The Best Thing My Boss Taught Me

I have to say that these last few days have been a bit inspiramidating. This is my word to guiltlessly say that I have been feeling a bit intimidated by all of those sewers out there who have just as many great ideas as I yet are a year ahead of me in their practice.....all of their pretty postings on Etsy (check out my shop @ http://www.etsy.com/people/thewOOlyOwl ) and knithack force me to have something to compare my work with......but that should inspire me right?

The more I jumped into the rabbit hole that is organic sewing and the whole natural movement in general, the more I felt like here I am at the beginning, a newbie, that young girl who walks into the sewing store looking for lanolin and gets that timeless look from the other ladies who say...oh well so and so are already doing that.......... well made me feel like, "Damn, I have bitten off a really big chunk to swallow!" Starting a business and following my passion had one small catch....

Competition.

Okay...so the words of wisdom.....
 As a BC girl I had the privilege of working with a woman who impacted me in more ways than one.

                                                                       Mary

Mary Lucas is the owner of the Victoria artery of Hip Baby. I worked with Mary for a few character building months before my adventures brought me to Muskoka. One thing that placed Mary on my Top Ten List of Strong Woman in My Life was her attitude about competition, or in her words, partners.

 From the beginning, Mary made a strong conviction that there will always be other business that will sell the same products as you. Instead of looking at these businesses as competition or intimidation, Mary takes the professional and positive approach that, not only are other individuals in the same field as you valuable connections, they set the level of standards by which each business can inspire the other to become better, to deliver higher customer service and products and to have an all around, more positive and lasting enterprise.

 I had to compare my insecurities with her attitude and realized that my intimidation came from the desire that I want to be successful in this area of my life. Sewing to me is what makes me happy. It is what makes me lose track of time and it is what makes me feel independent from others around me. To realize that others out there are jumping onto the green dragon made me want to jump on as well which in turn stressed me out that I would somehow (in the matter of a week) miss my great opportunity to ride to my own green success. STOP Alissa, realize that with time the hands become wiser and so does the spirit.

So as I sat there is my sewing room inspecting my work, ensuring that my seams were right and that I needed to focus on craftsmanship and that extra handmade touch, I realized that there is a huge source out there of inspiration if you only chose to see it that way. Yes, there are others out there who are up-cycling and creating beautiful hand made things....I will take their efforts, work harder, pay attention to detail, slow down, and dammit, Love every minute of it.

To all of those out there creating beauty with their hands, you are my inspiration.


{o,o}  The wOOly Owl
|)__)
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The Lack of wool

Visiting some of the local second hand stores in search of my media, I have come across the startling fact that the majority of sweaters are made with synthetic fibres such as acrylic, Rayon, and polyester. While these fibres have their own pros, in terms of sustainability,  fire repelling and moisture properties, Wool as a natural fibre far surpasses them all. 

"Natural fibre, any hairlike raw material directly obtainable from an animal, vegetable, or mineral source and convertible into nonwoven fabrics such as felt or paper or, after spinning into yarns, into woven cloth,*  vs a synthetic fibre born from the result of a chemical process.

If you compare the impact on the environment, although synthetic fibres last longer, when placed in a landfill, synthetic fibres take longer to breakdown as their bases are not that of a natural foundation. Wool however can be added to your compost pile for later use in your garden. To think that something which came from the soil, into the  grass, into a sheep (or lamb), became the sheep's clothing in winter and into spun wool come summer, became your sweater and then will break down into the soil that it came from at the very start. Full circle.

In terms of safety, wool is again being used as type of insulation (bonded with natural rubber) with a potential r-value of 23. Wool is considered to be fire-resistant as it burns slower than synthetic fibers and will usually quit burning once the flame is removed. (Important when you and your baby are wearing and playing with wooly things such as my wOOly pretty to lOOk at Owl, or my mOmmies washable wOOly breast pads.

One of the most important facts about wool is its natural tendency to wick away and resist water...... oh yeah and that it is temperature regulating. My wOOly diaper cOvers hold in your baby's urine while keeping it at body temperature to ensure a uninterrupted sleep, (which means you sleep more and the whole family is happy again!!)

So I love wool. Hopefully my findings are a result that people realize wool's audacious characteristics and thats why acrylic teems within the second hand world as people clutch lovingly to their %100 Wool Sweaters.

{o,o}  The wOOly Owl

|)__)

-”-”-

*http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/406148/natural-fibre

All those golden autumn days the sky was full of wings

When I was younger I was enchanted by Laura Ingalls Wilder.  Her stories of living in the woods and hearing the wolves, bee keeping and the sort, how the winters were quiet and the summers were spent growing veggies and such and all in preparation for the upcoming winter. "Fall is a very busy time, because the harvest from the garden and fields must be brought in as well".

To me, Fall is the beginning of great abundance. Today, September 22 is the 2010 Autumn Equinox and is also the beginning of my new buisness The wOOly Owl.

I have been searching for my trade. A craft that I could use my hands and work as hard as I decided too. A hobby that would get me by and allow me to follow my own dreams of living in a small house in the big woods.

As I started sewing, I realized that I wanted to move forward in a practical and sustainable way. Working at Hip baby in Victoria, BC, I was exposed to all things mom and baby and the importance that Wool has to play in the grand old world of cloth diapering. Wool is temperature regulating, water resistant, natural and sustainable. It comes from gentle creatures and or from Good Will...... I decided to gather and reuse 100% wool sweaters (called up-cycling) to help further reduce waste of existing wool. From there I began designing different goodies for mom and baby that I know are going to ruffle your feathers IN A gOOd WAY!!

Moving out from British Columbia to beautiful Gravenhurst, I noticed that there was a huge need for all things organic and good and decided that yes, my calling is to create, and thus The wOOly Owl was born.

With Autumn comes time for abundance, and today I continue to gather and sew goodies so that, come christmas and spring, I will have a good supply of goodies to offer.

In the meantime, I hope your Autumn brings you the opportunities and experiences needed for great change and abundance in your life

Until my next blog,

Let All those golden autumn days be a crisp sky full of wings.



{o,o}  The wOOly Owl
|)__)
-”-”-