karen, for letting me try them out! If you want to pick up any of Karen's green cleaning supplies, you can shop online at Gaia Natural Cleaners!

Posted:   |   Categories: buy handmade, cleaning supplies, green cleaning, green cleaning product, Home+Decor, Living, natural cleaners, product review, review
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29
Oct

Buy Handmade: Bike Tube Bags by Brandy Bowmaster

Buy Handmade Bike Tube Pouch

Brandy Bowmaster uses reclaimed bike inner tubes to create all kinds of bags and accessories.

You know we love ideas for reusing old bike tubes around here, so when Brandy Bowmaster contacted us about her upcycled bags and accessories made from reclaimed bike tubes, we were super jazzed! If you're looking to buy handmade instead of make by hand, Bowmaster's beautiful bike tube bags and accessories are upcycled, well-made, and straight up gorgeous.

Her company - Moab Bag Company - is based in Moab, Utah, a very bike-friendly town. Brandy was kind enough to take some time to talk to us about her what she does and why she does it.

greenUPGRADER: Tell me a little bit about yourself and your background.

Brandy Bowmaster: Growing up I never considered myself very creative. I only did crafty stuff when visiting my master quilter grandmother who always put me to work sewing doll quilts by hand, but I didn't pick up her passion for sewing. For a long time I had longed to have more creative outlets that excited and challenged me. I tried lots of things, from calligraphy to crocheting to playing the banjo. The only thing that stuck was cooking, which I came to love and depend on as my only creative outlet. For the last several years I alternated between running a kitchen for a grassroots campaign in Montana, growing food on communal land, and traveling. There was not much space and quiet time for creative endeavors. Eventually I got a little bored, and I realized that what I needed was to develop some new skillsets and challenge myself. So when I moved to Moab last year I was ready for some new creative projects. I made an impulse decision and bought an old sewing machine at a yard sale. Maybe it was time to try sewing again? After a few simple projects, I was ready to take on something more challenging. I decided to try making some bike panniers, but was unwilling to spend the money on new material (being unemployed at the time). Then a friend suggested a material that hadn't even crossed my mind: old bike tubes.

Buy Handmade Bike Tube Zip

gUP: When did you launch your company, and what inspires you to craft with bike inner tubes?

BB: I officially launched my company in March of this year when I formed an LLC and opened my Etsy shop.

At first I was inspired by the sheer practicality of using bike tubes: they were free! I am also quite pleased to be working with a material that most other people consider trash. I see it as a great way to contribute to the recycling efforts in Moab.

The more I worked with bike tubes, the more I came to appreciate their qualities as a raw material: durability, strength, flexibility, ease of care. Being a more practically minded person, these qualities mean a lot to me. One of my goals is to demonstrate to folks how valuable a material this "trash" really is by crafting bags that are useful, durable, and yet also attractive. Lately I have become inspired by the Maker culture's emphasis on thinking outside the box and making things yourself as a way of developing skills and because it is fun! I have decided to take the needs and desires of makers more into consideration as I develop new designs this fall and winter.

Buy Handmade Bike Tube Earrings

gUP: Can you talk a little bit about how you source your materials?

BB: Moab is a very popular mountain biking destination, so luckily for me there are lots of bike shops here that cater to all those bikers and their flat tires. The shops end up with big piles of discarded tubes, that eventually find their way to the landfill, or now into my workshop. All the shops I visit are more than happy to have me take all those tubes off their hands. I particularly love biking around to the shops and stuffing my bike tube panniers with more tubes. One day I'd like to run Moab out of discarded tubes!

gUP: Where can folks find your work?

BB: The best place to find my work is in my Etsy shop. A few shops in Moab are carrying my products: Spa Moab, Rim Cyclery, and Moab Classic Bike. I will also be vending at the Holiday Arts & Crafts Fair here in Moab on December 6th and 7

All images via Moab Bag Company

Posted:   |   Categories: bike tube bags, bike tube crafts, buy handmade, Etsy, Gear+Gadgets, green crafter, interview, Living, Moab, shopping
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21
Aug

Why Buy Handmade: The intrinsic value of hand-crafted goods

why buy handmade

Why buy handmade? It's better for the planet, of course, but it's also better for the people who produce the goods you're purchasing.

