Whimsy

We're all suckers for cute goods that happen also to be green, right? Check out the sweet totes at Whimsy!

Whimsy's eco-friendly tote bags are made from 80% recycled cotton and 20% old soda bottles. So whether you're bringing home groceries or packing up for the beach, you can feel as good as you look. Each bag measures 18"L x 14"H x 5"W and is printed on both sides.

Green Mommies

Perfect for Mommies who are Green, check out the Green Mommy Guide. It's dedicated to those who are striving to make the best choices for their family...and who also live in the REAL world. :) What we like about this site is that it acknowledges that going green is a "journey" and they have awesome ideas and resources to help.

Check out how to make your own baby food, the green way!

Interview with Nest Designer, Gail Schneider of Gail Schneider Designs

An interview with Gail Schneider of Gail Schneider Designs for Nest.

1. What/who inspires your art?

Designs based on what I would wear personally, my moods and what excites me. When I get my hands on a fabric and material, I immediately envision the style and the way it would look as a top.

2. What music plays in your studio?

The Beatles, Fergie, Maroon5, JT

3. What was the last book you read?

I wish I had more time to read, but I recently read The Husband by Dean Koonz

4. What foods can you not live without?

I love home cooking even though I am a terrible cook!!! I end up burning most things or forget to add spices. I am into eating healthy and have several favorite restaurants.

5. If you were given a free airline ticket, where would you go?

Japan

And why?

I traveled to many countries, but have never been to Japan. I love Japanese fashion – it's so influential, timeless, classic and fun. They have such a unique way of mixing and matching - it's like an art.

6. What is your most prized possession?

My Red string! I am very spiritual and believe in the Kaballah. The red string is so minimal, yet has a strong impact for me.


7. What is in your closet that you can't live without?

My washed out/torn Levis…I must have them for about 25 years…sometimes they fit….and most of the times they don't! I can never throw them out.

8. What drew you to Nest?

I loved the fact that there was a way to make a contribution and changes through my designs. To help support and be part of a group that believe in making women's dreams come true… no matter what obstacles they are facing, where they live, how much money they have and the language that they speak.

9. Anything else we should know?

I am really excited that Gail Schneider Designs was included in the upcoming fashion Rocks the Universe in Las Vegas – Miss Universe, April 10th.

Believe Honey Bar

What: Profits from these lovely shea butter soaps go to the Raise Your Hand Campaign, a nonprofit dedicated to ensuring children in developing countries have access to clean water.
Why: Believe to achieve.
Where: Online at noodleandboo.com.

To the beach...

A photo sent from one of our board members...our Nest totes at the beach!

Nest ATLANTA!

An article from THE SUNDAY PAPER:

Sunday, May 11, 2008
Life, Style

Give locally, save globally

Atlanta women launch local chapter of Nest

In photo: Nest Atlanta founding members (L-R) Stephanie Jolluck, Jenny Lopez, Titania Jordan, Denise Disharoon, Tiffany Davis. Photo by Kirsten Ott.

By Kirsten Ott

Changing the world is possible, no matter what the numbers are, whether it’s your age or your bank account.

A couple of years ago, and two weeks after graduating with her master’s in social work, St. Louis resident Rebecca Kousky, now 25, combined her interest in helping women in developing countries with her love of fashion and design, by creating Nest, what she describes as a “virtual gathering place for women around the world.”

Nest provides interest-free micro-credit loans to women in developing countries like Turkey, Istanbul, Morocco, Israel, Mexico, Brazil, Africa and Guatemala. These loans are a financial innovation that allows poor women the opportunity to become self-sufficient by providing them with small business loans to create sustainable entrepreneurial businesses. The loan recipients are crafters looking to start—or maintain—their own art- or craft-based business, but they live in poverty-stricken areas. Loans vary in amount from $50 to $2,000. Of course, $50 goes a lot further in Mexico than it does in, say, Atlanta.

So far, Nest has been able to fund at least 60 female business owners around the globe. In addition to the loan money, the women receive invaluable support and advice on the business aspects of carving their own way toward financial independence. The money enables them to do things like purchase a pottery kiln, rent workspace or buy raw materials. When they’re ready to begin paying back their loan, they don’t even have to do it in cash, but rather in product. Their wares, which run the gamut from Turkish lace earrings created in Istanbul to Dupioni silk pillows out of San Francisco, are sold on the Nest e-commerce site, Buildanest.com. Kousky also spends much of her time criss-crossing the country hosting pop-up trunk shows and artist markets featuring Nest designers.

