Three Stone Steps

Haiti, first video of first trip

2008-12-02T10:16:00.004-05:00

For your viewing pleasure, my first ever video of my first ever trip to Haiti.

(This is the same video as the one posted below, but maybe of a higher quality??)

Haiti, November 2008: My first computer movie about my first time to Haiti

2008-12-01T21:16:00.005-05:00

Enjoy. And, please let me know if you've any questions or comments. Thanks!

(And, a quick note: For some technical reason well beyond my ability, the video looks best without the full screen view. This, I might add, is not the case when watching it directly on my computer. If I can figure out how to embed a better quality video, I'll do it.)

What's left to say?

2008-11-05T12:46:00.001-05:00

What an amazing night. What an amazing day. What hope there is for the future.

Anyway, it's hard to sum out how I feel. I just received my New Yorker in the mail today, and the cover shows a a large red tunnel and a blue light at the end of it. Sort of sums everything up perfectly.

Build a Beard; Help Kiva

2008-10-31T16:01:00.002-04:00

This is great fun and free and helps a good cause.

Check this out!

Don't like this beard, well, there's more to choose from.

We Are the World

2008-10-26T12:12:00.005-04:00

Being a global type myself, it's always interesting what the world thinks of the U.S., especially during this election season. The Economist made an electoral college map of the world, and the results are here.

Very cool application. Have fun playing.

Endangered Elephants, or not a post about the G.O.P.

2008-10-23T09:35:00.005-04:00

Here at Three Stone Steps, we make sure we run our business in such a way that, at the very least, we do no harm to people or the planet, and, at best, we actually help people and the world at large.

Of course, not every business owner, small or large, thinks like this.

I came across this article on Reuters about how E-bay is going to ban the selling of ivory products on its site. I was shocked that ivory, from endangered elephants, is even being sold, let alone sold on E-bay, but it's not the first time that I've been shocked at people's tastes and their cruelty toward animals. (cf: A certain AK governor who paid money for the front paws of wolves shot from airplanes.)

Anyway, should you wish to buy non-harmful products, for gifts or for yourself, well, I've got 'em here!

These are (not at all) the Good Times

2008-10-16T18:47:00.004-04:00

By the time you read this, who knows what the economy will be like: Will the public radio show about finances be playing We're in the Money or Stormy Weather when talking about how the market closed?

I know we've all head enough about Wall Street and Main Street, and Three Stone Steps is firmly and virtually in the latter. But, then again, so are most of us.

Of course, given the stories one hears daily about people losing jobs, facing foreclosures, having difficulty feeding their families, people don't immediately think of buying a new messenger bag of recycled or repurposed materials, or a silk scarf.

Three Stone Steps knows that no one really and truly needs these things. Your old bag can probably be used for another season or year, and a new business card case is nice, but the rubber band works well, too. Reduce is the first "R" of the reduce, reuse, recycle mantra.

But, we do hope that if you decide to spend some discretionary funds on fashion accessories, you'll spend it with a company that shares your values of being fair trade, and sustainable in all meanings of that word, and buy products from a company like Three Stone Steps that is highly sensitive to working towards a fair and just world.

Three Stone Steps new tag line is sustainable. fair made. style. And, I'll always adhere to those three words. Promise.

Three Stone Steps in Bolton Hill tomorrow

2008-10-10T09:50:00.003-04:00

Three Stone Steps will be on the 1400 block of Bolton Street, in the lovely Bolton Hill section of Baltimore tomorrow to sell great eco-chic messenger bags, silk scarves, and many more of our great fashion accessories. The festival runs from 10am to 5pm.

Now, I know that given all that's happening with the election and the economy, not everyone's mind is exactly on buying a cross body bag made from post-consumer waste black plastic trash bags, but, really, it's as good a time as any.

Speaking of the economy, Bolton Hill is in Rep. Elijah Cumming's district. I'm not in his district, but Three Stone Steps is actually on his district's border. (His district begins across the street from Three Stone Steps' worldwide headquarters.)

