GARDEN CENTER MAGAZINE says indications are very positive for edible gardening.  This puts us in a GREAT position!See this link:  http://cl.publicaster.com/ViewInBrowser.aspx?pubids=6341|321|6077&digest=1R5v5HMG3TDmDcGK2E03DA

Just back from a month of travel to gift shows all over the US.  Our 32 new gift items have been met with great reviews.  We’re getting amazing retailer response and interest from media.  In particular, our GROW YOUR OWN line, which is designed to encourage gardening at home for health and economy, is really taking off. People really seem to love the retro look.  Chad (my business partner) has done a fantastic job with design.  The Asian inspired TAKE OUT GARDENS have an urban, sophisticated look with a sleek black ribbon.  Our signature hand-tied bows are still a hit for retailers looking for Easter and Mother’s Day gifts. Something for everybody! All of our price points are under $25 retail, so still affordable in a bruised economy. YEAH!

Our strategic partner, ShopGreenVillage.com, is “representing” at the Chicago Flower and Garden Show this week.  They expect 60,000 visitors!

We donated 700 eco-friendly bowls for conatiner gardening seminars, hoping to raise awareness that there are eco-choices available to consumers.

 If you are in the Chicago area, please stop by … and make a purchase from Shop Green Village!

Good luck guys!

Hey there.  We’re still here…trying to be creative in the face of what sometimes seems insurmountable…attempting to turn lemons into lemonade.

Here’s the latest.  We’ve found a great partner in ShopGreenVillage.com.  They’ve got a strong vision and high green standards.  ShopGreenVillage.com has just launched and will be evolving over time.  For now they’ve agreed to carry our products exclusively during this learning process.  Our holiday gift items, in particular, will be their focus through the end of 2008…and gradually they will add our other products and other companies’ brands. 

Our holiday products are all limited editions and have mostly sold out…and ShopGreenVillage will help us ensure that every last piece is sold.  Meanwhile, over the next weeks, we’ll be focusing on building a core capability in social networking and viral marketing that we can then leverage with other customers interested in enlisting our marketing support.  In this way we hope to create an entirely new revenue stream.

So these are exciting, if challenging times.  They say that necessity is the mother of invention…and we’re getting used to re-inventing ourselves on a regular basis.

Check out ShopGreenVillage.  I think you’ll like it.

We’re all a little freaked out.  You don’t have to understand the economics of the meltdown to feel the pinch…whether it is food, housing or petrol, everybody seems to be hurting somewhere.

Here’s what we’re doing about it…

1. We’ve developed affordable gift items for this season, in anticipation of our retail customers needing to reign in spending…so we pushed prices as low as possible to have some gifts that will retail for as little as $10…and still have an eco-friendly message and impact.

2. We’re trying to focus on what we can impact instead of spinning on all the bad news confronting us all at every turn.  People with much more experience in this industry than us have said that for the past 40-50 years, that during lean times when people are not traveling, vacationing or going out, they still tend to spend money at home…spending time in the yard, socializing with family and friends and nesting.  We’re holding onto this notion, knowing that if we (and our retail customers) do what we do best, then we can be a part of propping up the American consumer with affordable, stylish earth-friendly products to beautify and nourish lives when we need it the most.

3. My business partner did some research on the Great Depression when he was in school and discovered that one of the few categories that continued to thrive even in the toughest economic times were FLOWERS.  People still needed beauty in their lives and they were willing to spend a little to bring in a little joy and light. (And research also shows that the presence and smell of flowers causes people to produce powerful, mood-elevating endorphins.

4.  We’re trying to know that if we keep following our mission that everything will be OK.  It might be a little tight for a while, but we can get through it. We’re doing good work for more than just money…and we believe that the universe will rise up to support us if we just continue to try to make the best decisions we can and to do the right thing for our customers, the consumers and the environment.

Sending you all good thoughts…knowing that you can also keep the faith.

…as a blogger.  JEEZ.  It’s been months.  Sorry guys.  I mean, it isn;t like I have a following…but there IS news to report, new products launched, shows attended, markets crashed, tears shed, offices moved, VP’s nominated…  Where do I start?

