eco depot

Last day in the car (for now)

2010-05-22T17:48:00.000-07:00

Dad, can we take it for a spin.....
Found outside a cafe in Wallace, Montana. We stopped in town for a quick morning tea break.
(read - bathroom break, quick stetch and caffine hit)
As we had a six hour day of sitting in order to cross from Montana, over Idaho, through Washington and up into Canada - we were looking for every opportunity to get out before we really started!

Our own private Idaho.

Lunchstop in Idaho at the most delightful lakeside spot found purely by taking a couple of turns off the highway. Good timing too, Tommy needed a run - there's only so much sitting a four year old can do.

Our final stop of the day......(looks a whole lot like this!)

Whistler, British Columbia.

on the road again...

2010-05-19T20:31:00.000-07:00

Sometimes long, long ,long car trips make me feel like I've been holding my breath.
There's incredible things just outside your window, but you just can't touch.

(Yellowstone National Park)

high noon

2010-05-16T15:56:00.001-07:00

Watch out streetlight, he looks serious!

(The things you see cruising with your kids. Sunday afternoon Jackson, WY)
I've noticed loads of this cut out silhouette art work. Mostly signs for ranches and for the most, they're way cool.

Road trip

2010-05-14T18:46:00.001-07:00

40F outside + 104F in the water = 1 happy family!
(roughly translates to 6C outside + 40C water temperature = very happy family!)

Ahh, just rewards! After many hours in the car from friends visiting firends in Shiprock, New Mexico - up and over the border to Colorado to a town wedged into the mountains - Ouray. Claim to fame - ice climbing capital. Lucky for us these thermal pools have been open year round to the public since the mid 1920's. (Mid winter the lifeguards often guard from in the pool because it's hard to see folk though the steamy mist!)
Many, many hours on the road....

Time to leave Arvo's after a mere 3 week stop over....

bright point

2010-05-06T08:17:00.001-07:00

'The Johnsons take their annual imaginary holiday'
This was wrapped around a light fitting at a cafe we stopped for sustenance and sanity. Worked on both accounts.

life at 7000ft

2010-05-06T07:10:00.001-07:00

First impressions at Arvo's Solar Ark.

Bridge building (to get around the snow melt river)
Just rewards - thermal hot springs
Not starting at the very beginning, just where we're staying now. We're helping Arvo out with his place - jobs too numerous to list. Straight into the planting. Divine little ones started off in the green house to extend the 2 month growing season of the region. Spring is all over the shop, from a hint of wind, to a hint of snow, a hint of frost and stunning crystal clear days where being inside is plain old rude.

A quick trip to the hot springs was a four hour return hike down loose scree to the bottom of the canyon, building bridges and hiking along a fast flowing spring melt river. Minor hazards for the juniors and minor heart palpitations for the parents - but all good.

Back to the farm this afternoon, after an overnighter in Taos. And further palnning whether to head south to Mexico or take on hte drive to Canada. Oh the choices!

Researching the Researching

2010-01-25T13:24:00.000-08:00

You would think that heading off for a research trip would be all peachy. Well, I am sure it will be once we get going. The amazing thing is how much work there is to make it all happen...

There are tickets to book, insurance to sort, luggage, gear and all the regular stuff, which are a fair bit of chasing around, especially when you are trying to get it all second hand (Love you ebay & gumtree). Well OK, most of it second hand (The second hand plane ticket and insurance market is not really happening).

The biggest challenge has been to identify, contact and book WWOOFing hosts. Do they take kids? Do they provide all meals? Are they currently working on something interesting? Can you get to them without several days of hiking through remote wilderness? Etc etc...

So basically, we'll keep researching the research trip and when we are getting closer to departure, we will fire up this blog and keep you informed on the discoveries we find around this amazing little planet of ours.

Give us a few weeks! We set off in March

Happy Holidays - yeha!

2009-12-14T02:03:00.000-08:00

Hello all - just a little note to let you all know we're off for summer fun in only 8 sleeps! So our shop will close from December 22 through to January 5. whew! Home again and back on deck after seeing in the new year at Peats Ridge Festival.

Have a lovely relaxing break.

NOW IN STORE !!!