While this is not new news, I did think that the Bolton Hill Representative did a knock out job when questioning our our taxpayer bailout money was spent by AIG:

If you have trouble hearing this, part of the text follows:

CUMMINGS: Let me describe for some of you the charges that the shareholders, taxpayers, had to pay. AIG spent $200,000 dollars for hotel rooms. Almost $150,000 for catered banquets. AIG spent $23,000 at the hotel spa and another $1,400 at the salon. They were getting manicures, facials, pedicures and massages while American people were footing the bill. And they spent another $10,000 dollars for I don’t know what this is, leisure dining. Bars?

Well, yet another one of those, it makes you think, huh?

Hope to see you tomorrow!

Working

2008-10-09T10:06:00.006-04:00

Like most of us, I've been thinking a lot about the current economic crisis, the upcoming elections, and, in work in general.

On my way almost anywhere from my home/Three Stone Steps worldwide headquarters here in Southeast Baltimore, Maryland, USA, I see men--almost always men--and almost always Latino--waiting around near the 7-11 and a few other corners hoping, just hoping, that someone will pick them up for a day's work, mostly on a construction site.

But, given the economic crisis, many more people are thrown out of work. This brilliant video imagines what happens when Wall Street types get really desperate:

Now, that was imagined, but here, White House spokesperson Dana Perino takes it a step further. It seems that the way to solve the unemployment crisis in this country is for people to get jobs.

Maybe there's something I'm missing here, but isn't the reason people are unemployed is because they don't have jobs. It's times like this, that I'm so delighted to be out and about meeting people and selling ethical accessories.

How about you?

Fells Point Festival this Weekend!

2008-10-03T11:46:00.007-04:00

One of the biggest festivals in the Baltimore area, the Fells Point Fun Festival, is happening this weekend. And, Three Stone Steps will be there, too! (Look for Three Stone Steps on Thames, between B'dwy and Bond--and not too far from the beer garden!)

There will be festival specials, so if you're in the area, and have had your eye on some eco-chic, repurposed bags, it'll be a great time to buy! Also, don't forget about great messenger bags in cotton, and shoulder bags in silk, as well as wallets, business card cases, and beautiful hand loomed silk scarves. And, since everything is fairly made, you can feel good about your purchase.

The weather looks to be most perfect this weekend, too. Please come by and say 'hi!'

Happy Fair Trade Month

2008-10-02T11:30:00.006-04:00

I'm one of those who think fair trade month should be every month, but today is the second day of the official Fair Trade Month.

Three Stone Steps is proud to be a part of the fair trade movement, and can't imagine bring bags, scarves, wallets, and other fashion accessories to you any other way.

In honor of this month, I focus on the workers who make the items that Three Stone Steps has on offer:

This is Mr. Cheak who is working on sewing a beautiful red jewelry roll. The next step on the jewelry roll production is here:

Sophart is working on hand beading the jewelry rolls.

Three Stone Steps will bring you more of these workers throughout the month. And, will continue to support the cause of economic justice for workers always.

Not about the election or Wall Street

2008-09-30T14:11:00.003-04:00

I assume that many of you, like me, are caught up with the daily drama of the election that is right around the corner. On top of that, we keep hearing how we are headed to a financial collapse.

These are exciting, interesting, maddening, scary and weird times.

However, there are things happening beyond our fair shores. Haiti--where Three Stone Steps will be heading right after the election--is still suffering the aftereffects of a terrible hurricane season. Should you wish to help, the organizations below would appreciate it. (Please note: Three Stone Steps has no connection to any of these organization, and inclusion in this list does not imply endorsement by Three Stone Steps.)

Campaign for Labor Rights (CLR): Haitian Workers Hurricane Relief Fund
1247 E St SE
Washington, DC20003

CLR is collecting funds for the Confédéderation des Travailleurs Haitiens to distribute to union sisters and brothers and their families for hurricane relief. The CTH has been rebuilding since a US-sponsored coup in 2004 overthrew Haiti's elected government. According to the CLR, the coup was led by groups funded and trained by the International Republican Institute, whose Board is chaired by John McCain. CTH members were targeted because of their support for Haitian democracy and opposition to foreign intervention.

