September 30, 2008
Things are moving slow lately, but they are moving! We have nearly completed our eco-friendly renovations to the space. Betsy found some awesome used wood that we are making into shelves. We have been showing at festivals and meeting local vendors to consign with us. Some talented people out there!
August 25, 2008
We are working on our new website, which will soon be unveiled. Big thanks to Britt Blake for her help on things. Things are progressing with our store location and we are adding new inventory.
July 24, 2008
Up late last night, painting the new retail space. We used Benjamin Moore EcoSpec paint. Very nice! No fumes, and luscious color.
July 8, 2008
We are working hard to organize our new location. This fall you will be able to find us over on State Street, here in lovely Greensboro, NC
June 30, 2008
We are opening a retail space! Details coming soon.
May 28, 2008
Check out our segment on Fox 8 News (local affiliate).
May 18, 2008
We are thankful to have been finalists in the PTEN (www.pten.org) business plan competition. The people who won are awesome! We are honored.
May 5, 2008
April was crazy busy. We were all over the place at various Earth Day festivals. Betsy has her semi-regular booth at the downtown farmer's market here in Greensboro, and that is going well.
We are excited to be carrying rain barrels made of 100% recycled plastic.
These have been popular! If you live in Greensboro, we offer free pick-up and delivery.
March 5, 2008
Check out our new shower-filters in the shop! They are specially designed to remove irritating, toxic chlorine before it is absorbed into our skin and lungs.
Rain barrels and composters are coming soon!
Feb 1, 2008
We just signed up to participate in the April 19th Piedmont Environmental Alliance Earth Day Fair in Winston-Salem, NC. Yay!
January 21, 2008
A few candles have been added to our craft section. There are very few available, so move fast!
Nov 26, 2007
PVC-free shower curtains and a new "Crafts" section have been added to the website. Our 1.5 gpm showerheads are selling like crazy. That makes us happy. Lots of water and heating energy being saved out there. Thanks!
October 29, 2007
In Greensboro, check us out at these upcoming events:
November 4th at New Garden Friends Meeting's "Alternative Giving Fair" from 10am -2pm.
November 30 and December 1st at Guilford College's "Shopping for Change."
October 27, 2007
Our low flow, high-pressure showerheads are here! Buy a few and save some water!
October 23, 2007
COMING SOON...sexy low-flow/high-pressure showerheads, organic hand-woven baby blankets, very cute baby bibs, and MORE...!
October 22, 2007
We've got "Full-Spectrum" CFLs! Come check them out in our E-shop!
October 1, 2007
Pictures from this weekend's Tate Street Art Festival. Thanks to all who came out!
Betsy's mom remembered her life calling...
September 28, 2007
We need functional Eco Art! Do you make something you would like to share? Do you have a suggestion about products you would like to see us carry? Drop us a line!
September 25, 2007
Planners are up on the shop too! All are made with 100% recycled papers with soy-based inks. Yes!
September 21, 2007
Check out our recently added products which include Calendars and note cards!
September 17, 2007
REMINDER: check us out at the Tate Street Arts Festival, here in Greensboro on Saturday, September 29th.
August 30, 2007
NC, Greensboro in particular, is in the midst of a severe drought.
No matter where you live though, it's always good to conserve water. I (Betsy) got this e-mail from Peter Walz at the NC Conservation network today and thought it was helpful:
1. Get a rain barrel: A couple of staff members at the Conservation Network have been amazed to watch their 60 gallon rain barrels fill up with just one overnight rain. You can buy a rain barrel online or at your local nursery. Use it for your lawn, garden, and all of your outside watering needs.
2. Fix leaky faucets: According to the NC Division of Water Resources, a dripping faucet can waste 3,600 gallons of water a year. They recommend replacing old gaskets (it’s easy!) and installing faucet aerators. Not a bad idea when a faucet gasket costs $1.29.
3. Take shorter showers: Showers use 5-8 gallons of water per minute. If you cut just two minutes off your daily shower time over the next year, you’d save between 3,650 and 5,840 gallons of water. Over 10 years, your shorter shower could amount to water savings between 36,500 and 58,400 gallons!
4. The dishwasher: Always run a full load of dishes in the dishwasher and scrape plates instead of rinsing before putting them in the dishwasher. If you need to get a new dishwasher (or any other home appliance), make sure it has the Energy Star certification: http://www.energystar.gov
5. The toilet: Apparently the top water consumer within the typical home is the toilet. You may have a leak and not know it. You can check by dropping food coloring in the upper tank. If color appears in the bowl, you have a leak. You may have to replace the gasket between the tank and bowl. I did this recently and while it wasn’t the easiest thing to do, it was worth it. You can also install a water filled plastic bottle in your tank to reduce the water used per flush.
The American Water Works Association estimates that the average American uses 59.8 gallons of indoor water per day. So, if you were to fix a leaky faucet and take showers that are two minutes shorter, you would save over 4 months of your indoor water use!
Thanks for conserving water in any way you can and please spread the word - forward this message to your friends and family!
Peter Walz
Organizing Director
North Carolina Conservation Network
website: www.ncconservationnetwork.org
(Photo: http://www.ecomagic.org/fruition/drought-1.jpg)
August 21, 2007
**Look for us: We'll be at the Tate Street Arts Festival on September 29th**
And just got this e-mail from Kim Yarbray, regarding Greensboro officially (yay)becoming a "Cool City":
Well, thanks to all the phone calls, e-mails, and citizens at the City Council meetings, the City Council unanimously voted yes for the Mayor to sign the US Mayors Climate Protection Agreement...and Mayor Holliday signed it at the City Council meeting! We are officially the 21st city in North Carolina to get Cool.
