I’m so excited about this! Natural Living Des Moines will be hosting the first annual Des Moines Green Gifts Fair in November!

The fair will be November 15, 10-4, at the Des Moines Social Club downtown. It should be an excellent opportunity to purchase eco-friendly gifts for the holidays - or for any event - or just for yourself!

We are currently accepting vendors for this awesome, unique event.

We are looking for vendors to sell items that are eco-friendly and that would make good gifts. We will be choosing vendors based on the items they plan to sell at the fair. Obviously, items should be eco-friendly in some way. Additionally, we will have a bias towards localism - items made from locally-sourced materials, items made locally, etc - but are not excluding non-local items/materials. Items do NOT need to be handmade, as this is not necessarily a craft fair. Additionally, food and wine vendors are welcome, as long as no alcohol is sold to be consumed onsite. Green service providers would also be a welcome addition, if there is some sort of “gift” component to what you do (even if it’s just gift certificates - who wouldn’t love a gift certificate for a massage for Christmas?).

Each booth will be 10’ x 10’ and will cost just $20. Please just let me know if you’d like an application! (sarahtar1@gmail.com)

For a while, there has been an informal group of my friends who knit and they would get together every once in a while. I didn’t join them, as they met on a night I had to teach classes. Then, a few months ago, the group got much larger, took on a new name, and started meeting at a time I could go!

Natural Parenting Fiber Artists - largely a group of women who circulate in the same circles I do - Holistic Moms, Cloth Diapering, Babywearing, LLL, etc.

It’s super fun, gives us a chance to craft and talk birth, breasts, babies, husbands, and things completely unrelated. (As if we don’t all have plenty of opportunity to discuss said topics anyway…) Knitting Night is close up there to ICAN night in terms of Nights Away From My Family That I Really Look Forward To!

Today, I came across a new organization called Goods for Girls.

You may have seen the commercials… the ones describing how girls in South Africa miss school when they have their period and how buying Tampax tampons will help them. There’s also a commercial for Always pads, with a similar message. Imagine having to use rags or newspaper, which is what many of these girls use for their periods.

Procter and Gamble (P&G) has started a program in Africa, where they are donating Always sanitary pads to girls who otherwise would miss several days of school each month due to inadequate menstrual supplies.

But what are the potential problems with donating disposable feminine hygiene products? Well, for starters, there is the environmental impact. In most of these areas, they have no solid waste programs or landfills. In other words, they burn their waste.

As such, products that have synthetic components (like sanitary pads and tampons) would be incinerated. For some schools, P&G is building incinerators near the bathrooms. But what about the pollutants emitted from burning these products? They may potentially get inhaled by the students and teachers. Any additional packaging, plastic or otherwise, would need to be disposed of in the same manner.

What would be a good alternative to help out these girls but without the environmental impact? Since most of these girls are using rags now, having a pad that is a more sophisticated (with a waterproof barrier) may be enough to allow them to participate in school and regular activities. They would still wash the pads as they normally do with the rags, but they would benefit from the extra protection.

I started Goods 4 Girls to provide the link for women wanting to donate hand-sewn menstrual pads to agencies who could provide the means to identify areas of need as well as provide the distribution to the women and girls needing the pads.

Wallypop (my main business) has decided to become one of their participating retailers, so if you want to help them out, you can either zip on over to their website and make a donation, or you can zip on over to Wallypop and purchase some pads to be donated.

Thanks to everyone who posted last week in response to my request for delurking!!

I put the names of all commentors into a bowl and drew the winner.

 Barbara

Barbara, please contact me with your name and address and I’ll get your goodies sent out right away.

The prize package includes: A fun apron with a winter design, a corduroy zip-close cube, and two fun zip pouches. I use my zip pouches all the time, so I hope you’re able to find just as many uses!

OK, I don’t know when Delurking Day is. The closest I can find, it was last week. Who knows for sure? I sure don’t. So, I’m declaring this Delurking Week at any blog of which I am a part.

Read here? Take a minute, post a comment. Just say hi. Share your thoughts. Post a recipe. Whatever. I’ll be sending some sort of fabulous gift to one lucky commentor. Considering that I get so few commentors here, if you DO comment, you stand a VERY good chance of being the lucky winner.

I had fun getting ready for Craft Saturday. I made a bazillion things to take (too many), made myself a coat tree with about $8 worth of materials, made myself a nifty sign, priced and packed up all my stuff. The show was fun, despite the cold (outside and inside - I just couldn’t get warm), the small crowds, and the incredibly dark and dreary surroundings. It was very well-organized - kudos and thanks to Danelle and Joe, who do all the work to put it on. I’ll definitely be back.

I did also learn a lot from my first craft show experience.  I share that here, in the hopes that it helps someone else.

• Do a trial run. I taped off a booth in my dining room, set up my table, did some arranging and rearranging. But I did forget that I’d have a lamp, and I also had already packed away some of my items, so when I arrived to set up at my actual location on Saturday, things were a bit different. I mean, it wasn’t a tragedy, but I wish I’d done a full-scale trial run.
• Bring a buddy. I didn’t have a buddy for this event. I mean, Randy has to stay home with Wally. My mom can’t be out in the snow. My friends all have small children and are understandably reluctant to leave their families on a weekend. So I was all on my own for the afternoon. Got a little boring. I couldn’t really get up.
• Bring a project. Not only was I able to knit to pass the time in between visitors (it was really really slow at times), but many visitors commented favorably on the knitting. I also found that people were likely to stay and browse longer if I merely looked up, said hi, made a comment about whatever they happened to be looking at, and then went back to my knitting. I was available if they needed me, but not staring at them. This also meshes well with how I like to shop. If the booth owner ignores me, I’m more likely to stay and browse than if they’re just staring at me while I check out their stuff.
• Less is more. I had waaay too much stuff. I was actually just being optimistic. I left many things packed away, but I wanted to bring them in case I sold through the stuff I set out originally. ha ha. But still. way. too. much.
• Labels and signs are important. The things I had labeled (I made little tent signs with a short description and the price of similar items that were grouped together) were the things that got looked at. The things that didn’t have signs did not get looked at.
• Provide a logical progression through the booth. I lacked that, but many other booths had a good logical progression. I’ll have to fine-tune my set-up for the next time.
• If you bring a mannequin, be sure to bring some clothes for her. I have never forgotten a shirt for Miss Inflatable, but I did this time, and she looked a little inappropriate. I was embarassed for her.

I did make money. I made back my booth fee as well as the cost of the materials for the coat tree, plus some. I think it was a success. I’ve taken note of what sold and what didn’t and am already planning some changes for next time.

Those of you who came out - thanks for braving the weather and the bad forecast! Those of you who didn’t - maybe we’ll see you in March??

We just received word today that Boulevard Designs will be one of the exhibitors at the December Craft Saturday. I’m so excited!

Oh, now I’m off to hurry up and finish those Halloween costumes so I can get to work on items for my booth!

Craft Saturday : Handmade Holiday
Saturday, December 8
Fourth Street Theatre, 216 4th St | Vaudeville Mews, 212 4th St, Des Moines
Show time: Noon - 5 pm