Haiti KONPAY - Emergency Hurricane Relief Fund
7 Wall St.
Gloucester, MA01930
Focusing on Haitian solutions to environmental, social and economic problems and providing training and funding to grassroots and community-based projects. KONPAY is supporting Haitian-led efforts to reforest Haiti and protect the environment.

Haiti Reborn
PO Box 5206
Hyattsville, MD20782
Supporting the growing Kofaviv movement of women demanding an end to violence and rape; establishing the development of a reforestation program, including satellite nurseries; advocating an end to unjust and undemocratic foreign intervention in Haitian democracy and economy; countering the destructive myth of Haitians as helpless victims by highlighting Haiti's proud history and giving voice to today's brightest leaders.

MADRE (Emergency & Disaster Relief Fund)
121 West 27th Street #301
New York, NY10001
A New York-based human rights group demanding human rights for women and families throughout the world, and also working on disaster relief with one of its sister organizations in Haiti.

Partners In Health
641 Huntington Avenue
Boston, MA02115
Their mission is both medical and moral, based on solidarity, rather than charity alone. When a person in rural Haiti falls ill, PIH uses all of the means at their disposal to make them well-from pressuring drug manufacturers, to lobbying policy makers, to providing medical care and social services.

Sustainable Organic Integrated Livelihoods (SOIL)
124 Church Rd
Sherburne
NY 13460
dedicated to empowering communities, building the soil and nourishing the grassroots. SOIL protects soil resources and transforms wastes into resources. SOIL promotes integrated approaches to the problems of poverty, poor public health, agricultural productivity, and environmental destruction.

Cyncism

2008-09-08T11:56:00.004-04:00

Ok, this isn't about a certain candidate's pick for vice president. Now, that was, to me and other women I know, just about the most cynical thing I can think of. I really can't add any more to the debate over this person than has already been out there.

So, not only was the pick of this governor from a non-contiguous state the very definition of cynicism, but I came upon this in the New York Times last week:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/01/business/worldbusiness/01vogue.html

Here's the opening few paragraphs:

NEW DELHI — An old woman missing her upper front teeth holds a child in rumpled clothes — who is wearing a Fendi bib (retail price, about $100).

A family of three squeezes onto a motorbike for their daily commute, the mother riding without a helmet and sidesaddle in the traditional Indian way — except that she has a Hermès Birkin bag (usually more than $10,000, if you can find one) prominently displayed on her wrist.

Elsewhere, a toothless barefoot man holds a Burberry umbrella (about $200).

Welcome to the new India — at least as Vogue sees it.

Vogue India’s August issue presented a 16-page vision of supple handbags, bejeweled clutches and status-symbol umbrellas, modeled not by runway stars or the wealthiest fraction of Indian society who can actually afford these accessories, but by average Indian people.

So, here we have a baby used as a prop (where have we seen this before?) wearing a $100 bib. I really don't know anyone who would spend this money for this sort of thing, and I live in a developed country. Who knows why Indian Vogue did this. A subtle wink wink, elbow to the ribs for the viewer that people are still in poverty, but getting a job in a developed nation making luxury goods will move one out of poverty? Who is this supposed to appeal to? Do the Indian nouveau riche want to show off their kid's bib by saying, yeah, how clever, the bib was in a shoot with India's poor?

I've not been to India, but I've been to plenty of developing countries in Asia. I can't pretend to know what goes on in the minds of the editors of Vogue, but exploiting poor people to sell luxury goods is just, well, cynical. And, I thought we were moving on to hope these days.

Three Stone Steps in The Urbanite

2008-08-29T12:28:00.002-04:00

We were delighted to learn that we were in the great local free monthly magazine here in Baltimore, the home of Three Stone Steps' worldwide headquarters.

You can check us out in The Goods section here. If you don't feel like following a link, I've posted the following below.

