image by wendymehndi on flickr

Share on Facebook

I thought I’d write a few fun facts and point you to a few of my other running endeavors – I adore perfumery, and it’s one among many other things that I enjoy doing.

• I also write Fat Chic plus size fashion blog.
• I am dedicated to the Artist’s Way and I keep a blog with other cluster members about my experiences.
• I am also a writer, with a focus on occult nonfiction. And I organize my local Doctor Who meetup.
• I have a “landing page” that can take you to all my projects (well, most of them.)

I hail originally from Northwest Indiana, but I consider my hometown Minneapolis. I’m an avid reader and magazine junkie, I love to cook, and if you couldn’t tell, I’m fascinated by gardening.

So hello – nice to meet you all!

Share on Facebook

This mainly applies to people who use a home service for shipping – I’m not sure if PayPal has international service (I would think so.) I use and prefer Stamps.com, and that’s the reason I know about this. That image you see above? It’s called a Form 2976-E, E standing presumably for envelope. Technically, it’s the “required” form for international shipping from the US Post Office, although I’ve never seen a postal worker request it or even seen one of these creatures loose among the plethora of forms and envelopes you might see at your post office counter.

Form 2976-E is a plastic insert envelope where you can slide in a hand-written customs form or a simple printout for international shipping. It’s amazingly handy – and better yet, you can order them free. It keeps precious information from getting wet, and while it’s a bit awkward on my 4×4x4 boxes, I think the origami effort is worth it – especially considering the price!

Share on Facebook

image by Glamour Schatz on flickr

The Financial Times dug up some mold on oud, and while they’re talking about agarwood like it’s news, the stuff was sniffed out by perfumers centuries ago. Believe it or not, that modly old wood is one component of the genius behind natural ambers and many a wood-scent cologne.

It’s also insanely expensive, and there’s not really a great way to harvest it sustainably – you pretty much have to break the tree to bits to get at the good stuff. Arguably, if you keep prices high and break very few trees to bits each year, demand for the scent can be managed. But that does run contrary to capitalism at least as I know it thus far.

Here’s hoping there’s a manageable way I just don’t know about yet.

Share on Facebook

These are my personal views, and in no way approved, verified or validated by Etsy. My only association with Etsy is that I have a shop there.

For those of you running behind on your blog feeds, Maria Thomas is leaving Etsy and Rob Kalin is returning. Now that Thomas has made Etsy actually profitable (by a narrow margin, judging from her comments when she came to Minneapolis) they’re handing it back over to Kalin, who has been very quiet both as the person who stepped down and in whatever he’s been doing since his Etsy sabbatical. You can see more direct reactions in this thread, until it gets shut down – no one knows why they’re not using the admin forum for this.  If the Admin forum goes away with Rob’s return, my rage will know no bounds.

Etsy was already pretty opaque by the time I got to it in 2006, and having met the staff – and also having met Maria Thomas in person – it’s pretty obvious to me that the entire company is running on personality.  That’s a good thing when you’re starting out but it’s a bad thing when you’re going long-term, which is what’s happening with Etsy. Lots of staff member making lots of assumptions, and very few with genuine research and education to back it up – and coming from the last generation where college education made a damn bit of difference, I can tell you that the lack of curiosity/self-education going on among younger staffers is really disturbing and upsetting to me. New York is lovely, but it is in fact not the center of the universe – but from what I saw and continue to see from Etsy staffers, I don’t think they’ve figured that out yet.

I can imagine I’d be freaking out if I were an investor.

It seems backasswards to me to have Thomas get Etsy profitable (barely) and then to have her step down. “We’re making money, now let’s get in someone who wasn’t, buh-bye.” Um, what? I’m sure it’s more complicated than that – or phrased so it sounds more complicated than that. I’ve learned from many years past in corporate that ultimately, it’s always down to who likes you, not how much money you’re making. I suspect Thomas may have had to play mean-old-grownup a bit too often for anyone’s liking. But THAT is pure speculation.

I hope, truly, that they keep the structures in place that Maria set up – she’s being tossed before her very critical public would even have half a chance of seeing the results, and for a business like Etsy, results are slow because it’s online and we can’t physically see behind the scenes. Running well is about what doesn’t happen – we’ve had way less downtime, much fewer PR disasters (remember those brilliant remarks confusing the exact location and culture of Appalachia, easily corrected by looking at a Google map and by doing a bit of reading?) and it seems like some results are happening more or less on schedule. Also, Admin stickies – we had better keep them.