2009-11-18T01:33:00.000-08:00

"The collaboration between four businesses focused on environmental sustainability has resulted in a new eco boutique in Wollongong. It is now possible to find organic food, sustainable home wares and gifts, funky retro furniture, artworks made fro found materials, bulk organic whole foods and cleaning products all in the one store....."

"....These like - minded businesses provide a unique shopping experience, which showcasse a range of products that put the planet before profit...

located at 409 Princes Highway, Woonona"

So says our press release sent out locally.

Please drop by and say hi!

Almost there...

2009-11-10T19:18:00.000-08:00

Alchemy by Tanya Stubbles
For ever I've wanted to open a store. somewhere that's part lounge room, part store, part office, part workshop. A welcome space, where you can be free to wander and have a good look at the goodies.

Well, it's almost there!! We'll be upstairs at 409 Princes Highway, Woonona in conjunction with Manic Organic wholefood store. The space is generous, airy and we'll be sharing with Supertrash (mid 20th century design furniture and treats), with works by Tanya Stubbles (awesome artist) gracing the walls.

Only 7 sleeps to go.....

Lifestyle before Landfill

2009-11-04T18:22:00.001-08:00

Ever cruised by one of those enormous roadside billboards and wonder what happens to them at the end of the advertising campaign? Me either. I've since found out from Scott @ Haul, those billboards are actually UV treated (which means their colours stay true outdoors and don't fade away) PVC.

Printing on this plastic makes it impossible to recycle at the end of the campaign. That means tonnes and tonnes and tonnes of the stuff is destined for landfill EACH YEAR. (Approximately 850 tonnes to be slightly more precise) Lucky for us, Scott - founder of Australian street culture brand Haul, saw the potential. Each year Haul divert approximately 35 tonnes of these PVC banners from being buried as landfill. The creative talents of the Haul team scrub, stitch and breathe fresh life into this discarded material, reincarnating plastic into innovative, hard-wearing gear.

Drop your satchel at the door, unload the shopping (swim gear/ laundry...) and then lounge around on your beanbag blob, in the warm glow of knowing you've done something good for us all ! (supporting locally made, innovative business, kept materials in the loop, investing in stuff that won't fall apart next week - just in case you were wondering)

Good on you Scott!

(Haul's gear is also certifiable - so says Good Environmental Choice Australia, the national crew who've audited Haul and passed them with flying colours!)

Plastic detritus never looked so good

2009-10-21T16:12:00.000-07:00

Remarkable - what a trained artist can construct with up to 3 000 pieces of discarded plastic toys (and no doubt a ridiculous amount of time!) Hats off to Robert Bradford for having the patience, training and aptitude to capture a moment of contemporary culture sourcing materials from local salvage stores, his kids toybox and numerous other locations, whilst keeping the plastic out of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. (Check out David de Rothschild's adventure aboard the Plastiki, raising awareness about this issue.) It's certainly no mean feat to build a pony life size or larger from such tiny itty bits we wish would just all go away.
Thanks to The Cool Hunter, for keeping us up to speed.

Things are going swimmingly (finds from NZ)

2009-10-09T03:44:00.000-07:00

Martin Adlington ("Gone Fishing, Back after lunch")

from recycled, found on the local beach & repurposed materials

constructed with a little lateral thinking and a sense of humour. More please!

Salvaged stuff

2009-09-23T20:24:00.000-07:00

We love clever folk. On one of our expeditions, we stumbled across these fantastic bowls welded from sheet metal scrap. One talented welder + scrap metal = beautiful heavy duty objects for everyday use.

Eco Kids Festival

2009-09-15T21:06:00.001-07:00

Busy weekend! After riding my trusty steed (read: bike) to Wollongong towing my little cargo trailer of market delights on Friday, it was all social fun on Saturday with my little family & set the alarm for 5am to hike up to Luna Park on Sunday. Big day inside the Big Top, glad to be out of the midday sun! Fantastic entertainment for the kids, although I don't know if everyone knew about the eco Market stalls upstairs on the mezzanine deck. Not the largest crowds I've ever experienced, but I did meet some lovely people. Check out Vikki & Jackie's store The Flying Penguin for sustainable toys and visit Nick at Etiko for fantastic sweatshop free, fairtrade footwear & sportsgear. Great to see we've got more & more informed choices available!