Stepping Up

While touring the Cheong Fatt Tze “Blue” Mansion in Penang, Malaysia, Ellen Reich noticed that the first three steps of the mansion’s ornate staircase were made of stone rather than carved wood. In Chinese lore, this symbolizes a promise that those who walk the stairs will have “solid footing for a good journey,” she says. Reich’s online store, Three Stone Steps (www.threestonesteps.com), which launched in late 2007, aims to capture this sentiment. The store carries bags, scarves, and accessories made by a group of artisans in Penampang, Cambodia. Reich bills the goods as fair-trade and eco-friendly, and works with the designers to create original accessories with hometown appeal. The printed silk “Little Bit of Everything” bag is a perfect cosmetics case. The durable messenger bags—such as Reich’s personal favorite, the Mingus bag, made out of woven recycled garbage bags—are handy for carrying everything from school books to laptops. Items are available online and at select Baltimore businesses and festivals listed on the website.

—Hannah M. Spangler

Georgia, Georgia

2008-08-11T11:00:00.005-04:00

Back in November, I wrote about the crackdown on protesters in Tbilisi. I had been there a year earlier, and pretty much fell in love with that City. I am now beside myself watching the destruction of parts of that country.

I plan to write a new post on Georgia, but in the meantime, I will link to my old posts written about Georgia, one about the events in November, and one of photos.

Anyway, it's all very confusing and not the least bit unsettling.

My friend, Nino, in Tbilisi, remains optimistic. This is from an email this morning:

unfortunately I have no idea what can stop insane
russian government.but i'm still think positive.
and people around really feel themselves as if we
were winners! they say no matter what will happen
 _ we already won.
cuz you know
people are very unified and very patriotic
and even opposition, which few months
ago almost made a revolution in country,
now say they will support Saakashvili
in everything this days .
every nights and during the days
there are peaceful
demonstrations in the streets of Tbilisi...
mostly around the embassy of
russia... they showed on Tv that one georgian
guy wanted to throw an egg to the
building of the embassy but other people stopped him.
cuz our possition is that
the only aggressor here is the russia.
we are just protecting ourselves in our
country.

we are not a big nation Ellen,
we have such a small country, we are not
interested  in wars and killing people.

hmmmm, you may think that i'm crazy
but even in this situation i still think
everything will be fine :)

I will post some more photos of Georgia from a calmer time soon. In the meantime,
my thoughts are with Nino and all those others in Georgia who showed me such
amazing hospitality and warmth.

The "Boys"

2008-07-26T21:26:00.004-04:00

Mingus is the big one, and Fellini, the small one. They are such silly boys. If you've been on the Three Stone Steps site, looking at the Fellini Pannolini Large Messenger Bag of repurposed materials, or the Mingus Cross Body Bag, in either post-consumer waste recycled black trash bag or repurposed mosquito netting, you now know the origins of the names.

Honestly, I never planned to name bags for the dogs that hang here at Three Stone Steps, but, hey, I was naming something with the Italian word for diaper, "pannolini," and Fellini fit just so well, that I just couldn't resist. And, fair is fair. You can't name one bag after one of the "boys" and have the other one feeling all left out.

Sisters are Doing it for Ourselves

2008-07-18T16:40:00.009-04:00

I spent a very inspiring Friday morning in ournationscapital at a roundtable discussion at the National Museum of Women in the Arts as part of their International Women's Artisans Initiative. The group of almost all women --with one man--were all passionate about improving women's lives in the developing world though working with artisans.

And, what an interesting group it was: There were women who worked with artisans in India, Bolivia, South Africa, and Madagascar, to name but a few. There were representatives from big organizations, like the Department of Labor Women's Bureau and departments within the World Bank, the executive director of the Fair Trade Federation, and small importers like me.

I learned a new phrase that I'll now use often, I'm sure: pity purchases or what I call the buy this bag or I'll kill this puppy school of selling. I know that I could sell many more bags if I told you that many are made by polio and landmine victims, and artisans with HIV. But, a bag is about its function and its design. The fact that it helps a worker in a developing part of the world is value added. I've often joked that I would be rich, rich I tell you, if I told some story that buying one of our bags helped a teenage amputee mother with AIDS in a country that recently had a genocide escape from sexual slavery, but that's not what I think it's about. I respect the customer and the producers far too much to engage in selling based on emotional blackmail.

