These are (not at all) the Good Times

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

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!

Fells Point Festival this Weekend!

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!'

Three Stone Steps in the Baltimore Examiner & The Scarf

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

How I Spent My Earth Day

In the grand tradition of the essay, which I don't remember ever having to write, How I Spent My Summer Vacation, I bring to you my Earth Day essay.

First, if you've read my blog. I'm not the hugest fan ever of holidays. But, I did celebrate Earth Day by having a table at an Earth Day Expo, an information only deal, at the Community College of Baltimore County Catonsville campus. It was a lovely day, with dogwoods and red buds in bloom, and azelas starting to bloom. The campus was also lovely and historic. I loved the students, a diverse, happy, curious, and above all, incredible nice group of kids. (I've been away from a campus for so long, that I realize that first and second year college students are now "kids," as if I needed another reminder that I was old.)

We were set up in a great old barn. There was a smallish selection of area green businesses, but what struck me was that there were far, far too many old fashioned type of green businesses: pyramid selling products (I don't want to name them, but you probably know), vegetarian and vegan resources, a person hawking a special juice from a special berry (also pyramid selling, as far as I could tell), and some green glue. Ok. There were some other great products, most notably a cosmetic company that had great products and fantastic packaging, and an organic bakery that shared a table with someone who farms and sells at farmers markets (although not the one I go to, since I was told that mine beloved market, under an expressway in downtown Baltimore City was "too dangerous), but, all in all, I feel as though the "green movement" has moved beyond this.

In fact, Three Stone Steps tries hard to push the boundaries. We try to show that you can be green and care about fair trade and NOT be in some green/fair trade ghetto. I want people to love Three Stone Steps messenger bags, scarves, jewelry rolls, and other eco-chic and fair trade fashion accessories, not because they are green and fair trade, but because they like them. Once people like them, well, then, all the better that they are good for the planet and for the workers.

Actually, I have a few more thoughts about all this, given the marketing for Earth Day from everywhere from the New York Times to The Baltimore Sun, including the Parade Magazine enclose, to the Fox Network to Wal-Mart. But, I'll save this for another post, as well as some photos of my lovely little table in the barn.

As always, stay tuned.

I'm still here....

Ah, but dear reader, I have been very busy.

I'm getting ready for my inaugural trade show, for museum store buyers, down in Tampa. I'm super excited to show off Three Stone Steps' new line of bags made of recycled, repurposed mosquito netting, and the new bag made of recycled big plastic garbage bags that are woven around blue yard.

Eco-chic at its greenest best, I tell you!

I'll also be showing off my gorgeous two-toned 100 percent silk scarves, which, by some crazy reserve of will power, I've narrowed down to carrying in only four colors. These are hand made of course, and woven in a traditional way, not often seen in Southeast Asia. I also will have my lovely silk Angkor shoulder bag, in some new colors, as well as new colors of the great little cotton travel bag along with the larger commuter bag, both with the same great traditional, yet non-ethnic hippie Khmer silk-screen pattern. Oh, and silk jewelery rolls, and, if my some magic along with the correct alignment of the planets, maybe, just maybe, I'll even have those brand spanking new striped and beaded cosmetic bags along for the ride. I am waiting, waiting, waiting for the USPS to bring this wonderful package to my little door. Please Mr. Postman, look and see, is there a package, a package for meeeeeeeeeeeeeeee?

While the folks in Tampa will get to see all these goodies in person, never fear, everything will up on the site by later this month.....and, most everything should be available for purchase sometime this summer.

As always, stay tuned....and, updates from the road.

Happy Valentine'$ Day, or a little lament

Here at Three Stone Steps, we take a pretty dim view of negative posts. But, today is Valentine's Day and I must admit that it's just not my kind of holiday. I sort of bristle at the thought of flowers and chocolates (more about how they are produced later), and canned & sometimes clever sentiments supplied by the large greeting card companies. Of course, if Valentine's Day is your thing, well, good for you. It's just that I would prefer to share my feelings about a person in a less mainstream and consumerist kind of way.