Back when I still sold my crafts, I once had a fellow and his girlfriend walk into my booth and exclaim, "Damn! These are expensive!" I was too taken aback at that moment to respond to him, but that moment speaks volumes about a big problem that almost all indie crafters who make a living from their creativity face: many consumers don't value handmade.

The man in my booth was insulting my aprons, which cost $30. Sure, you could probably go to Wal-Mart and get a made-in-China apron for one third of that price. The thing I think many shoppers don't understand is that when you buy made-in-China crap at a big box store, you're supporting a system that doesn't pay workers a living wage, from the people who produced the product in sweatshops to the associates who work in the store for barely above minimum wage.

The worst part? Those fantastic savings come at the expense of workers all along the supply chain, and every taxpayer is subsidizing those companies, because the workers there have to rely on so many public services just to feed their families and keep the lights on.

Let's take a look at how that $30 apron breaks down.

  • Fabric: $2-3
  • Vintage Button: $1
  • Ric Rac: $2

If we go with the low end for fabric, we are left with $25. Since I was running a legit business, the government takes 30% of that. Boom. Now I have $16.67.

One half apron took me about 45 minutes to make, so that's a wage of just under $17 per hour. And that's not accounting for other business expenses that I paid for out of money from product sales like booth fees at craft markets ($50-$300 per show), my rent at a local co-op ($85/month), application fees for markets ($10-25 apiece), and buying new supplies so that I could make more aprons. I was doing at least 5 or 6 shows a year, so those booth fees were a big part of my overhead.

What I'm saying here is that $30 is a bargain, and I was barely keeping the lights on at that price point, but folks generally aren't going to spend more than that for an apron. Believe me, I tried lots of prices. They sold best at $20, but basically that means I was giving away free aprons.

Honestly, this was one of the reasons I decided to stop selling my wares and start writing about crafts instead. I feel like the handmade movement needs advocates out there who explain the intrinsic value of hand-crafted goods.

That's why I love this video that I found on the blog Those Who Make. It shows the process involved in making a wooden spoon by hand. It's meticulous, time-consuming, and completely beautiful. Check it out:

Posted:   |   Categories: buy handmade, DIY, Etsy expensive, Living, why buy handmade, why handmade
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30
May

Choose Handmade: Eco-Friendly Baby Clothes

Handmade Baby Clothes

On the hunt for baby clothes that are as cute as they are eco-friendly? We've got you covered!

There is something so fun about dressing up your baby in cute clothes, isn't there? I love getting my son, Darrol Henry, dressed for the day. Dressing him up in the cutest onesie or a sweet pair of shorts can just make my day, especially after a tough night with lots of wake-ups!

The trouble with baby clothes is the same problem that you run into with clothing for grown-ups, though. So much of it is made in sweatshops using less-than-sustainable materials. With baby clothes, though, the problem gets amplified, because those little ones grow out of things so fast! Of course, choosing second hand clothes for your kiddo is the greenest option, but if you're going to splurge on something new for your babe, why not choose organic, handmade clothing, right?

Here are a few of my favorite organic pieces in my babe's wardrobe right now!

Organic Hemp Baby Shorts

Erin at IOGoods sent me a pair of her hemp shorts for babies to try out, and I love them! They're well made, durable, and the elastic waist means that they fit him now, but they'll also most likely still fit in six or maybe even nine months. Hurrah for handmade baby clothes that grow with your wee one!

Lettuce Turnip the Beet Onesie

I actually first saw this design on a t-shirt at Moog Fest last year, and when I discovered that the Coup design comes on an organic onesie, I knew that our little babe needed it! I love that it reminds me of the great time my husband and I had at Moog Fest, and of course I love that it is absolutely pun-tastic!

Hand Stenciled Onesie

Gerber makes plain white Onesies in organic cotton, and I got a few of those to decorate for Darrol. When my friends over at Handmade Charlotte sent me their new stencils to try out, I knew I had to stencil some onesies for my little man! You can check out some stenciling tips right here.

Do you have any favorite DIY or handmade baby clothes? I'd love to hear how you're dressing up your little one sustainably!

Posted:   |   Categories: baby clothes, buy handmade, Clothes+Accessories, DIY, DIY baby clothes, eco baby clothes, eco friendly baby clothes, Etsy, handmade baby clothes, Living
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