I also learned that 70 percent of workers in the fair trade sector are women. So, the thought that you either think of women's issues or you think of general fair trade issues isn't much of a point, since they are almost one in the same.

As the chief executive of everything here at the worldwide headquarters of Three Stone Steps, I don't get a lot of chances to sit back, and actually assess just where a little fair trade import company like mine fits within the great big world of social justice. Yes, I do get to think about this on those long flights to S.E. Asia---but, in my day to day work, it's actually a wonderfully compelling luxury.

My morning at the National Museum of Women in the Arts presented just this sort of intellectually stimulating mini-holiday, and that alone should keep me inspired for days and weeks to come.

Three Stone Steps at Great Green Goods

2008-07-17T09:18:00.003-04:00

The deservingly popular--if I do say so myself!--Fellini Pannolini Bag was recently featured on Great Green Goods, a fantastic site that manages to unearth some fantastic products. You can read the review of this great big eco-chic and fairly made bag that can be used as a diaper bag, or laptop bag, or knitting bag, or gym bag, or bicycle bag, or going off to work for the day bag, or overnight bag, or for any other uses you can think of bag right here:

Bags Created From Recycled Mosquito Netting

A nice big bag ..15.5” x 15” x 4.5. with a bunch of pockets inside for your “stuff”. This laptop bag is made from repurposed outdoor mosquito netting, as well as post-consumer waste recycled trash bags, with lining of repurposed industial waterproof tarp by a group in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. This baby will last forever!
$75.00 at Three Stone Steps
Available in five colors.

Going for Change

2008-07-14T12:05:00.007-04:00

Here at Three Stone Steps' worldwide headquarters in Baltimore, Maryland, USA, we are delighted to be featured on the local site, Go for Change, who's mission is: present[ing] a view of sustainability in the Baltimore - Washington area that is both broad and focused. It is a place for people to find and share regional resources for positive change.

If you're in the area, or just concerned about how an wonderful, but older industrial city with its share of challenges strives to deal with them in a sustainable way, or just want to browse an attractive, well done site, with its values in the right place, I don't think you could do much better than surfing over to Go for Change.

And, without further ado, here's the post on yours truly:

Three Stone Steps

7.14.08 | 0 Comments

by alyssa

photo courtesy of: Three Stone Steps

Three Stone Steps offers fairly traded accessory items like laptop bags, scarves and necklaces handcrafted in small workshops or from peoples homes. Although selling imports may not seem very eco-friendly chief executive, Ellen Reich is committed to minimizing each trip when possible and using recycled materials in the work place. Reich doesn’t just look to ‘fair trade’ and being "green" as devices for clever marketing. Having worked in the U.S. labor movement for 15 years, and holding a masters degree in Labor Studies from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, she is keenly aware of the issues involved with justice in the workplace.

Read their press release……

For immediate release

July 7, 2008, Baltimore, Maryland: Baltimore-based importer, Three Stone Steps, is pleased to announce its new partnership with a producer group in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

This partnership represents globalization at its best: Three Stone Steps has brought U.S. style and sensibilities to the Cambodian workshop’s Italian designers, to be made by Cambodian master tailors.

Functional, durable, funky, and sustainable, these bags are made from repurposed mosquito netting, and lined with repurposed waterproof industrial tarp. One style is made from post-consumer waste black plastic garbage bags, which have been collected by mothers in Cambodia struggling to make a modest living, and then washed and dried in the sun. They are then bought at market value, and woven into a unique cross-body bag.

These bags are offered online at www.threestonesteps.com as well as at select boutiques here in Baltimore, and from Alaska to Washington, both the state and the District, a bit further afield.

Ellen Reich, owner of Three Stone Steps, states: "People see these bags and really like them. Then they learn that they are both sustainable and fairly made, and they love them. It’s important to me that the appeal of these bags is on their design, and not, initially, on how and by whom they are produced. The only way that we’ll move, as a society, into being more conscientious about what we are consuming is to sell things that people actually adore and want to use."