Well, tonight nowhere.  I just wanted to get back into the swing.  I think I’ll do a short entry at a time several times a week. 

 But until I get to do a REAL post, check out our grenware catalog (pronounced green ware)…biodegradable, eco-friendly dinnerware.  We did a soft launch at the Chicago Housewares show in the spring. Big mistake.  Wrong market.  All big box.  But since them we’ve showed it twice in NY and Atlanta.  In NY we received great response and wonderful reviews.  Look for it in stores as of October.  http://www.ecosourceonline.com/products.php

More later.

Missed you!

PS - I read back through some of my old posts.  Can I RANT or what?  BUT I CAN’T TYPE!  Right?  I’m tellin’ ya…bad blogger!

HUGE success.  Just back.  So exhausted.  Check this out:

http://www.homescape.com/content/Blog:Housewares_Show_Green_with_Eco-chic_Products

Check out the full page dedicated to images of our product in the March 2008 issue of Coastal Living (see pg. 14 where we open the Coastal Living ”Currents” section).  Also, we’re featured in the Feb/Mar issue of Family Circle! 

It seems that Going Green has gone mainstream…and we’re thrilled about that.

..so why don’t “they” get it?

Not to be an ass, but I just watched the Oscars and cannot go to sleep without commenting on one particular commercial.  (Being a marketer at heart, I never watch for the actual award, sport or desperate hosewife…just the great ads).

 Was it GMC?  The one who now has made a monster SUV that is a hybrid?  And they made a HUGE deal out of it.  This brilliant animation about a tiny, strong, resilient, tenacious (hot, musclie) man pushing a boulder up a mountain.  Oh, it was so hard and it took so long!  But they did it!  They figured out a way to help Americans convince themselves that it is still OK to not change a thing.  Yeah for them.  They gave US consmers and option to continue to guzzle gas, but feel good about it!  Brilliant marketing, if immoral.  It uses 50% less fuel they claim!  Wow!  But 50% less in that monster still HAS TO BE waaaaaayyyy more than necessary.

When are we going to understand that it is about choices.  It is about thinking and being conscious and understanding that this is not all about US and our creature comforts (and our need to drive something that makes our dicks feel bigger than the next guy’s?)

It is about choosing wisely.  Sometimes it will be easy…in fact a lot of the time it will be.  And sometimes it will be hard, inconvenient or uncomfortable and piss us off.  And guess what, Spoiled Guys and Gals, sometimes it means you don’t get the toy you really want.  Sorry.  Grow up.  Do the right thing.  Nobody NEEDS a Hummer! (don’t get me started.)  Yes, if you have to drive, try a REASONABLE hybrid that does not defeat the purpose…or any non-fossil fuel burning alternative auto. 

One is not green because one drives a hybrid…have you noticed that green is to yuppie as “crossover” is to SUV these days?  Marketers and big business are stealing the word green…it is becoming the “thing to be”.  So when you buy that car for the little fancy “H” sticker on your rear bumper, don’t be so smup or self-congratulateory.   We know the posers.  You’re easy to spot.  Those who understand a little more…well…some of us disdain you…some pity you…we shake our heads at you.  You disappoint us.  And you make us sad - and a little angry, because your narcissism aggrigates and hurts us all.

THINK! 

Change your habits, change your life, make better choices.  It is hard sometimes…and it is gratifying always.  Green is  not what you drive.  It is how you live.  It is how you choose.  Wake the f*ck up.

The bees are dying.  It was on 60 Minutes tonight.  Why?  Probably because we don’t know how to do without.  God forbid we shouldn’t hav

Hey folks…if I have been a bit absent, please forgive.  We’re about to relocate the business, which is very exciting for us.  We’ve added employees, lots of new customers and now need new offices to accomodate operations.  Such a great year!  Thanks for your continued support. (Anybody know where I can get my hands on recycled boxes in Lauderdale?  Like gently used moving boxes.  I REFUSE to buy new ones, preferring to re-use as much as possible.)

Wish us luck!