What this means to me as a seller

Frankly, I’m worried. Etsy hasn’t been great with serving sellers, their primary customers, and it barely protects them as is evidenced by the blogs that have cropped up pointing out resellers pretending they’re handmade.  Some steps have been made to help – hiring Ian from Etsyhacks was a brilliant move – but I get the impression that all efforts are going into getting sellers to sell handmade, not in getting people to shop handmade. Combine this with the cheap-cheap-cheaping that has been picked up by national and international press advocating Etsy as a bargain site, and Etsy’s practices have undercut the very handmade livelihoods they claim it’s their goal to support.

So why am I there still?

Simple: It’s the devil I know. And I’m making what I can of it as far as my section of Etsy is allowed to be my personal domain.

But just in case, I do have a mailing list and Facebook fan page.

Share on Facebook

Share on Facebook

Just open the photo – and look for the green! These were taken in August from the observation deck of the Foshay Tower in Minneapolis.

Share on Facebook

I’m in Hawaii for their version of winter – gigantic avocados, gorgeous ocean views, fruits that cycle through blossom-and-fruit on a much more frequent than annual scale… and I’m wondering why, with all this tropical abundance, that there aren’t more tropical production/perfume houses right here. This is a lovely honeymoon, indeed, and I’m aware that most of the island is geared for tourists – in part because most of it is preserved state park. There’s one highway for the entire island, and it’s important to take the speed limits seriously as there’s some death-defying cliff faces a la Needles Highway in South Dakota.

My sweetie and I have elected to stay in a condo unit – about half the units are owned/rented by locals who work at the resorts. Yes, it’s a planned community, but not everyone here is wealthy, and it’s obvious. So we’re not getting the carefully sanitized version of Hawaii/Kauai that some might get. The condo’s furniture is all teak wood (a smell I don’t like, as it reminds me of unhappy and dusty things) and has the “for tourists” feel – it looks like it’s been decorated by a Hawaiian grandmother. Chickens run wild on the island, and this complex is blessed with about three roosters. The roosters continue to crow throughout the morning. I remember pretty clearly what’s required to slaughter a chicken. Given local food prices I’m surprised more locals haven’t just done this themselves – the chickens are becoming a pest situation, and they are an abundant source of food.

About the Food

Chickens are a problem. From walking around a rental unit within the condo complex, I also know that cockroaches and centipedes are a problem. I couldn’t take a picture – copryight – but one local artist did a depiction of a local homeowner fighting off the zombie hordes of chickens, and a local told me she often invited her friend’s dog over to get rid of the damn things. Food is expensive, and the reason it is is because of American jingoism – way too much gets shipped in from the mainland because the tourists and island imports aren’t willing to adjust. Basically, if it comes from a cow, it costs a huge premium. After exploring a coop, the Princeville Foodland (where a basic run cost $50, that would have been under $30 in Minneapolis) and comparing it to a slightly more discount friendly area in Hana Li, (I don’t know the spellings) I pretty well proved my theory: while eating “local” is more expensive in Minnesota, eating “local” is far more affordable in Hawaii. Expect even fast food restaurants – if you can find them – to charge an arm and a leg. A shared dessert and two drinks last night cost $40. The pizza we ordered cost about the same. The upside of this is that much of the restaurant food is cooked from scratch – if the pizza place had used my own crust recipe it really would have been the best pizza I’ve ever had. Also, since Hawaii produces sugar, locally bottled products almost never use corn syrup so I have relatively little to worry about.

If you’re going to eat in Hawaii, you’re in the best shape if you’re vegan. A good chunk of the original jungle still exists, and the fruit is all pretty much edible. If you are more omnivorous, your best bets are rice (it’s grown here), local fruits – buy from fruit stands, not grocery stores – pork, and chicken. If you can handle the mess, chicken is free. Otherwise it’s priced pretty cheaply at even the really gouging grocery stores. If you keep ANYTHING containing sugar in your space, make sure you have it in a ziplock bag, and try to bring the ziplocks with you from the mainland.

And if you must drink soda, consider Vitamin Water products. They cost the same as they do on the mainland. I think they may be bottled in Maui or something.