Eco Depot delivery system

2009-09-02T20:28:00.000-07:00

My pushie my not look too flash, but I stand by Eco Depot's credo -

If you've already got one, use it 'til it breaks

This one has been in for a service or 2 in it's life, has towed the kids around in their little trailer and helped me clear my head on countless occasions. And it's fun to ride.

Well now I'm doing the homework on turning it into my market vehicle. Tracking down a trailer, which will fit on trains is my first hurdle. Not all markets and expos are within my fitness range, so I think between public transport and human power, I should be right. A little cargo trailer will fit the bulk of the market stock in, it'll just test my tetris skills.

Stock has been rolling in for our adventure to the Eco Kids Fest which should be a great day out. As soon as the rain eases, the camera will be out for show and tell.

Spring Time has sprung

2009-08-26T20:39:00.001-07:00

I don't know about you guys, but things seemed to stepped up a notch around here. Sunshine and spring blossoms have motivated me, but oh boy! the list is a long one.

I'm stocking up for The Eco Kids Festival, to be held at Luna Park (Sydney) which should be an awesome day out. Just recently I took myself off to hte movies for Age of Stupid, an eye opener & makes you reassess where you're at & where you'd like to be going.

Plus all the regular family stuff, like trying to get the kids to eat the beautiful organic veg for dinner (uphill battle that one!)

So these photos are just my moments pause looking at the goodies (admittedly selectively) on my desktop and out the studio door.

But there's always the fun stuff of sourcing products for the shop and making sure they live up to their green creditials. Enough to keep me out of trouble for a while....

Multi Use pieces

2009-08-05T21:31:00.001-07:00

I'm all for stuff having more than one function. As our world fills up with more and more STUFF, it seems a fair call to make the things we do have work harder instead of getting 1 article/ object/ tool/ product/ thing do do 1 job only. Take this humble muslin wrap. Originally designed just to swadle little ones, it can also hand the Christmas pudding, strain the bits out of your home made jam or cheese, hang up over a window and watch the shadow play or wrap around your neck to keep the chill out. See. Easy peasy. Beautiful certified organic cotton, double layered. The company making these 90 cm squares of wonder make sure all their employees and their families have health and a safe work environment. Lets not forget they get paid a fair wage too! Everyone wins. Who wants the intensive chemically grown stuff (ie- cotton) nect to their little one, in their food or wrapped snuggly around their neck. Keep it in mind.

Hi ho, it's off I go!

2009-07-16T15:23:00.001-07:00

Super quick one - I'm off to Melbourne tonight! I've arranged leave from my family & will squish the trip around work to visit Melbourne's State of design festival. Can't wait! Loads of markets and catching up with a long lost friend for dinner.

Why the train? Everyone has been asking. Two words - carbon footprint. Flying is a lot of fun, but if you don't have wings, it's not overly planet friendly.

Back is packed, now it's off to work....

mmm, smells like honey....

2009-07-08T21:32:00.000-07:00

How's this for a tidy bit of innovation. Straight from New Zealand to our studio desk is a big fat box of Honey Sticks. No, they're not colourful lollies, they're fantastic stumpy, chunky, colourful beeswax crayons for the arty underagers in the home. Pictured is my daughter's playtime with the newest product for our store. Built for small hands. Stumpy = harder to snap. Nice work. The wax is a by product of the new Zealand honey industry and draws beautifully. (I reckon there's the chance of drawing on fabric and then ironing it in to set - if you try this, make sure to put a piece of paper of the new artwork so you don't have a permanently coloured baseplate.)

Boxed set of 12 available shortly!

R&D

2009-07-01T20:26:00.000-07:00

A great deal of what I do is research and developent. (An offical way of saying, finding stuff, using our family as test pilots to see how it performs, collating feedback and if the product ticks all the boxes, stock said product!)
As you're all aware, there are many companies out there with fantastic copywriters. Trying to make us think that we really, really need (at least) 1 of whatever they're selling. Great for them, but it has to work both ways.

