Goat Hair- It Makes a Great All-Weather Tent

So, as I mentioned a couple of days ago, I've started reading Cradle to Cradle by William McDonough. In the introduction (I've gotten further than that), he writes that the Bedouin in Jordan used woven goat hair to make their tents. It's portable and easy to repair. It's renewable because goats always travel with the clans. When it rains, the fibers of the goat hair swell and keeps the water out. It seems so brilliant.

Today's Action: Stop Mountaintop Removal

Good Morning, Everyone-
Tomorrow we will be donating to an organization ( Stop Mountaintop Removal) that in a sane world really should not exist. Sadly, it is not often a sane world. The devastation wreaked by this type of mining is so egregious, so horrific, and so visible, that I am continually amazed and saddened that it is still done. From their website:

Mountaintop removal mining is a form of strip mining in which coal companies use explosives to blast as much as 800 to 1000 feet off the tops of mountains order to reach the coal seams that lie underneath. The resulting millions of tons of waste rock, dirt, and vegetation are then dumped into surrounding valleys, burying miles and miles of streams under piles of rubble hundreds of feet deep. Mountaintop removal mining harms not only aquatic ecosystems and water quality, but also destroys hundreds of acres of healthy forests and fish and wildlife habitat, including habitat of threatened and endangered species, when the tops of mountains are blasted away.

This practice also devastates Appalachian communities and cultures that have existed in these mountains for hundreds of years. Residents of the surrounding communities are threatened by rock slides, catastrophic floods, poisoned water supplies, constant blasting, destroyed property, and lost culture. As a result, many have been fighting the practice for years. Mountaintop removal mining takes place in many states in the Appalachian region, including West Virginia, Kentucky, southern Virginia, and eastern Tennessee.

Maybe it's because skinnyskinny was born and raised in Tennessee (before moving to NYC) that this particular issue resonates so strongly, but I doubt it's that simple. It sucks for everyone in any of the surrounding areas. Listen to any of the stories from people who live there, and you'll soon realize that the 'benefits' of this asinine energy source can't possibly be worth the trade-offs.

We have a scheduled donation, but for every new follower that we get on Twitter by 5 pm (EST) today, we'll donate an extra $1 (up to $1000). So, get busy, there's no purchase necessary.

My Kindle

It's gray and overcast today here in Brooklyn. It's a perfect day for reading and sipping tea.
I recently got an Amazon Kindle2 (pictured) and so far, I've been incredibly impressed with it. I am not a gadget sort of person and really thought that I'd miss the feel of the paper pages of a book, but I didn't. The kindle is so easy to use and has so many intuitive features that it makes reading even easier. Okay, not easier, but it does make for a really pleasant reading experience.

The first book that I downloaded was Things I've Been Silent About by Azar Nafisi. I had read Reading Lolita in Tehran years ago and had liked it for the most part. I'd give Things I've Been Silent About maybe 3.5 out of 5. The next book on my list is Cradle to Cradle by William McDonough. This is an influential book on being much smarter/wiser about designing products, etc. for a truly sustainable world. At least, I think that's what it's about.

Happy Saturday! (We're having a Sale!)

The weekend is here. Yay!
It's also time for a sale at skinnyskinny. Through April 15, 2009, enter the code 'spring20' during the checkout on our site and you'll get 20% off our entire catalog. Our organic soaps make it easy to get started with your spring cleaning. So, go crazy...
The bird in today's photo is not made of soap. It's also not real. It's a hand-painted bird sculpture that I made (there are actually a pair of birds). The branch is attached to the brick wall in our apartment. Have a great weekend.

Organic and Ecofriendly Scented Stationery

Remember way-back-when, or at least in the movies that depict way-back-when? Women would scent their love letters with their favorite perfume to remind their betrothed of all the things that written words can't convey. Not only has skinnyskinny learned from this approach, we've even improved upon it. Our handmade stationery is made entirely from eco-friendly materials and scented with organic essential oils that can be completely personalized. The examples featured above are crafted from an old cookbook (a slightly campy resource, admittedly, but think of all the metaphors for recipes and chemistry in our language-- some of them are quite sincere) and treeless paper. The edges of the envelope are sewn. Inside this is the real substance: the scented note that can be as alluring, as seductive, or as innocent as you like. These were custom-made for a client, and if you are interested in your very own set, contact us for pricing and options.

Adorable Organic Soap Animals

Good Morning, Everyone-
We've recently made these organic soap animals for a benefit at the American Museum of Natural History. We loved them so much that we'll soon be adding them to our product line. They are great little guest soaps or the perfect soaps to entice the childish ones into the tub. They'll be available in all of our great organic soap varieties and will also be available as an 'urban/barnyard' set.

Happy Spring!

Hello and welcome!

With the arrival of spring, we’re launching our new site along with our very own blog: skinnsights. This is where you’ll find the latest buzz on new organic & eco-savvy products we're making and all the sustainable and eco-friendly business practices we're following. Get insights on things in the outside world that we like (and maybe some that we don’t) and get to know different members of the skinnyskinny team. Best of all, be the first to learn about our awesome promotions and giveaways.

In the next few days, we’ll be announcing our newest contest (hint: there’s a spring theme!), so make sure to check back often. You can also subscribe to the blog feed or follow us with Google Friend Connect. And if you can’t bear to be away from us at all, then follow us on Twitter and be our fan on Facebook. Then you'll never have to miss us.