A portion of the profit pays back their loans, empowering the women and providing a ripple effect of social mobility, cultural impact and economic process all over the world. To date, all loans have been paid back 100 percent. Inspired stateside designers are completely on board, too. Not for loan money, but dedicating some of all of the proceeds of some of their own merchandise—jewelry, clothing, home décor and artwork—to the cause of Nest. That money is used toward future loans.

Others were so moved by Kousky and her nonprofit organization that they decided to dedicate their time and efforts to starting an Atlanta chapter of Nest. I met with founding members Coleccion Luna and World in Need Now founder Stephanie Jolluck, DailyCandy.com editor Tiffany Davis, Tig’s Closet Jewelry designer Titania Jordan, jewelry designer Denise Disharoon of Denise Disharoon Designs and Taurus manager Jenny Lopez to learn more about the inception of Nest Atlanta and what’s on the horizon.

SPREADING THE WORD

The women forged a common bond hearing of Nest, which came about through Davis in December, when she met Kousky through CNN correspondent Nicole Lapin, who interviewed the Nest founder for “Young People Who Rock.” Since Daily Candy featured Nest when they launched in 2006, Lapin reached out to Davis, who says, “Nicole said to me, ‘Rebecca wants to come down here and do a trunk show. Who do you know out there that would probably be a good fit and would be socially and culturally aware enough to be like, Yeah, this is something I want to donate my time and proceeds to? So I throw out this list of local artists, because that’s kind of the way [Nest] models all [its] trunk shows. They had a trunk show at TEW Galleries, and all the ladies here kind of fell in line because that was right up their alley.”

The trunk show went well enough that Kousky decided she wanted to start a local chapter of Nest in Atlanta and reached out to the founding members. Other local chapters also exist, but in just a handful of other major cities, including Chicago, Washington, D.C. and New York. “It’s all about connecting female-owned businesses and designers with other women around the world,” says Jolluck, who serves as Nest Atlanta’s president.

BIG BUSINESS

“Another big goal of Nest is to show these women how to run their businesses, so there’s business planning, they have people to consult about marketing, about positioning,” says Lopez, head of the development committee. “A lot of these women are in patriarchal societies, so they’ve never handled money ever. So Nest also shows them how to handle the money. There’s a lot of educating as well, to help them become self-sustaining.” In order to connect the loan recipients with people who can financially advise them in their own country, Kousky relies on a network of smart, savvy and good-hearted people, including Nest Atlanta members.

SHOW TIME

The group of successful women is brimming with ideas on what to do with Nest Atlanta, including at least two large shows a year, in the spring and fall. The official launch party this Sunday, May 18, at LUXE-Atlanta and 1*FIVE*0, from noon to 6 p.m. The event highlights the loan recipients with a showcase of photos and products they’ve made, which are available for purchase. The party itself is a testament to the giving spirit of the Atlanta community: Catamarca Imports wine, 5 Season Brewery beers, an exclusive designer trunk show featuring eight local talents, live music courtesy of Vientos del Pueblo, and food by Six Feet Under and new Decatur hotspot El Tesoro.

What inspires these women to volunteer their time to Nest Atlanta? Jolluck says, “For me, just as a designer and feeling blessed to be an American designer, that I have the opportunities to either get funding or that I can fly to Guatemala. After traveling to developing countries and seeing their situation, it’s kind of a way to give back to not only Guatemalan women, but to women around the world who don’t have the same opportunities.” Disharoon, a globetrotter who’s spent a lot of time doing social work in South America and China, agrees. “You can’t really grasp the difficulties that they’re faced with; they’re astounding," she says. "To give them that opportunity, to see them flourish, is incredibly rewarding.” SP

NEST ATLANTA LAUNCH PARTY

WHERE: LUXE-Atlanta and 1*FIVE*0, 1000 Marietta St., West Midtown
WHEN: Sunday, May 18, noon to 6 p.m.
WHY: Change the world one purchase at a time.
COST: Free
MORE INFO: www.buildanest.com; nestatlanta@gmail.com

Happy People. Healthy Planet.

A great cause to support....keeping our planet healthy! Share your eco-saviness, along with supporting sustainable design, by sending Loop stationery. Made with FSC-certified recycled paper and printed with soy ink, your friends and relatives will be delighted when they open a card donning fabulous nature related designs from Loop designer/owner, Elissa Brown Barbieri. Inspired by a finding of a polliwog nest in a New England river, Loop's designs have evolved into beautiful works of art. Visit www.welcometoloop.com for all designs and to order, and stop by often to check out exciting new products like gift wrap! Also check out Doodlespark on the website. It is a collaboration of drawings between mother and daughter and is also available in sets of notecards.

Loop is a proud member of 1% Percent for the Planet.

"Inspired by the natural world, we strive to sustain its resources. This is our Loop, our responsibility, our pleasure."
(By Holly Adair)