I get really excited when I've found something I deem appropriate for Eco Depot. Take this flat pack bowl for example. Designed by a great guy. But it is still undergoing it's trial. Minimal waste, minimal packaging, but a tiny bit on the delicate side. There are no screws and no adhesives - that's part of its beauty. Also, the sculptural form is fantastic. My daughter loves turning it in and out of jigsaw mode. My husband thinks it's a little delicate (if you plop a piece of fruit etc. into the bowl, a ring bounces off it's shelf.) For my money, I love it on our dining table .

Any opinions?

Super Special time of the year!

2009-06-24T21:14:00.000-07:00

Hello! It's come to that time of the year, time for the sun to stay up a little longer. Yippee! We celebrated Winter Soltice around a fire drum near the beach on Sunday night - the days only get longer from here on in!

Being the end of the month, it's time for me to pack up the studio stock, tetris it into the car and head north for Sunday Coledale Markets. Lots of samples and end of line specials will be on sale this time. Goodies that we haven't got around to popping up on the site & goodies people haven't see before. Drop by and pick up a bargain!
(It's not too early to start on that box under the bed for Christmas)

Stay warm and savour a nice slow cooked soup. (If you add beetroot early on, it turns the soup an amazing shade of magenta and sweetens it a touch.)

Play with colour, giggle and enjoy.

pass it on.

2009-06-17T19:03:00.000-07:00

I don't know about you guys, but after many days of rain, I end up a little flattened out. A little rumply and not quite so zingy. All I'd like to do is curl up somewhere warm and snuggly and READ. Here's my entire collection of Dumbo feather, pass it on, pretty much what I'd like to being doing now is perusing articles about guerilla gardening in Tokyo and field feasts prepared by people with a genuine respect for the produce.

After every single article over the last 5 years since it's inception I've

been INSPIRED. (It's nice too that the articles aren't rudely interupted with ads.) That whole deal about putting your head down and getting on with it. So many people have done/ created marvelous things, empowering and courageous things and genuinely followed their hearts. So refreshing to read uplifting and proactive stories.

Kate (the founder and editor) got the ball rolling when on a rainy afternoon she couldn't find anything in the local newsagency she'd like to read. So she started a magazine filled with inspiring interviews and beautiful art direction. As you do.

Do yourself a favour - buy, borrow or read over someone's shoulder - see what the fuss is about and why they have an international and very loyal extended family.

Let the sun shine in

2009-06-10T19:58:00.000-07:00

I can't believe how cold this morning was! Layer upon layer was applied - and that's just to get around the house! Lucky the sun is out, giving the day divine clarity. The other nice thing about the sunshine is free energy to run our Wind Up Radio. Pumps out the tunes with good volume and clarity. Park it on the windowsill and you're laughing! (for the cloudy days and evenings entertainment, there's a crank on the back to human power your radio.) (The pumpkin in the back ground is for a slow cook soup to power the humans, to power the radio, to power up the creative soul)

Greenfest was awesome! Found loads of goodies (more of that soon.)

i read in one of the local street press mags in Brisbane that the founder sold his car and used a massive chunk of his own money to get Greenfest happening. yay for positive and couragious humans!!!!

Also, many thanks to mother Nature for the beautiful weather.

Heading for the Sunshine State

2009-06-02T20:13:00.000-07:00

How lucky are we...thanks to a certain low cost carrier (with carbon offsets) and generous grandparents, it's possible for us to make it to this year's Greenfest in Brisbane. Yay!!! A weekend filled with film, food, fantastic people with fabulous inspiration, markets and more! i love exploring cities!

To kick it off, we've been invited to the Bleeding Heart Cafe to join an awesome lunch. (Think organic foods, free trade tea & coffee, hanging out on the verandah with a lovely group of like minded souls....) What made me smile about the place before even leaving town, was seeing the Bleeding Heart Cafe's tag line - "using our powers for good not evil"

Now it's off to find maps, reservation numbers and pack my council clean up carry on only bag.

Where does inspiration come from?

2009-05-28T23:39:00.000-07:00

I reckon I'm pretty lucky. Actually, I'm blessed. When I'm not at Eco Depot HQ, I work at our local organic whole food store, Manic Organic. And this is the view I get to soak up if I take the long way to work on my trusty bike.