About Three Stone Steps:

Ellen Reich, founder of Three Stone Steps, began the business in late 2006 as a way to share the great products she found while traveling with a larger audience. As a former labor union activist who holds a masters degree in Labor Studies, she felt strongly that all items should be made under standards that adhere or surpass fair trade standards. Ellen is also strongly committed to environmental issues. She was certain that there was a way to combine great products, and a green sensibility with a commitment to fair trade. She did, and Three Stone Steps was born.

The name "three stone steps" comes from Chinese lore, where three stone steps at the foot of wooden staircase promises solid footing for a good journey.

Three Stone Steps in the Baltimore Examiner & The Scarf

2008-07-11T16:14:00.002-04:00

Ok, while anorexic fashion models aren't quite Three Stone Steps' thing (ok, Venus, our tall, thin mannequin model is an exception), I was delighted with this little write up in the Baltimore Examiner's online edition last week.

And, delighted, too, that scarves were the featured fashion accessory. Really, I have seen fashionistas here and there, even in the heat and humidity of the Baltimore summer, wearing scarves. And, I must admit, that Three Stone Steps just received some great new hand loomed 100 percent Cambodian silk scarves. As with everything else, I'm still busy getting them up on the site, but honestly, these scarves are so beautiful and luminous and just so tactile that it helps to see them in person.

I'll have the colors on photos updated on the site by next week, but if you're in need of a scarf right this minute, please contact us.

http://www.examiner.com/x-403-Baltimore-Fashion-Examiner~y2008m7d2-It-Takes-Just-3-Stone-Steps-to-Look-Effortlessly-Chic

It Takes Just 3 Stone Steps to Look Effortlessly Chic!

POSTED July 2, 10:31 AM

One trend I really, really love right now is accessorizing an outfit with a colorful, thick scarf. It’s perfect for all ages (my grandmother got me hooked on to the trend almost ten years ago) and all climates. You can wear this trend in July, but make sure its after 7 p.m., because you’ll roast to death during the daytime.

One Baltimore-based company that sells this trendy look, along with other accessories, is Three Stone Steps. They have a selection for men and women, and best of all, their products represent globalization and going green at its finest. The name "three stone steps" comes from Chinese lore, where three stone steps at the foot of wooden staircase promises solid footing for a good journey.

If you’re not a fan of scarves, their bags are the latest eco-craze here in Charm City. Functional, durable, funky, and sustainable, they’re made from repurposed mosquito netting, and lined with repurposed waterproof industrial tarp. One style is made from post-consumer waste black plastic garbage bags, which have been collected by mothers in Cambodia and then washed and dried in the sun.

Ellen Reich, owner of Three Stone Steps and former labor union activist, states: "It's important to me that the appeal of these bags is on their design, and not, initially, on how and by whom they are produced. The only way that we'll move, as a society, into being more conscientious about what we are consuming is to sell things that people actually adore and want to use." Ellen started the business in late 2006 as a way to share the great products she found while traveling with a larger audience.

Contact Info:

ellen@threestonesteps.com
www.threestonesteps.com
443.927.9239 phone/fax

Even More New Arrivals!

2008-07-09T10:44:00.002-04:00

Oh. I have been busy, busy! But, aren't we all? As you've read on a prior post, I have received a brand spanking new collection of sustainable bags from Cambodia, from my new partnership in Phnom Penh. These bags are great!

The Fellini Pannolini is a great, big, workhorse of a bag that you could use for diapers, or going to the gym, or for your laptop, or your knitting, or while riding your bike (and with gas prices what they are, who doesn't want to ride their bike more?), and even overnight. Please check out the Fellini Pannoli bag here. And, I promise to get more photos up of this stupendous bag so that you can see all around this messenger bag, bicycle bag, whatever bag.

The Mingus is in. I'm carrying one, and it's been a good exercise in my trying to be minimal, and not through absolutely everything in what hanging on my shoulder. In addition to mosquito netting, this bag is also in recycled black plastic trash bag....cleaned and smell-free, of course, and woven into a great pattern.

