I guess I should at least have a bottle of it in the cupboard

A few years ago Thomas signed up to be a Maker's Mark Ambassador which means he has his name on some whisky-filled barrel deep in the heart of Kentucky, and it also means we get tons of cool stuff in the mail. Today a mysterious black tube arrived. Inside was a tube of wrapping paper adorned with stars made out of tiny Maker's Mark bottles, some To/From hang tags and a hank of red ribbon emblazoned with the Maker's Mark name. Thomas said, "You should go work for Maker's Mark, hon. They let their designers do cool shit!" I agree.

Join me

I have a huge and underwhelming fascination with the idea of doing chores around the house. Laundry makes me crazy. The dishes can make me cry on any given day. And don't even talk to me about scrubbing the toilet. Did I mention I am known among family to have an immense hatred for the vacuum cleaner? I enjoy being at home, cooking and doing domestic hobbies but please, never, EVER accuse me of keeping a good house. I am not a housewife, a homemaker or other such female pejorative. I am allergic to housework. Violently.

Which leads me to my new website, Housework Rules! (to be said with the thickest sarcasm you can slather on). Go, check it out. Find new ways to avoid daily chores with inspiration and products from your favorite hobbies including knitting, cooking, gardening, scrapbooking, sewing and paper. I know I'm not alone. I know you hate housework too.

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.

Design of the Day

Orla Kiely Favorites

This orange bag used to walk into my yarn store every other week or so. I was normally very skilled at remembering customers' names but for the poor woman attached to this purse, I only knew her as "That PURSE." The color is amazing bright orange, and each time the purse would come in I would immediately approach its human talk to her about it. Jennifer (I later learned after she switched handbags) opened my eyes to the wonderful and brightly patterned world of Orla Kiely accessories. Kiely has since grown in popularity, expanding her product line into clothing and luggage and by opening a flagship store in Covent Garden, that I must visit on our trip to London this summer!

orlakiely.com

Design of the Day

Oakley Sunglasses

I hadn't seen the value to a good pair of sunglasses until I moved to Southern California. For the first few years, I had a string of cheap conquests from Target, but the sun in California is about one million times the strength it is in Pennsylvania, and I'm not exaggerating. One day after squinting my entire drive down the Coast Highway I decided I would splurge for a good pair of glasses and went on the hunt. I went in one surf shop and tried on one pair. This is them. I love them. They are my life. Thomas should give me a Mother's Day gift because of the way I baby these things.