the green gal

Pretty and planet-friendly finds: Howies

I heart Howies.

dress, jacket, cardigan

The thing with Howies is that I want it all. The clothes, the lifestyle, the rugged outdoor, the cosy indoors, the hairstyles… it's so aspirational while also feeling totally achievable. But it's not just about how good it all looks, the clothes are made with as little impact on the environment as possible and they're made to last. Organic cotton is used for jeans, shirts, t-shirts, dresses, tops and skirts, the jacket above is made from 100% recycled polyester (the stuffing is down so it really would feel like you're wrapped up in a duvet!), and that beautiful cardi is 100% lambswool. 

When you have clothes as beautful, as eco-friendly, as well made and as long-lasting as these, why buy cheap, sweatshop-made clothes that will last one wash before falling apart? 

Early Christmas bird offer at the green gables

Why wait till December and have a mad rush to get all your Christmas present shopping done when you can take advantage of this special offer and be finished before the end of November?! 

I'm giving you £5 off when you spend £20 or more at the green gables for the whole of November. Plus, as always, you don't have to pay for postage and packaging on orders over £30. Just use the code NX5 at the checkout before 30 November to receive your £5 off.

You're a lovely bunch and have been so supportive of my new business, especially since I made the giant leap to work full-time on the green gables, so I hope you can take advantage of this offer. And, if I can spread out the Christmas order rush a bit more evenly over November as well as December my life will be a smidgen less crazy stressful – this way we all win! 

So, pootle on over to www.thegreengables.co.uk and have a wander around. And if you're still at the gift and wish list writing stage, this free printable might be useful…!

Too beautiful to post

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Not that you'd want to (or be able to) but how fab is this cake decoration?! What is there not to love – it's cake, it's bunting, it's using colour co-ordinated postage stamps. Love it.

And while we're talking cakes, to celebrate National Baking Week I'm giving you 25% OFF ALL KITCHENWARE at the green gables! Just use code BAKE25 at the checkout before the end of Sunday 23 October to get your discount. Enjoy baking!

Pretty and planet-friendly finds: People Tree

I'm on a mission to prove that pretty can be planet-friendly and green can be gorgeous. Every week I will bring you an artist or business that creates items that are not only eco and ethically produced but are also beautiful, you can read my first post which explains a bit more here.

This week I give you People Tree. If you're not already familiar with the company I can tell you they design and produce stunning clothing and accessories for women, men and children AND have inspirational ethics. People Tree have collections by Emma Watson (yes, she of Harry Potter fame) which has helped bring their ethical clothes to the discerning teenager's attention. They meet the fair trade standards set by the World Fair Trade Organisation, you can read more about their policies here. 

And quite frankly, their clothes are just plain gorgeous:

dress, pyjamas, cardigan

It was tough to only pick three items, especially when they make such great ranges for men and kids too, so I stuck to women and went for my favourite pieces. Check out People Tree online and you'll see for yourself how stylish and cutting edge organic and fair trade fashion can be.

Pretty and planet-friendly finds: eco-eco.co.uk

The long-held belief that eco-friendly products are unattractive and over-priced is one that I am trying to dispel. The view that a product to be made from recycled materials must be of a lower quality, that fair trade means 'foreign-looking', that organic fabric is dull-coloured, and that for all of these a sky-high premium is automatically slapped on the price irks me enormously! There may be some high street chains who think eco and ethical products should scream greenness by looking worthy and lacking in design but they're not representative of the beautiful stationery, housewares and fashion available.

So, I plan to bring you pretty and planet-friendly products from around the www, to prove that you can have gorgeously designed, top quality, fairly priced items that don't compromise on standards – visually, ethically or environmentally.

I'm starting this week with a gorgeous trio from eco-eco.co.uk:

Lolita hand-painted cups

Eva & Lolita hand-painted jugs

Eva hand-painted cups

I love this set of matching jugs and cups, I can see them sitting comfortably on kitchen tables with their timeless quality while looking on trend. 

I'd love to know what ravishing and responsibly-made treasures you've found on your travels so hook me up!