While at Manic Organic, I get to eat super yummy Australian grown & organically certified produce. (The pineapples wins hands down for taste!) Chat with customers doing amazing things and generally enjoying my job. Pretty fantastic set-up. Both jobs nurture and inspire the other. Kind of keeps things in the round, and keeps it simple! Locally grown produce tastes beautiful and it's only in the shop if it's in season.

So basically, if you're supporting local enterprise, it ends up supporting you. we should try to apply this to all aspects of our lives. This definitely applies to the creative community too. There's something to be said about the awesome projects going on across the nation, so look around locally first before checking out goods manufactured offshore.

enjoy!

Our parcels take public transport

2009-05-20T21:11:00.001-07:00

(Thanks Ale, for permission to use your "Post Truck on Bruce Highway Aug.2008. For more of Ale's work on Flickr check it out...Australia Aug./Sept. 2008)

That's right. Every parcel, package, bundle we send out goes by public transport. Lucky for us, the local Australia post office is only just up the street. That means that all our postal goodies get their moment in the sun (by me walking them up the street) before being shipped off to the far reaches. Couriers don't make sense for our business structure.
Why (essentially) send your goods off in private transportation, taking up all that extra space and using all that extra energy to get there? We have a fantastic 'bus stop' just up the road, with a 100% success rate. A little forward planning saves everyone and we can all breathe a little deeper.

We even send some of our goods off in the nude. On of our products, the Tuff Tub, is super tough, so we only bound the handles using off-cuts of other stuff for easier handling.

We put a lot of thought into how we dress our goods for their maiden voyages. Most, will be bundled into reclaimed boxes, some bubble wrapped first (reused - naturally) to make sure they reach their destination in pristine condition. Any bundles we wrap, are done so using Australia's finest 100% post - consumer recycled paper. And tied with string purchased at a 2nd hand market stall.

I do feel a little guilty when I print labels out now and again to go on the larger parcels. But I rest assured that the local Australia post delivery person can clearly read delivery address.

Travel safely and travel smart, little ones.

Disposable culture....

2009-05-13T20:08:00.001-07:00

Just landed.

(Image taken just past council clean up pile just up the road from my house.

Disposable Culture

2009-05-13T19:38:00.000-07:00

You know when council clean up time is approaching. Slowly but ever so surely piles of stuff start appearing out the front of peoples homes, units, villas. the thing is, they usually start a good month before the trucks come rolling by.

I'm beyond being disturbed by this - just gob smacked, as there are often perfectly fine articles just being abandoned. In this pile looked like a perfectly good double bed frame - new it would cost a few hundred bucks. Maybe the lawn mover needs a service. But the thing is, some of these bits could have been donated to a local charity. Some bits in these piles need to be put in peoples regular waste collection.

The up side of this embarrassment, is that treasure lies in those piles for bower birds like me (see the red bag above) and my treasure -hunting, scrap -metal -collecting- for- cash neighbour down the road.

I've seen mums trawling the piles too, looking for things they can turn into ready cash. Great for those with the initiative and the time.

For a developed nation, I do find it a bit embarrassing that we see so many of our goods as readily disposable (how many TVs, monitors, keyboards lie down your street at council clean up?)and even then, we believe someone else should clean it up.

Luckily, councils step up to the plate but what do they do with the mountains of stuff?

Just remember kids, look after your toys. If it's worth putting your hard earned cash into, then it's worth looking after.

Autumn....

2009-05-05T21:03:00.001-07:00

AAhhh... Autumn. My favourite thing about autumn is the light. Long saturated afternoons and fantastic shadowplay in the mornings. (Illustrated above - noticed only by diverting my gaze from the depths of accounting.)

The morning has been a little all over the shop for me.

Early morning (5.30) to drink espresso and indulge in design mags before the children arise. ("Mummy - it's getting daylight" 3yr old son). Then there's the obligatory looking at photos/ reading, breakfasting, lunch making marathon, craft session, husband making 15minute stopover from surf - flurry of tea making and whirlwind off to work, dressing children ("Mummy I hate my uniform - you can't run in it" spoken by Miss 6 - 5 minutes before departure, dropping children to respective school/ care facilites, drive home and time for cereal (aahh breakfast) and email checking. Thank goodness for sunshine!

