Behind the Brand: LoooLo Textiles

Below is a new article I wrote for BeE Woman magazine.

Before the words “organic” and “sustainable” had entered the mainstream, 32-year-old Joanna Notkin wanted to find a way to bring eco-friendly cushions to living rooms around the world. While studying textiles at the Rhode Island School of Design, Notkin noticed that natural fabrics were not really all that natural—but rather, filled with pesticides and toxic chemicals. “Isn’t there a way to design things so that when you’re done with them, they’re not necessarily garbage?” she wondered. Out of her determination to develop a product that could be both natural and 100 percent biodegradable, the idea for Looolo, a sustainable textile company, was born.

With lofty goals and some money she’d saved from a part-time job as an oyster shucker, Notkin started the company in 2004. Having made many of the products by hand, she offered a mere five pillows and two blankets as inventory in her booth at the Toronto Design Show, her first trade show.

As sustainable materials started to catch on with the public, sales began to climb. “It was not easy starting a company with a big agenda,” Notkin recalls. “My ideas limited me as far as materials, color and expense.” She searched every corner of the globe for the best organic yarns, finding sources in Switzerland, Australia and Vermont. Because Looolo’s pillows, blankets and scarves are made from natural materials and zero-impact dyes, they’re 100 percent biodegradable and can be disposed of in a composter. Even the company logo—a looping, interconnected “100%”—reflects the company’s commitment to sustainability. From the design and manufacturing to the products themselves, everything at Looolo Textiles is achieved through a sustainable process.

Determined to continue to help make the earth a better place, Notkin is now looking to expand on her vision. Recently, she received a prestigious business grant for women entrepreneurs from Eileen Fisher; this year, she plans to launch a new line of products designed from an eco-polyester, including accessories such as place mats and small zippered pouches due to hit stores this summer and double her sales revenue.

“As a designer, I was never settled with the fact that all the things I was making were one day going to end up in a landfill,” Notkin recounts. “Ten or more years ago, the seed was planted that I wanted to design something more meaningful.”

Heather Walpole, is a freelance writer based in Oceanside, Calif.

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Click here to view the entire piece.

They don't want to hustle with the weak

Tonight we are hitting the streets for a Soul Train themed party. Above is a sampling of Thomas' ensemble, below is mine. You may want to dim your monitor before scrolling down to look at my outfit. Imagine the hottest pink, multiply it by 10, then add flowers in hunter orange. It is so bright that if you stare at it for 30 seconds and then look at a blank wall you will see the image of Jesus or your eyes may just fall out of your head. I. AM. SO. EXCITED.

Here and there and everywhere, but really nowhere

I feel like I've been really busy recently but I don't know what I've been really busy doing. I haven't been taking photos, I haven't been blogging, maybe I've been working? I'm not sure. How does that happen? The days go by, I feel busy and accomplished but none of the things I like to do are done. I did though find these two gems sitting in my iPhoto stash. I took them last week but I think I neglected to go through my photos.

So now I'm off for a haircut and to get Thomas' watch fixed. (Well, not fixed, but get a link removed from the band. A few weeks ago I took it to the jeweler to have it made a little bigger and I thought adding two links would be better than just one. It's not.)

When size matters...

I think I nearly peed my pants when I saw this remote control on a recent shopping excursion. It was a foot tall.

Smile! It's an alpaca sale!

Head over to NobleKnits and enter to win two free skeins of Misti Alpaca yarn. All you have to do is answer seven questions correctly and you'll be entered in the drawing. Plus! Just for entering you get 25% off your purchase of any alpaca yarn from NobleKnits.com.

Click here and good luck!