Thank you, California, for a warm welcome to the California Gift Show!  I was in the LA Mart/Beckman's West division and the response was wonderful!  So many retailers are switching from synthetic fragrance and petroleum based candles.....it is wonderful!  Not only am I excited that business is booming, but I am so glad that more non-renewable resources are being saved and less toxins will be filling the air!  A great big thanks to my new clients!  You can now find my 100% natural soy candles (for real 100%, not 100% soy and then added toxic fragrance like most candles!) at these fine locations:

Splendid Things ( Paso Robles, CA)

Urban Farmhouse (Salinas, CA)

Topanga Home Grown (Topanga, CA)

Vintage Cousins (Whittier, CA)

Designer's Furniture (Glendale, CA)

The Washburne Cafe' (Springfield, OR)

Roxie's Charity Boutique and Gallery (Phoenix, AZ)

Etcetera (Portland, OR)

Designscape (Hanalei, Hawaii)

MADE art boutique (Phoenix, AZ)

Chris Hart Studio ( Grants Pass, OR)

and in the spring....Mono Lake Committee...Mono Lake, CA (Yosemite)

Hope you are near one! 

So, I was at a local natural store and saw, what looked great, body butters.  The front labels said,"phalate-free, toxin free, petroleum free and all natural".  Awesome right?  I flipped it over and the ingredient list went a mile long. Parfum. Urea. and a bunch of unrecognizeable words.  Other butters had fragrance and mineral oil (petroleum) and synthetic dyes.  I came home and improved the butters I already have and begged Vintage Paper Boutique to design me more attractive labels.  And they are gorgeous!  Elise never fails to impress with her amazing talent at creating that image that I imagine but can't create.  Now my butters are not only the best available, but the labels alone make them collectable!

Don't forget!  Tomorrow is First Friday @ Milepost 5!!  Come enjoy the festivities as artists throughout the complex open up their studios and let strangers in.  Everyone is welcome and the retail shops (including mine, JUST THE GOOD STUFF), will often have sales and workshops, while the artists throughout the complex dull out treats and love to talk about their work.  E.A.T. will most likely have a band playing  on their stage and will, ofcourse, be serving their out-of-this-world food.  See you there?

Milepost 5 is really easy to get to.  Just take I-205 to the Glisan exit and go west.  Turn right on NE 82nd Ave.. Go one block and turn left on Oregon St.. Find a place to park.

So, at my store's Grand Opening the Mayor, Sam Adams, came in and said, "This is the best smelling store in Portland!".  Well, he is right about that one!

The Grand Opening of JUST THE GOOD STUFF @ Milepost 5 (NE 82nd, just N. of Glisan) was a lot of fun.  Many wonderful people came in, browsed, oohed and aahhed & bought organic fragrance for their home & body.  If you have the chance to stop by, I also have a collection of upcycled home & garden art (tiki torches, hummingbird feeders, garden art), handmade chocolates, hand painted glassware, fused glass, jewelry, pottery faces made by my son, greeting cards and whimsies.  I hope to see you there! 

Now you can find my organic fragrance candles at Aster & Bee in Portland, OR!  Plus, don't forget to check out my Grand Opening of JUST THE GOOD STUFF at Milepost 5 in Portland, OR April 8th and 9th. www.justthegoodstuff.net  

Well, I've changed up my labels 6 times this year and this time I think I finally got it right!  I am very happy with these.  They are elegant, recyled, down to earth, slightly whimsical, branded and are just paper that is wrapped around and taped so the buyer can take it off and have a plain candle if they would like.  I am also making tags for my coffee candles and other funky sizes.

  What do you think?

I will still keep my recycled white labels for any hard-core fans but otherwise, I really like the recycled brown.

 

 

 

Speaking of new......Handmade Local Market opened this weekend!  If you haven't had a chance to check it out, please do!  For the month of February you can buy one of my healing shea,soy and essential oil massage candles for only $5!   This Saturday, ALL CUSTOMERS GET FREE LIPBALM while supplies last.  One per customer.

Plus, I have a shelf of OOPS! candles with the wrong wicks, discontinued fragrances, discontinued jars, etc. that are only $5!

 

Hope to see you there!