Happy Halloween

Shop dog Shaft got a superhero cape for Halloween. The SOB barked at pretty much every trick or treater though. But LA kids are tough, and they want their candy - none were scared!

around the world with regeneration

Check out the world map of countries sporting regeneration wear!

Make yours @ BigHugeLabs.com

RIP Martha

I won't go into the long tale of Martha's last days, but she didn't make it. This blog kind of died with her last month, but I'll try to keep posting again.

travels with Martha

I thought this was my last photo of Martha, because I couldn't find her anywhere yesterday. Then at the end of the day I nearly stepped on her, because she was right in the doorway. She's missing an antenna, but otherwise seems okay. I put her back on the shelf in the window, where she stayed all day today.

zen evolution interview

Last week I was contacted by some people starting a new website called "Zen Evolution TV", and they did an interview with me in the store. The website won't launch for a few months, but they had some thoughtful questions that I thought I would post here.

1) What inspired the start of your business?
I think I had recently seen "An Inconvenient Truth", and had gone to an AltBuild show in Santa Monica, which was about alternative earth-friendly building materials. And I thought to myself, why aren't there any stores that specialize in "green" goods? There didn't seem to be any, so I was kicking around the idea. Then I just happened upon a cool space for rent at the right time, so I went for it.
2) What makes your business different (and better) from all of your competitors? (both eco-friendly competitors and the obvious non-eco-friendly)
I think what really makes the store work is that most people find things that they really want, and the eco-friendly aspect is a bonus. There's also so many items that have a story behind them, that customers have said it's like browsing in a museum.
3) How has your business grown since you opened? Have you discovered that because of greater awareness of Global Warming, that your business has increased?
As I mentioned, two years ago there wasn't much of an eco marketplace. Now they're popping up all over the place, and it's a whole new world of eco-commerce. I try to avoid carrying lines that are just riding the green wave and turning it into a fad. I think green should be a habit, not "the new black".
4) What is the hardest part about transitioning people over to eco-friendly products?
Cost!!!
5) What do YOU do to be green at home and as a business owner? What challenges have you faced in being green? And do you require your employees to also be green-minded or rather, are you transforming them to greener ways by working for Shop Regeneration?
I recycle and compost so much that I usually don't even have to put out my regular trash can. I try to always be aware of my actions and their impact on the earth, without driving myself crazy with it (a hard balance to achieve!). I'm often leaving nagging notes to my employees about what is and isn't recyclable ( I have to sort it and bring it home since there's no commercial recycling trash pick-up here). I don't preach to anybody, but I think spending a lot of time in the store would cause some changes in their mindset.
6) How do you get in your 'ZEN place' each business day and what do you do to motivate your staff?
Actually, I usually feel pretty "zen" as soon as I walk in the door of the store. I'm not sure if it's all the good smells or the vibe.
I try to treat my staff with lots of respect and do what I can to keep them happy to work here. I also choose to work with people that motivate themselves.
7) What are your most popular items and why?
Lately I've been selling tons of clothes that I silkscreen. Some are vintage or current second hand clothes given a new lease on life with a fun design, but I'm also doing new pima cotton, organic cotton , soy and bamboo t shirts.
Also Melissa plastic shoes from Brazil - some women have gotten so addicted, they keep buying more pairs in different colors. I have a waiting list for different sizes when new shipments come in.
And those Envirosax (re-usable shopping bags with fun patterns) just sell like hotcakes!

8) What do you hope your customers will walk away with in doing business with you?
I hope people who shop here have fun doing it, feel good about where they chose to spend their money, and maybe even leave having learned something new.

unusual eggplant

Okay, this has nothing to do with the store, but I had to post this photo of a weird eggplant I found at the market. It was lying in a big pile, with these little arms stretched out to me, so I just had to buy it. I didn't have the heart to cook it, so now it's just turning brown in the fridge and will end up in the composter. A plant-expert friend (and landscape designer: http://www.ashcrowdesign.com/index.html ) had this to say about it: "The eggplant is showing a classic genetic abnormality, that's sort of like the plant's version of triplets, only one of the fruits actually developed. "
Cool!

selling on Etsy

I've started selling on Etsy recently, and have sold much more there in the past month than in 2 years from the website. I've been selling my silk screened clothing, which I've just started putting up on the website. It's been really fun, shipping to all over the world and having email conversations with customers. The best thing is waking up in the morning to find I sold things over night. I've gotten several big wholesale orders as well, and it's exciting to know my things will be sold in Canada and New York. I would like to pursue the wholesale avenue more, and I'm working on getting a solid line together first.

Martha, the new store pet

I'm so excited about the store's new pet! I found this big praying mantis sitting on a hat in the window earlier this week, and named her Martha (I don't know why - it was the first name that popped into my head). Every morning I have fun looking for her - I'll think she's gone and then I'll see her hanging off a purse and staring at me. I haven't seen her eat anything yet, but I'm guessing she's catching some of the flies that end up buzzing around in here.
I could still see her in the window when I left, so I took another shot of her hanging out on the hat in the dark (you'll have to look closely).

welcome!

Okay, so after over two years since opening, I'm finally starting a blog for Regeneration. I'm not sure what I hope to accomplish with it, but I'll probably figure it out as I go along (much like I have with the store). i think this will be a fun easy way to post new additions to the store, since it's been really tough to keep the website up to date. It's a one woman show, here!
This won't be a "green blog" - there's no shortage of them, and I'm no expert on the subject anyway. I'm just a gal who hates to throw anything away (and prefers the term "recycler" to "packrat").
I've made some changes to the store in the past few months, the biggest being some pretty drastic price changes and starting to carry used and vintage clothes. While there's new eco clothing lines popping up all over the place, they're all still so darned expensive. I'm trying to adapt to the economy which has been pretty tricky lately, so I've stopped ordering all those expensive bamboo and soy clothes for the most part. Buying used is always going to be 100 times more eco-friendly, especially when your organic cotton or bamboo clothes are shipped from the other side of the world.
Thanks for stopping by and please come on back!
-Kelly, owner of Regeneration
http://www.shopregeneration.com