And, sorry, now having a flashback to Bedford Elementary School, where we decorated paper lunch bags and gave Valentines cards, bought in boxes of what, two dozen, to our classmates. Thinking about this now, it just seems very, very odd.....

This morning I read some staggering figures about the money spent on this holiday of love. (I've had some trouble with linking this morning, but this is all from http://www.businessshrink.biz. I will try my best to get a direct link for this.)

You can expect the typical things that are always traded on Valentine’s Day to be given as tokens of affection. Flowers, chocolate, greeting cards and jewelry always keeps the typical lover in check with the Joneses. When you combine all these items in addition to the offbeat tokens of affection you get a figure of about $17.02 billion dollars. The National Retail Federation did their yearly survey of consumers about their planned spending habits for Valentines Day and arrived at these numbers. Every year the numbers end up well on par and show American’s are good at predicting honestly what they will spend on Valentines day.
With survey results tabulated and the final numbers in from National Retail Federation, American’s are predicted to spend $122.98 on average per person. In 2006 predicted spending amounts rang in at $100.89 per person on the average. This is nearly a 21.9% increase in spending in only 2 years. If the potential recession is getting consumers down, Valentine’s Day seems to be getting them back in love with opening their pocketbooks. There is one hint of a predicted spending hit due to the recession and it lies with women and their spending. Women’s predicted spending declined in every category except jewelry this year according to some numbers produced over at Marketing Daily.

We're certainly talking about of chunk of change here. And, I don't even think this includes going out for a decent meal in an overcrowded for Valentine's Day restaurant. I am also wondering about who gives Valentines to the workers who pick the flowers (which are, I'd hazard to guess, not exactly grown in pristine organic conditions, exposing workers--and the environment--to all sorts of toxic chemicals), and unless you get fair trade chocolate, who knows under what conditions its grown and made. Jewelry, like diamonds and gold, have their own labor problems.....

But, Three Stone Steps is into solving problems, and not creating them! So, if you're looking for a great gift, how about a nice silk scarf, or a messenger bag made from repurposed mosquito netting, or a wallet from that same mosquito netting material? A nice silk handbag or business card holder also makes for a great, and guilt free, and affordable gift for your Valentine's sweetheart.

But, just to show that I like flowers, and I like love, I present to you a lovely photo taken from just outside of my little hotel in Singapore.

This woman was just outside of my hotel everyday, and was selling flowers (and incense) for those entering the neighboring Goddess of Mercy Temple. I still thought the flowers were special, and I really do like the idea of Mercy, just as I'm pretty fond of fairness and justice. I don't know if there are goddesses and temples for these ideals, but Three Stone Steps would surely buy flowers when entering those temples.

Of course, I wish everyone who celebrates this holiday the happiest of Valentine's Days ever. And, honestly, who couldn't use a little more love in the world!

Another November Holiday

Do you know what tomorrow is? I'll bet you that you don't! It's America Recycles Day (by America, I'm assuming that they mean the United States.)

Like a lot of folks, I've been thinking a great deal about recycling, and cutting my carbon footprint. I guess when we think about the three "Rs": reduce, reuse, recycle, they are in order of priority, which is REDUCE. It does seem to go against the grain of the US ethos (especially during this increasingly early holiday season) to talk about reducing. Of course, I sell stuff, which doesn't exactly gel with getting people to reduce. (Of course, some of my stuff is already recycled, and is long lasting, so you won't have to buy another handbag, scarf, or wallet any time soon!)

What's interesting, well, to me, is that November 15th's day is sponsored by big corporations, like Coca-Cola, Dell, and Staples. I'm sure they mean well *ahem*, but they sure ain't telling anyone to reduce. If you want to see more about this day, check out the National Recycling Coalition's site.

Anyway, good on them! Now, if Baltimore could just get its act together picking up our recycling, we'd be all set!

So, I've taken the recycling pledge, and here's my badge to prove it!