Stop SOPA and PIPA!

So this is an unusual post for this blog, but we all feel very strongly that SOPA and PIPA (which will be voted on soon) will spell doom for freedom on the internet. If you have an extra 2 minutes, please visit here and express your displeasure with the bills. If you don't know what they are, please do read up on them. They are scary. Very, very, very scary.

Make your voice heard!

New Blog

If you love this blog, you will probably also love this blog, "The Lonely Alchemist." It is a little bit of everything I love. Here is the short blog description:

"A blog for Steampunk, Gothic, Victoriana, etc... "The Lonely Alchemist" explores perfumes, fashion, green-living, films, and literature. Combining a love for historical elegance with insightful reviews and consumer commentary, "The Lonely Alchemist" gives you everything you ever wanted to know about the Dark Side."

Be sure to follow so you can get notifications every time I have a giveaway (I will be hosting plenty of giveaways for everything from perfume to books of poetry).

I will be looking at and reviewing Etsy perfumes objectively as well as posting other things of interest to those of Steampunk and Gothic persuasions. I have "Word Wednesdays" where I find obscure words to define, and "Movie Mondays" where I review movies, and "Poetry Tuesdays" where I share lovely Gothic (and some non-gothic) poetry. There are also blogger tips, quotes for thought, consumer tips, information about craft fairs, etc...

Don't miss out on the fun!

Caitlin from ReviveYourBath!

ReviveYourBath is a shop filled with both beautiful and practical bath & beauty products! Caitlin's soaps are colorful and I'm sure they smell and clean as wonderfully as they look! Like me, she is a college student who just happens to be addicted to creating bath products. Everything she creates is so beautiful I just want to buy her whole shop! As Caitlin says, "Have a Reviving day!"


GreenMan: What got you started in this business creating bath products? What was the initial inspiration for the products you create?

Caitlin: The moment I opened that soap making kit on Christmas morning, I knew this was going to be more than just a new hobby. Earlier, my mom had asked me that infamous question, “What would you like for Christmas this year?” Well, I have been interested in homemade soaps my whole life. My mom told me about how I would beg for her to buy me a new bar of homemade soap at the outdoor market when I was little. I had been doing some research and saw an online company offered cold process soap making kits. Of course! That’s what I wanted this year.

Once I completed the kit and successfully made my first batch of soap, I was hooked. I went online to research anything and everything about cold process soap making. I read blogs, joined forums, read books, and even watched how-to videos on YouTube! With all the knowledge I had gained, I bought my own supplies to make my own recipe. After a few trial runs, I finally achieved the perfect bar of soap – one that is gentle, moisturizing, and has a good lather.
I started giving my soap to different people, and one day my mom said, “I bet you could sell this stuff.” Being the entrepreneur that I am, (I started my own custom friendship bracelet mini business in 5th grade!) I jumped at the idea and started researching everything I could about getting into the soap making business. Then I remembered the soap people from the local markets! After purchasing some new tables and items for my display and my Grandmother giving me an outdoor tent, I successfully sold soap at my first market. All I have wanted to do since is make and sell more soap.








GreenMan: What is your creative process? What does your workspace look like?

Caitlin: Well right now, I'm a student working my way through college. So I still live with my parents. However, my mom graciously lets me take over her kitchen when I have days off from my part time job. But hey, she gets free soap! My customers really drive my creative process. I want to make a product that is good for everyone's skin. I have people at my last market make suggestions on scents or oils they like and go from there. Making a product that is great for skin but also consumer friendly is what I aim for.



GreenMan: What is the most difficult part of your creative process?

Caitlin: I think my most difficult part of my creative process is how little time I actually have to be creative. I love soap making because its a form of art where you are not required to draw or paint anything - two things I am not that great at! With soap making, you can blend colors and use special additives in the soap to get different outcomes and benefits with each bar. Trying to juggle being a full time student in college and a part-time job, I only get to make soap about once a week.







GreenMan: What is your favorite item on Etsy (can be yours or another seller's)?

Caitlin: Oh I have many! I love looking at other soap makers and card designers on Etsy. Two of my favorite items have to be Briny Bar Soap's Sheep's Milk Soap (www.etsy.com/listing/76498090/15-off-sheeps-milk-lavender?ref=pr_faveitems) and also anything from Sapling (www.etsy.com/shop/shopsaplingpress?ref=seller_info). My boyfriend lives about an hour away from me so we like sending each other quirky cards; there are plenty of those on Etsy!