Anyway, I always know that my trusty O'Bon 2B (wriring implement of choice) will be there for me and my list making. Quite amazing what can be done with waste newsprint, graphite and a bit of ingenuity. They do a fantastic artists set (2H to 8B) available here.

Happy autumn days everyone. Enjoy the clear days and deep breathing!

EcoDepot HQ

2009-04-30T04:47:00.001-07:00

The loveliest thing about the Eco Depot studio is the cosy factor. I think some afternoons I'd like to move in permanently. After a particularly taxing time with MYOB, the computer generally / writing / planning / organising (and yay!) packaging, I can look out the door and see green, which is pretty cool. I consider myself blessed.

A little history of Eco Depot HQ....

The building itself was built by my beautiful husband from recycled materials whenever he could lay his hands on them. The french doors - came from a mates house, the yellow table - a neighbour moving away (the table used to be teachers issue at a local school), the ply panelling was a Ducati case (thanks to a friends husband working at a motorcycle showroom), cushion - one of many in Eco Depot store (not yet up!) made by a local lady from reclaimed fabrics, cushion insert, zipper & where possible thread! Basically, all the goodies have their own history and that's exactly what makes it such a great space to work in.

Makes it all the more important that everything that we source for Eco Depot lives up to this human feel. Knowing the stories makes it all the more fun.

To Market to Market

2009-04-21T22:37:00.000-07:00

Coledale Markets are on this Sunday from 9am at Coledale Primary School - yay! It has to be one of the most pleasant ways to spend a Sunday in the Illawarra. Georgous foods, fresh coffee, local (Berry) sourdough breads and treasures of every type. One of the (many) highlights is the school playground where the little ones can wear themselves out, whilst the big kids take turns to check out the stalls.

So for the better part of the day, I've been pricing all of our stock, trialling stall set ups in our studio and generally making sure everything is ready to rock.

I found a fantastic old projector screen to paint onto, so people know where they're at. The best bit, because the screen had the tiniest tear - the lovely gentlenman at the secondhand store gave it to me for free! I decided card tables would be the way to go as my market tables, as they are fairly light to transport & fit together. Up to my local op shop, fingers crossed - and score! There's my new card table, with barely a mark. Happy days. So I have my grandmas old table, a nearly newbie and my Dad is going to donate his barely used - sitting in the back of the shed - 20 odd years old table to the cause. I love pieces with history. Makes for more interesting stories.

Enjoy the week, and pulling on those layers as the temperatures slowly heads south.

Meet my new mate...EARL

2009-04-15T21:36:00.001-07:00

Earl is my new mate. he makes me smile and helps me out. He used to help out with someone's transportation requirements, but now he's gainfully employed as my wardrobe assistant. You see, Earl is my new belt. Once he was a bike tyre (who knows what journeys he may have travelled?) and now to be reincarnated as a belt. Scrubbed up, pared back and fitted with a fantastic buckle - ready to rock. Produced in Sydney and arriving on our doorstep via the posts public transport system (Australia Post), Earl is a welcome addition.

A big thumbs up to all the lateral thinkers out there who hate seeing perfectly good materials being discarded. Thank You!

(Check out our site to meet Earl's mates)

A Beautiful Day

2009-04-07T19:25:00.000-07:00

3 Things that have made my day beautiful....

Our kids - waking up happy, reading & wrestling is always great.

Crystal clear mornings - always inspiring

Public transport - clean and punctual, gives me a chance to hang out with the muppets and have a 'mini adventure'

One of the best bits though is having morning tea in the front garden reading the latest on offer from Peppermint magazine. Coolest eco fashion, stories, communities and all round eco good guys based in Brisbane. Yay! The little Pipi bag is there because all little birds like their moment in the sun. These little guys are hand stitched by a lovely lady in Sydney who only uses reclaimed textiles for her creations. A little zipper ini their belly means you can use them for your camera, phone, cosmeticy stuff, jewels, notes, basically what ever you like. Check out the flock in the accessories department.

Have a lovely easter everyone, keep your eyes peeled for those Easter bilbies delivering chocolate!