FREE P&P on all orders!

For the rest of September I am taking away the cost of postage and packing from all orders at the green gables! So that's no p&p on organic cotton kitchenware, framed prints, plantable heart bunting, eco-friendly gift wrap and tags, FSC paper star garlands … the lot! Scoot on over to thegreengables.co.uk to take a look…

Find me at The Academy

I don't think I've ever been to an academy before but I have now! The Academy is a blog written by Noisette Marketing, which is run by the inspirational Isa Maria Seminega. Isa recently interviewed me about my eco and ethical values and how they work within my business, the green gables. You can read all about it here…

Too beautiful to sleep in

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I'm quite a fussy gal when it comes to bed linen, I'm not usually a fan of busy patterns, I prefer mainly white bedding with a touch of colour coming through in a sheet or second set of pillow cases. But when I saw this image on pinterest.com I was instantly smitten. It looks vintage and modern, childish and grown-up all at the same time. Plus it's organic cotton which makes it even lovelier! It's actually from Pottery Barn, one of many shops on my list for the next time I'm able to visit the US. Although, they do ship to the UK…

I don't do ugly storage

As my business grows my pretty little garden studio is becoming less of a cute room and more of a busy-looking studio with cardboard boxes and giant rolls of bubble wrap and whatnot. This week I gave away the sofabed we had in the studio (so the studio could double as an extra guest room plus it was v comfy for me to sit and think on) because I needed to make space for a shelving unit to hold yet more boxes. (In case you're wondering what's in all these boxes, some of the green gables products I make myself, like the paper bunting, and others are made by suppliers in the UK using my designs, such as the kitchenware.)

Having put the shelves in place I decided it was far too plain to belong in my studio and needed to be brightened up! A piece of ribbon, some paper and a couple of lengths of bunting later and the unit looks much more cheerful! 

If you look closely at the shelf ends you'll get a little clue to a new product line I will be launching next month, yay!

PS You can see my bunting mugs on the second shelf, and if you enter this competition you could win one! Make sure you sign up to my newsletter here to get a special offer on paper bunting too :)

the green gables gets a revamp and there's a giveaway!

I'm so excited to finally be able to show you my shiny, revamped website for the green gables!

Now, it doesn't look radically different (I was already very happy with how it looks) but it has several new features and additions which make it easier to use and to find just what you're looking for. Plus there are some lovely new products you haven't seen before (more on this below). Let me show you…

There are more categories on the home page, listed on the left hand side and also showing images for each category in the central section (scroll over to see the images change). So now you can look in your area of interest, such as ideas for gifts for her or for him, or decorations or gifts for weddings, on the theme of love…

Below this category list on the left hand side is a new search function so you can type in a word to help you find what you're looking for…

And, it's only little but can be v useful, on every page, in the top left you will see a little line of words telling you whereabouts you are on the website… 

You'll notice that a Downloadables category has been added to the list. This isn't quite ready yet but will have things like mini paper bunting, gift tags and greeting cards – you order as usual but rather than waiting a few days for a parcel to arrive, I will email you a pdf and you can instantly print out your purchase as many times as like! 

There are also some new creations you won't have seen before! To add to my family of artwork I have created new pieces using used vintage postage stamps…

find them here

The stamps are in fantastic condition and with post marks just visible on the corner of each stamp, I love imagining where the stamps have been, what countries they have travelled across. As each piece of art uses the original stamps it is unique. Framed prints of each stamp art are also available.

And last but not at all least, I am delighted to announce that my first range of kitchenware is now complete! 

find there here

You can now pretty up your kitchen with co-ordinating aprons, tea towels (both made with 100% organic cotton) and mugs featuring my hand drawn, heart bunting design in turquoise and the words 'a-bunting we will go'. Plus I have put them together in a variety of kitchenware sets which make gorgeous gifts and will save you money!

find it here

Enter my giveaway and you could win yourself a heart bunting mug! Simply leave a comment on this post and I will pick a winner after 14 August.

I hope you like the new the green gables website as much as I do, happy browsing!