Alley dogs come to Earth Alley

There are some cats too! One of the orders from the Atlanta show came in already. This guy is just one of several, all having some recycled or refurbished metal components. Now I have to find a dog house in the store to keep them safe.

Coming down from a shopping spree

After the crazy exhileration of the past weekend in Atlanta at Amerimart, I am coming down fast, kinda like after a big shopping spree - oh yeah it was a big shopping spree! Unlike coming home from a great shoe sale, I don't have anything to show for it - except for the credit card bill - at least not for another 2 weeks when some of the orders will come in like the simple but beautiful eco-friendly garden pots made from discarded rice husks. What colors did I order, what size again. I want..I want...

Am I really opening an eco-friendly store shopping in an American mall?

It hit me like a ton of bricks. I am really opening my own store when I catapulted myself to shop ol'American style – the BIG Mall way! Imagine 3 Mall of America super-size-me buildings with 18 floors in each all connected by elaborate passageways and a several football field size open space. There were over 5,000 venders selling everything from Peruvian potato ornaments to Middle Eastern rugs worth more than my recently bought store in Hampden. The collateral damages - my first panic attack.

Up until this point, it was all a romantic dream – owning a store - until I went to the biggest trade show on the east coast this past weekend. My task of culling through the 5,0000 or more mini-shops was to seek out, eco-friendly, fair-trade "original" items for my new store in Baltimore, Earth Alley, kinda like if I were to search through the Mall of America for earth-honored items made from local artists. The exception - shoppers from the entire County in a bargain-basement of the century crashing into each other. My idea of fun…Quickly I found the free beer and started pushing my way as well. Not so friendly, eco- or otherwise of me, I know but I did find some great things.

Selection of hand made pillows and silk scarves from Earth Alley.