Feeling kind of inspired today… It may be the season, our guests or maybe just the stars aligning but something’s definitely in the air…

This week I was blessed to be selected for the finals for the Brooklyn Business Summit’s Triple Bottom Line Business Plan Writing Competition.  And blessed to be awarded Third Place.  Especially because the other winners were so inspiring, humbling & amazing…

Tess Gill, the second prize winner, will be opening a Brooklyn locavore store some time in the next year or so (keep an eye out for the Brooklyn Victory Garden). And the first prize winner, Green Soul Shoes, has the mission to, well,  shoe the children of the world.

The attendees at the Summit were all interested or involved in creating a better world – by supporting or starting businesses, inspiring & living green lifestyles, as well as pursuing their dreams & standing by their convictions. Truly inspiring.

I’ve had a few folks from the Summit stop by who are working on their own business plans & they’ve asked where the idea for Green in BKLYN came from, how long it took from conception to opening the doors, what I did, how I did it & so on.  And it got me thinking…

(Triple) bottom line, I couldn’t have done it without the support & (there it is again) the inspiration of some incredible people. And since I haven’t officially so before, I’d like to give a major shout out to the folks on Green in BKLYN’s Advisory Board who have  supported, inspired & informed the foundation of the shop & this chapter in my life.

In their fields, they’re talented (to say the least) & to me they have been generous, kind, knowledgeable, encouraging & (of course) inspirational! Thank you…

– Alan & Juliette: Co-owners of Just Alan, Luxury Gifts Store

– Eddie Hibbert: Owner of Eddie’s Salvage, Architectural Antiques

– Karen Tappan Saunderson: Owner of Karen’s Body Beautiful

– Nelson Fraiman: Director of Operations Management at Columbia University’s Business School

– Sarah Nagey: Executive Coordinator of Eileen Guggenheim Charities

– Dr. Morton Teich: Board Certified in Pediatrics, Allergies & Environmental Medicine

Finally have a chance to drop a line… And the line is good!  We now carrying Erbaviva baby products including their Baby Soap, Oil, Lotion, Shampoo & Diaper Cream. Using only the highest quality organic ingredients & essential oils, Erbaviva (& Green in BKLYN, of course) is dedicated to help you take gentle, natural care of your baby.

Erbaviva Baby Soap is probably the kindest, gentlest soap you’ll find. Enriched with healing & soothing lavender, milk & honey, the soap hydrates & moisturizes.  Plus it comes in a really cute organic cotton pouch fastened with a diaper pin.

Their Baby Oil is made with organic essential oils of lavender, mandarin & chamomile for calm & happy babies. It’s great for massage, moisturizing & as a barrier against diaper rash.

Erbaviva’s natural Baby Lotion has avocado oil, vitamin E & shea butter as well as organic essential oils of mandarin & chamomile. It’s light, great for delicate skin & smells lovely.

Their Baby Shampoo is super-mild & gentle. Lightly scented to relax & calm baby, its cleaning agents are derived from olive oil & wheat. And it contains nothing to irritate baby’s eyes. Bliss for baby & parent both.

And finally, Erbaviva’s Diaper Cream has natural zinc oxide & beeswax to provide a barrier for baby’s skin & protect against irritation.  Echinacea & organic lavender & chamomile oils are ant-inflammatory as well as healing & soothing… Nigh on magic in a bottle.

Actually, magic in a few bottles & a tube. Good stuff all around! – Elissa

This morning one of our dear customers wrote about The 3/50 Project on her blog & included Green in BKLYN as one of the three independently owned stores she miss most if they/we were gone…

First, thank you to Lissa for including us in her blog, To the Nines, and for introducing us to The 3/50 Project! Both are so exciting for us!

The 3/50 Project encourages folks to keep local, independently-owned businesses in business & proposes that we select our three favorite independently owned businesses and spend $50 at them each month, arguing that our participation in the project really stimulates our communities and our local economies. They go into detail in their flyer below & at their website.

This Project is inspiring & exciting. Because I’m a small business owner, of course. But even more so because it was so important for me to open my business in my neighborhood, to support my community & to serve my neighbors… I’m inspired & so pleased to hear about people who feel the same & have taken action to support their beliefs, let alone a movement that does that. Very exciting!

Just met a groovy guy named Steve Matt who’s launching a new website this week.

The site is One-Earth.com & does what we planned on doing in the store… Create a card catalog of green resources.

However, while we planned to have folks fill out library cards with local green resources & put the cards in our card catalog (literally in the shop & virtually on our website), Steve has created the card catalog on-line & includes more resources than our wonderful Brooklyn neighborhood has to offer.

In their own words, “One-Earth.com works like Wikipedia. Find & post environmental solutions, businesses, organizations & events in your city. And, the site is free for everyone to use.”

Currently they have resources for Berkeley, Chicago, Manhattan, San Francisco & (drum roll, please)… Brooklyn! The site is & will be as good as its users make it.

Soooo, if you’re looking for eco-friendly resources or have some you’d like to share, go to One-Earth.com & add your stuff there! It’s fun, easy & ever so green!

It’s been amazing here at 432 Myrtle Avenue these past few weeks!  So many lovely folks, happy babies, tail-wagging dogs & lots of kind, welcoming words.

We’ve already gotten new products in (wooden rattles & toys, more stationary lines & amazing french soaps) & reordered a number of other products (Mrs. Meyers, recycled melamine trays, Pangea lotions & our amazing sock monkeys, of course).