Never have I been more aware that space is at a premium and waste is a serious issue. The non-tourist grocery store was giving away HUGE free reusable bags if you signed a pledge that you would continue to use them. I bought expensive (but incredibly good) flip flops from the Flop Shop, which is predicated on being made from 100% recycled materials. There are no bookstores, no movie theaters, and almost no chain stores on Kauai, at least not around Princeville. There is a behind-the-run theater in Lihue (where the airport is) and it seems like the only chain that really has a foothold here is Subway – but they have to share space with something geared towards Hawaii specifically.

I’m shamefully unversed in the history of Hawaii. Something about a queen saying “sure, take it” to the US military, and my grandfather losing a beloved cousin in Pearl Harbor. I know that most of the islands are technically part of a national park, and that Kauai is very deliberately the slowest of the islands – no nightlife here, not even really in the resorts.

I can see physically that almost everyone is racially mixed, and that people don’t bridle at stuff here. Also, my being Wiccan is so not a big deal that the grocery vending machine sells Isis pendants and pentagrams. The two Christian churches I saw off the state highway? Episcopal and United Church of Christ. Tolerance, tolerance, tolerance. I know Scott Cunningham wrote about the Huna religion, but I don’t even know where I’d begin to ask about that. I’d feel like an ass walking up to one of the tiki carvers and just asking – religion is so private, and my being public about mine wasn’t initially my choice – in my case it’s penny for a pound. But in someone else’s case, maybe not, not even here where it seems the natives are wonderfully accepting as long as you demonstrate you’re willing to preserve the island along with them.

The Hiking Incident

I can feel the island breathing and thinking – it’s alive in a primal and terrifying way. Mike talked me into ignoring a trail sign yesterday that said “this trail is EXTREMELY DANGEROUS.” Down we went, flip flops and all. We did make it within sight of the secluded beach, but it was a six foot drop to get to the shore and I started crying (and as many friends can attest to, I am NOT a cryer. I was THAT terrified) – we were dangerously close to the edge of the ocean which was most certainly not calm yesterday, and while the rocks were mostly porous volcano rock, they’d still mess you up if you hit them on the way down. I don’t care what the other hikers said, it was SO not worth the dangerous trip, especially not in the shoes we were wearing. And Mike sure as hell better take the island signs seriously now. When you’re the sort who can hear land and sea having thoughts about whether you’re a worthy meal or a worthy life form, adrenaline chasing rapidly loses its appeal. And if you’ve read Dione Fortune’s the Sea Priestess, all bets are off.

All bridges are one lane, and it’s a debated courtesy about yielding. If you hesitate, you lose – and it’s suggested you give vehicles larger than yours the right of way. Lots of hippies are here. LOTS. It’s entirely possible to live off the land in the jungle.

Waste and land scarcity is so much of a problem that the more affordable grocery store in Hana Lei is giving away HUGE reusable bags if people will sign a pledge promising to continue to use them. The Flop shop also wrapped everything in a reusable drawstring bag that’s actually perfect for my purse size, so I can use it for smaller purchases that I’m not OK with leaving loose in my purse. Eco friendly isn’t just a virtue in Hawaii – it’s not about the green trend, it’s about ensuring survival in a visible and physical way.

So my conclusions thus far:

• This place needs a bookstore. Mike thinks that a movie theater would take up too much space. There is a public library, but nowadays, with print on demand, I think there could be a decent workaround and Hawaii is the perfect place for it.
• I need to make an offering to the island. It knows I know it’s alive and has opinions, and this means I’m required to observe certain courtesies of guest towards host.
• There is likely no such thing as an out of shape Hawaiian native. Yes, there are a few fat people, but you can be damn sure they’re quite fit. Nobody can afford to overeat here and even if you’re not into surfing and swimming, you pretty much have to hike everywhere. And I say this with free access to a car.
• This place is ripe for a perfumery, but only a microperfumery. I vaguely recall something about the Dole family owning all the land, so you can own a house but you still have to rent the land it sits on. And if you’re going to live in Hawaii, it’s in your best interests to figure out a way to grow your own food, but check against the agriculture department all the time – one invasive species could wipe out the islands.

Share on Facebook

These images are from my dear friend Joel’s garden this past summer. He put in many hours of love and effort, and it just seems nice to capture the beauty of it now – he wasn’t even in his house three months before he got this fantastic garden going!

Share on Facebook

image by robot makes music on flickr

Share on Facebook