GreenMan: What eco-wisdom would you like to share?

Caitlin: Most soaps available in stores are not really soap, but detergents. Detergents tend to leave your skin feeling dry, itchy, and tight. One of the biggest differences between commercial soap and handmade soap is glycerine. Glycerine is a clear liquid that absorbs water from the air and is a key factor in keeping your skin soft and healthy. Beacause it is a high quality by-product in the soap making process, many commercial soap manufacturers often extract the glycerine and sell it to be used in other products. Handmade soap contains all of the natural glycerine.
The skin is the largest human organ as well as the body’s first line of defense against dehydration, temperature, infection and harmful substances. Handmade soaps give your skin the care it deserves by gently cleansing and locking in moisture. Compared to a store bought bar of soap, this handmade soap is made from vegetable-based oils (oilve, coconut, organic palm, safflower, sunflower, and castor) and does not contain any harmful chemicals, preservatives, parabens, or synthetics found in commercial soap. It is gentler and milder, which guarentees the softness of your skin. At Revive, we strive to provide our customers with the best quality products available. All of our homemade soap is made in small batches using the cold process method. 100% pure essential oils are used to scent the soap – never any synthetic scents.

www.reviveyourbath.etsy.com
www.reviveyourbath.com

Lucy from luniquejewellery!

luniquejewellery offers a wide range of lovely, crafty trinkets and adornments, from jewelry boxes to pillows, to ingenious stamp lamps, to colorful jewelry. All handmade by Lucy in the UK, these zany treasures caught my eye a few months ago and I just had to feature her lovely shop! While not everything she makes is upcycled/recycled, I think her bright, functional, and fashionable creations are a perfect addition to this blog and will bring some much needed color and warmth into this cold Christmas season!



GreenMan: What got you started in this business creating jewelry and house wares? What was the initial inspiration for the products you create?

Lucy: I’ve been making things for as long as I can remember but my ‘Lunique’ business started when I began making jewellery in 2008. Since then, the sort of items I sell on Etsy has become much more varied. After the jewellery came the cushions, then the trinket boxes and my latest original idea are my upcycled ‘Stamp Lamps'.


GreenMan: What is your creative process? What does your workspace look like?

Lucy: I get ideas for new designs from almost everywhere- from a walk in the woods to simply browsing new beads, fabrics and materials. When I’m recycling materials, such as the videotape on my bangles, I’ll experiment with ways that I can re-use it rather than having to throw it away. It’s hard to explain but I just ‘see’ what I want to make and try to recreate the image in my head, although it doesn’t always work out quite as I’d hoped!

My workspace consists of a sofa and a lap tray!! I have all my materials and tools stored in one room but I prefer to be with people when I’m working so I take whatever I need into the living room and surround myself with stuff! It can get a bit messy!



GreenMan: What is the most difficult part of your creative process?

Lucy: I think most crafters and artists have off-days when they just can’t get ‘in the zone’. On those days, no matter how long I spend or how many times I start-over on an item, it doesn’t turn out how I’d hoped. I only ever sell things that I would want to buy or receive as a gift myself, so anything that doesn’t meet my high standards is dismantled! I’m quite a perfectionist.



GreenMan: What is your favourite item on Etsy (can be yours or another seller's)?

Lucy: That is really tough… I have hundreds of favourites from other shops and I can’t choose just one! My favourite in my own shop is probably my Parisian Chic trinket box-
www.etsy.com/listing/62236637/parisian-chic-jewelry-trinket-box-mini because it’s similar to the first trinket box I made, which lives in my bedroom. The feedback I got from anyone who saw it was so positive I decided to make some more to sell.







GreenMan: What eco-wisdom would you like to share?

Lucy: Go veggie! A meat-based diet has a much bigger impact on the environment than a vegetarian one, creating more pollution and requiring more land. The more links in the food chain the more energy is lost along the way; so growing crops to feed to animals to feed to humans is much less efficient than humans eating the crops themselves. The more people are vegetarian (or vegan) the better for our planet!

www.etsy.com/shop/luniquejewellery

Because it is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month!

Feeling Charitable?

No woman deserves to get breast cancer, but 1 in 7 do get it. Please do your part to help them fight the disease, and conquer it!