The photo above isn't me!

Finally, the lovely Luna is making lots of fans!

This week, new silks and cottons have come in. While I'll be busy photographing everything, I have great new colors in the cotton messengers bag and cotton travelers bags. The gorgeous silk screen on silk Angkor bag is also now offered in black and gray, in addition to dark purple and red, and finally, the popular for bridesmaids gift jewelry rolls are in such fantastic colors that I am absolutely beside myself.

Here are some new photos of the colors on offer in the great Cambodian-inspired silk screen cotton bags.

With any hope, you can see all these great bags online, or if you're near a store carrying Three Stone Steps' fine products, in person very, very soon.

As for moi, it's back to talking photos.....

Still here with new arrivals

2008-06-16T11:30:00.005-04:00

My goodness. I have been far away from this blog for weeks. My sincere apologies. In any event, lots happening in the world of Three Stone Steps these days. The first of which is that new bags have arrived from Cambodia. That's right! They are ready for purchase now. (Well, not quite ready on my site, but if you really want one, I'll get it to you.) To refresh your memory, please check the following blog entry: http://www.threestonesteps.com/blog/2008/03/sneak-peak.html

Once I get a few more things together, they'll actually be great photos on the site and helpful descriptions of the items too. Of course, I'll let you know the minute its up and ready.

I have other things I'd like to share, but will leave it at that for now. Please stay tuned.

Meet Venus & assorted updates

2008-05-27T14:10:00.004-04:00

Well, it has been a busy, busy Spring. I spent the day before Mother's (or Mothers' Day) being muddy, wet, and cold at Cylburn Arboretum's Market Day. It's a lovely event, however the weather did not cooperate. At least I did not get sun stroke.

This weekend was absolutely gorgeous, and spent it in Rockville, Maryland. (Yes, it's the same Rockville, at least according to wikipedia, as in that R.E.M. song (Don't Go Back to) Rockville. And, now try getting that out of your head.

I was a vendor in the little, new Green Expo section of the city's Hometown Holidays, which marked its 20th year this weekend. Loads of people, loads of dogs, loads of food and music. As usual, I had fantastic neighbors, including Community Forklif t, best described as a cross between Home Depot and Goodwill.

As always, I met some really fantastic Rockvillians and some other Montgomery County denizens. And, sold a few bags and scarves, which never, ever hurts. I certainly hope that the new Green Expo isn't a one-time deal, since I look forward to being there next year. Perhaps you'll be able to join me.

And, now for a massive change in subject:

I want to introduce you to Venus. Once you see my new employee (she is signing up for Mannequins and Inanimate Models local 6332 any day now!) who will model Three Stone Steps' bags. For those of you who cannot join me at live events, or get to one of Three Stone Steps' many fine retailers, Venus should assist you with getting a good sense of bag sizes and styles.

Here we go:

<----Venus (ok, I know the name is a bit too obvious) is modeling the Fellini Pannolini Bag. While Venus is about six feet tall and a size 2 (don't get jealous, she doesn't have any hair or arms, so there!) so keep that in mind when figuring out how the bag would look on a more normally sized person.

On this side------------------------------------------>
Venus is showing off the Mingus Flat Cross Body Bag.
You can see just how stylin' she is in this, and you can be stylin' too.

Again, these bags should be up and on the Three Stone Steps site in the next few weeks. They will also be at retailers from Alaska to Washington (the state and ournationscapital) in the next few weeks as well.

In the meantime, I will be spending this coming weekend at the Charles Village Festival in Baltimore. And, I'm giving Venus the day off. If you're in the area, please come by and say 'hi.'

Mothers' Day/Mother's Day

2008-05-08T10:42:00.009-04:00

Ah, the apostrophe! Where would we be without it?

In my never ending quest to blog about holidays, I found Mothers' Day (with the apostrophe after the "s" ) to be much more to my liking. It's a communal thing: you know, collective action versus taking your mother out to brunch with free flowing mimosas and signing your name to a Hallmark card.