I’m so excited to have the monkeys at the shop & to introduce them to our neighborhood.  These sweet, wild beasts are made by volunteers of Fresh Art NYC & help raise funds for their Art Product Development & Marketing Program.

The program serves artists with special needs & introduces them & their creativity to the community through city art exhibits.  Fresh Art NYC also teaches fine arts & crafts workshops & recently held them with residents of The Times Square (a supportive housing residence in NYC), senior women at St. Margaret’s House (a seniors residence, also in NYC) & with homeless women at St. Martin de Porres Transitional Residence here in Brooklyn.

We’re so pleased to help support Fresh Art NYC’s programs & to be able to share the monkeys with Brooklyn!  Thank yous & kudos to the artists & folks at Fresh Art NYC!!

Amazing but true! Green in BKLYN’s now officially open!  On Wednesday, April 22nd we became a real live brick & mortar store front (instead of a construction zone).

For everyone who was there, thank you for sharing the day! It was extraordinary!
We’ll post more photos & details as time permits.  In the meantime, the quick overview goes like this…

Pierre Thiam

The day started with Pierre Thiam, chef & owner of Le Grand Dakar (on Grand Avenue btw. Lafayette & Clinton) arriving with his amazing cookbook “Yolele! Recipes from the Heart of Senegal.”  The book (in stock at Green in BKLYN) recently won second prize in the Julia Child International Cookbook contest.  He signed books & greeted fans & shared amazing recipes from & photos of his family.

Representatives from NYSERDA shared information & answered questions about saving energy for local guests.  Then went into high gear answering questions when students from the High School for Global Citizenship joined us.

The Artists of PhotoVoice

The students, from Prospect Heights, are part of a HAI‘s program called “PhotoVoice” where they receive a digital camera & use it to record their communities, experiences & visions.  Green in BKLYN is displaying many of their photos in their & our first art exhibit.  We hope to have more of their photos & will have other artist exhibits in the future too.

Try the Babaganoush

What's This?

The student’s reception was wonderful & included more questions about the Mediterranean food provided by Falafal House (also on Myrtle Avenue) & the eco-friendly products in the store.

The student reception extended into one for the shop with family, friends, neighbors & Brooklyn officials as well as organic wines from Myrtle Avenue’s Gnarly Vines & a fabulous proclamation from Borough President Marty Markowitz.

Busy, Busy

The whole experience was amazing! Full of love, celebration & all kinds of tasty treats & happy faces…  Again, to everyone who was there in person & in spirit, thank you!  It was extraordinary!

Thank you all so much!

Holy cow! It’s really happening…

Green in BKLYN will open this week on Earth Day (Wednesday 4/22)!

Stop by if you can. We have a whole bunch of events & would love to see you there!

Opening Day is Finally Here!

On March 15, Ken Rosato interviewed us about “Green in BKLYN” for WABC-TV’s Viewpoint .

If you missed the show (at 5:30AM!), you can watch it here….

Not only did we talk about “Green in BKLYN” opening on Earth Day – Wednesday, April 22 – but how to start a business, write a business plan & enter the PowerUP! Business Plan Competition.   Yes, Virginia, there is a business theme here.

Some people may not have had a chance to see the show on Sunday mornings, but it’s definitely worth watching…  Ken is a warm & engaging host. His guests are interesting & folks can learn all sorts of things about business in general & businesses in the neighborhood.  Well worth it.

Even at 5:30AM on a Sunday morning!
– Elissa

This morning I was interviewed on CaribVoiceRadio on The Zone In Magazine hosted by Aubry Padmore.

The interview is available digitally at CaribVoiceRadio & will air twice: Thursday, April 2nd at 8:30 pm & Friday, April 3rd at 7 pm.

Aubry is the founder behind CaribVoiceRadio & a dynamic motivational speaker. His questions focused on the Brooklyn Public Library’s PowerUP! Business Plan Competition, as well as the details of writing a business plan & the very real steps of opening a business.

I loved Aubry’s interest in the idea of a one-stop shop for creating a greener life & home. As well as how focused he was on guiding information to his listeners to inspire & motivate them. It’s very exciting to be a part of that & to get the word out about “Green in BKLYN.”

A big thank you to everyone who made that possible… Aubry, Maud, Karyn & Rachel especially!
– Elissa

Very exciting to finally be dropping something into the blog… I’ve got a running verbal and visual update for the store continuously in my head. Now I can share it with you!

We’re deep into the build out at this point. Actually have walls down (the ones with the pink Formica) and paint up (including a little Coastal Breeze and a touch of Tan Line).  In a minute I’m off to meet with the contractor to discuss shelves.

Shelves are an exciting discussion, actually, because it means other things have been taken care of like the layers of yellow and pink linoleum on the floor (removed) and the tiles from the drop ceiling (also removed).  Now that I have the “before” photos up on-line, you might have a better idea of why shelves currently rock my world.

Also rocking my world is the website.  Although it’s still under construction (with suggestions welcome), there are pages and information and a blog and, well, a future… I’m so pleased to share it with you.

Thank you for rocking with me!
– Elissa

PS – For the other kind of rocking, check out Jimmy Cliff: The Harder They Come (the “Dee-Lux” Edition), which includes the original soundtrack (and more) from the movie.