Video from Mongolia

I wish I had video to share of the artists creating Satch & Sol slippers. I do not. However, I found this video of the making of felted ger walls on youtube. The heavy felted walls are MUCH bigger than slippers, so they are beaten down by dragging on horse back. Horses are not used in the felting of Satch & Sol slippers, hats and mittens, all of which are felted around a mold to be seamless. The similarities in the processes are the lack of electricity to beat the wool into felt, the small group work, and the fact that many of the artists live in gers themselves.

Someday, I'll record a video, if the artists will allow me to. Until then, I noticed several youtube videos about felting process and found them all to be very informative, espcially the ones showing Mongolia specifically.

Ebjoy!

Satch & Sol Approved by Green America. Yippee!

I have been striving to emulate the values of Green America since the very early stages of Satch & Sol. Green America (formerly called Coop America) exudes the eco-friendly and fair trade values that are core to Satch & Sol's vision. Thus, I am jump-up-and-down excited to see Satch & Sol be approved as a member of this wonderful organization. And wow (!), that was quite an application process of in depth questions.

For anyone thinking Green Entrepreneurship, I recommend joining the Green America Business Network (GABN). GABN is an email list that you can join prior to being approved by Green America. Learn how to join by visiting the Green Business network. I asked a lot of questions of established Green Business leaders and received many helpful answers to keep my business growing. Finding Green America early in my business development was a great discovery for me.

For anyone looking to GREEN there lives and business in anyway, bookmark the GreenPages.org. This reference provides a list of all Green America approved members.

I look forward to updating my website soon to show the official Green America Seal of Approval (tm) and to reflect membership.

New New New

I am excited to add new colors, styles and products for Fall and Winter. You will see them appear gradually in the online boutique by September 1.

Some of the lovely new items the artists made have yet to arrive...and perhaps are lost in their travels forever. I hope someone, somewhere will enjoy them and appreciate the handcrafted beauty of each piece. Ahhhhhhh, but I am so happy to have the ones that arrived! My favorite are the natural flowers with their muted burnt orange pedals. They make me pine for toddler feet in our household again. I will happily gift a pair to my newborn niece.

Watch for new felted wool mittens, hats and gloves in baby and toddler sizes!

many thanks to the bloggers

I am very thankful to the bloggers out there who have helped spread the word about Satch & Sol and the amazing artists of Mongolia. Most recently, it was lovely to see a post on Natural Mommie. Thank you! I love this small business and it is so rewarding to hear what other people have to say about it.

Like my children's artwork hanging ceiling to floor in our kitchen, I proudly display Satch & Sol's reviews and press here.

Start-up Nation Contest

I entered Satch & Sol into a contest for mom-owned small businesses. To check it out and vote, please go here. Thank you for helping me move the needle!

Wow! This first quarter of 2009 has flown by. I look forward to sharing new products and upcoming events on the blog soon.

Several Seattle businesses SAMPLE SALE

Are you in the Seattle area? Please join Satch & Sol and several other kid-oriented businesses for this big SIX-day sale.

It's going to be a very big sale as everyone is turning over inventory for the new year. I think that all of the participants are mom-owned-and-operated local businesses.

Please join us there.

Working with children in tow

Separation between work and home seems to get slimmer the more I dive into Satch & Sol, but it has been a natural and welcome progression. Sometimes, Solomon practices his sewing techniques, by my side, on his designated pair of sewing slippers. (I can't wait until he is done, so I may photograph and share his creation!) Once when the boys were angry about what they saw as an 'early bedtime', they hid two slippers and negotiated an extra bedtime book for their safe return. They know how important this business is to me and our whole family. Both my boys have learned to be patient when I am fulfilling an online order or diligently embroidering a special order. Afterall, preschool is only 3 days per week, but Satch & Sol is 7. I love my time at home with the boys and I am so grateful that they don't balk when I stitch at the playground or sort slippers while we build legos. Recently, the boys were thrilled to help me wrap our first palletized order and even more excited to watch the forklift take it from our garage to the big truck. Satchel told the grocery store checkout guy all about it. With Sam nicely helping update my QuickBooks account, we are now a true family business.