As with most things, there's some great background here, background that those marking Mother's Day eating out and shopping tend to forget. This first little bit is minimally edited from a website on West Virginia culture:

It started with Ann Marie Jarvis who organized a series of Mothers' Day Work Clubs in West Virginia to improve health and sanitary conditions. Among other services, the clubs raised money for medicine, hired women to work for families in which the mothers suffered from tuberculosis, and inspected bottled milk and food. In 1860, local doctors supported the formation of clubs in other towns.

The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad made a county in West Virginia a strategic site during the Civil War. Ann Jarvis urged the Mothers' Day Work Clubs to declare their neutrality and provide relief to both Union and Confederate soldiers. The clubs treated the wounded and regularly fed and clothed soldiers stationed in the area. Jarvis also managed to preserve an element of peace in a community being torn apart by political differences. During the war, she worked tirelessly despite the personal tragedy of losing four of her children to disease. In all, eight of her twelve children died before reaching adulthood.

But, that's not all. Julia Ward Howell, of Battle Hymn of the Republic fame, as well as an advocate for suffrage and a pacifist also envision Mothers' Day as an "s" apostrophe holiday. In fact, she wrote a poetic proclamation:

Arise then...women of this day!
Arise, all women who have hearts!
Whether your baptism be of water or of tears!

Say firmly:
"We will not have questions answered by irrelevant agencies,
Our husbands will not come to us, reeking with carnage,
For caresses and applause.
Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn
All that we have been able to teach them of charity, mercy and patience.
We, the women of one country,
Will be too tender of those of another country
To allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs."

From the bosom of a devastated Earth a voice goes up with
Our own. It says: "Disarm! Disarm!
The sword of murder is not the balance of justice."
Blood does not wipe out dishonor,
Nor violence indicate possession.
As men have often forsaken the plough and the anvil
At the summons of war,
Let women now leave all that may be left of home
For a great and earnest day of counsel.
Let them meet first, as women, to bewail and commemorate the dead.
Let them solemnly take counsel with each other as to the means
Whereby the great human family can live in peace...
Each bearing after his own time the sacred impress, not of Caesar,
But of God -
In the name of womanhood and humanity, I earnestly ask
That a general congress of women without limit of nationality,
May be appointed and held at someplace deemed most convenient
And the earliest period consistent with its objects,
To promote the alliance of the different nationalities,
The amicable settlement of international questions,
The great and general interests of peace.

How the holiday morphed from one promoting the great and general interests of peace to one promoting (unfairly traded) floral bouquets and canned sentiment is far beyond the scope of this blog, and perhaps my somewhat rusty research skills. But, with that said, Happy Mothers' Day to all!

Earth Week in Baltimore

2008-04-29T18:57:00.007-04:00

What a great scene right in front of my little Three Stone Steps space at the Eco Festival that kicked off baltimoregreenweek. All morning long, there were groups of kids drawing with chalk on the asphalt. While many kids came through during the day, this little group above came first.

Really, whenever I do one of those early spring festivals at the home of Three Stone Steps' worldwide headquarters in Baltimore, Maryland, USA, I'm always delighted.

In this case, I was incredibly amazed at all the positive things that people are taking on to make the city, state, country, and planet a better place to live now and into the future. Also, getting out with my eco-chic bags, silk scarves, and business card cases and getting feed back is always great. And, let's be honest, a sale or two never actually hurt either.

I also had fantastic neighbors. Reps from a new magazine, City Living Source, on one side, and the delightful Sharan, who's taken it upon herself to put together Baltimore's first Fashion Week on my other side. In fact, I was so impressed with both that I'll probably do some sort of ad thing in the magazine around the winter holidays, and am seriously thinking of taking my eco-chic bags to the runway for Fashion Week. Ok, it's not Milan, or London, or New York, but it's sure to be fun and new (for me).

I'll keep you all posted on my first foray into the world of the catwalk.

But, before I get there, I'll again be at a Springtime in Baltimore event at the Cylburn Arboretum on May 10. As always, I'll keep you posted!