Thank you for whatever part you played in making it happen...whether you forwarded the many e-mails that went out, attended a Cool Cities meeting, signed a petition, made a phone call, sent an e-mail, showed up at a City Council meeting or all of the above, the commitment of this community to move toward sustainability made it happen and that is something for which we should all be proud.
If you ever forwarded an e-mail to friends and family requesting that they take action to encourage the City Council to adopt the US Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, please do so again. Forward this thank you so that all those involved will know the outcome they effected.
News of a public signing by the Mayor sometime in September will be forthcoming. Stay tuned!
--Cool Cities Team
July 30, 2007
Alan and Betsy appeared in the New Garden Friends Meeting newsletter.
July 18, 2007
Okay, we go live today with the online shop! Alan and Betsy have been trying to get the kinks out of the website. More photography and products to come...
July 10, 2007--We appeared in the Greensboro News & Record "Life" Section. :)
July 9, 2007
We are looking forward to an article mentioning us in tomorrow's News and Record.
July 1, 2007
Online sales almost here!! We will be offering tote bags, bamboo dresses, fluttery t-shirts, and mens shirts to start.
June 5, 2007
Online sales begin in July! We have created the first "Eco Everyday" tote bag, that I think you will love! It is handmade in the USA of 80% recycled cotton and 20% recycled plastic soda bottles. The design was helped along by graphic designer Dawn Leonard.
We are also accepting submissions from designers for our tee-shirt and hoodie series until June 21, 2007. (For more info, contact us: design@ecoeveryday.com.)
Keep checking back here. It's going to be an exciting summer!
April 24, 2007
The spring weather has been gorgeous! Justin B. installed wireless over here, so I have been able to work outside beneath the trees and breeze. We had a business meeting here last week and I loved this picture of some of the key "Team Eco" players:
We are in the thick of finishing the business plan. Alan is hard at work researching our wonderful city, figuring out what people want, and how best we can supply it.
We are so thankful for people expressing interest in investing in Eco Everyday, and are discerning systems for how that might look. Please contact us if this is a way you would like to be involved.
April 16, 2007
Andrea Crouse, chief Eco Everyday buyer and product researcher must have sent me three dozen e-mails yesterday and today, just looking at awesome companies doing inspiring, high-quality, honest work. We hope to bring you the creme de la creme from our product findings!
If you know of items, artists, or companies you would like to see, do drop us a line at: info@ecoeveryday.com
Sadly, we received a sweet message last week from our potential landlord saying that he went ahead and leased the space we had grown most interested in...so we are back on the hunt for a downtown space. We are trusting the right place will come about at the right time. I walk and drive the streets...looking....dreaming...
We are planning for a grand opening in August, but hope to be in a space/offer a "soft opening" or at least online sales later in the Spring.
We will be sure and keep you posted!
~Betsy
P.S. Look at Spring out my window!
March 30, 2007
Okay, there is a lot to update you on! Let me hit some highlights, and you'll be hearing more in the near future:
*We "officially" became a "corporation" this past week...
*Welcome to Janina Peachey, our official bookeeper--she rocks!!
*Big thanks and official welcome to staff--Andrea Crouse--who is operating from a "satellite office" in Amsterdam, but will be returning to our beloved Greensboro in the next couple months. Andrea is diligently researching all product lines we hope to carry, wanting to bring you all only the best.
*Thanks to folks helping us with legalities: Jeff Davis, Blanche Berkowitz and Sam Hyde.
*Thanks to our accountant, Morgan Blaisdell-Buck, who soon will be relocating to Greensboro out of Charlotte. He patiently and quickly fielded all my last minute random questions in the midst of tax season.
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On March 28th, we cut a birthday pie to celebrate little Eco Everyday being "born" as its own lil corporate entity...It was a celebration of all the work we have done so far and all the amazing things we have learned along the way. A rest for sustenance. Love to Andrea and others who were there in Spirit.
May EE grow up to be wise, loving, thoughtful, and productive:
January 24, 2007
ECO EVERYDAY hopes to support, in any way possible, those who desire to live a more environmentally sustainable, or "greener" lifestyle. It doesn't matter from where you are starting. The door is WIDE OPEN. We honor style, function, community, integrity, and good old fashioned fun.
It is with great enthusiasm and a generous heart, that the community of Greensboro has encouraged the development of Eco Everyday--a colorful storefront where honestly-made, stylish clothing and household items can be purchased. We hope just browsing our aisles will be an educational experience, informing consumers about critical issues we especially in the Piedmont Triad are facing. We also will offer pertinent workshops and corporate meeting space.
For many months I have wandered this city, wondering if a store like this could happen and whether people would support it. Time after time, friends, family and strangers have said, "Yes, it should happen and here's something I can offer to make it happen."
Thus, we have received overwhelming offers of talents, goods, and services. Keep it coming!
Alan, Kristina, and myself with occasional special guests are meeting regularly and we plan to keep you updated on things as they develop.
Please contact us if you are interested in getting involved. There is much to do, and great fun to be had!
All the best,
Betsy Blake