Wake up! (after lights out)

2009-03-31T20:29:00.000-07:00

Saturday evening proved to be the perfect night to spend it with friends in the backyard under a star filled canopy. (Sunday was a beautiful day for going slow) As a result of Earth Hour, Sydney's power consumption dropped apparently 9% for the hour. Certainly dramatic imagery as the world's iconic building dimmed. Our kids absolutely loved the whole deal. Candle light, running around making up their own fun & a fire drum in the back yard. As a result we're aiming for a weekly Earth Hour evening throughout winter.

Tonight is the first (of many no doubt!) WakeUp! events in Sydney. The parts which I tuned into most of all were the bits about random kindness and growing a community of people sharing similar values. A sold out evening which I believe will be pretty special (since it starts of with fair trade chocolate and organic wines!). There will be guest speakers, a short film and who knows what other treasures on the night! With the concept gaining momentum rapidly, you will want to check out their site to read up on their philosophy and what please check out WakeUp Sydney.

Speaking of philosophies, I keep reminding myself of the one we created for EcoDepot. (The first two points especially seem pretty apt in these times and we're always happy when people pop into our store!)

LIGHTS OUT

2009-03-24T18:36:00.001-07:00

It has snuck up again, that time when we turn out our lights for at least an hour on Saturday 28th March for Earth Hour. Australia Post has even published stamps for the occasion! We're using it as an invitation to catch up with friends, hang out and enjoy a (beeswax) candlelit meal together. (Just beware if you have little ones around, they tend not to mix well with naked flames)

Beeswax candles win hands down over parafin ones. The beautiful beeswax variety emit negative ions when lit, just like moving water. (They smell like honey straight out of the packet - Yum!) These negative ions help cleanse the atmosphere. (That's why after a good rain it always smells so good and seems so much clearer, and being at the beach with the water licking at your toes is a balm for the soul.) On the other hand parafin candles are just no good for anyone. Being a byproduct of the crude oil industry, they're behind the 8 ball from the get go. Have you ever noticed how much some of them smoke? Well, that is going back into the atmosphere and destined for your lungs. Much better off with Australian made beeswax candles - a delight for the senses. Have a look at Queen B's site to see what I mean.

Happy Earth Hour everyone, and just think of all those folk around the globe where Earth Hour happens every evening!

Happy January!

2009-01-24T14:18:00.001-08:00

I've already bent my first New Year's Resolution - oops! This entry should have happened a little while ago...But in saying that January has been a fantastic month. Loads of time with my family kicking off with 4 days of camping at the Peats Ridge Festival. A thoroughly enjoyable time was had by all- public art from pre loved items,organic meals, music from around the globe and swimming in the river every afternoon - yay!

I've also been spending time contemplating product design and how to run a small business in a way that gives and inspires.

We had fantastic feedback from our Positive Produce exhibition and some beautiful comments from people at the recent Illawarra Folk Festival in regards to our range and the stories behind our goodies. (the entire festival is organised and run by volunteers!) What do we really need? If we do need stuff - where does it come from, who has made it and what is the embodied energy in our latest purchase? Does any of it really improve the quality of our lives. This train of thought was opened up again by reading the interview with Emily Pilloton in Dumbo Feather, pass it on (issue 18).

If you're wondering about the photo, it was taken whilst walking home after reading said article with Emily and really looking around.

Keep your eyes peeled, as we will be, tracking down more artists and makers doing/ creating fantastic things to feature on EcoDepot. Anyone you think we should know about, please drop us a line!

Show and Tell

2008-11-19T15:22:00.001-08:00

There has been a great deal of research done on people's claims - how fantastic their products are and that kind of thing. "Best ..... since sliced bread", you know the deal. Now it's time for you to come and share your thoughts. EcoDepot is hosting an exhibition next Friday night - our version of show and tell in our locale.

Please pop in and say hello!

Time to Breathe

2008-10-23T19:31:00.001-07:00

After taking a couple of weeks out with my 2 year old son due to family day care having a well earned break, I realised actually how important it is to pause for a moment and....BREATHE...to actually enjoy just being.

Not be to be preoccupied with the business admin. as you're making school lunches, not to think about getting the washing on the line whilst you're doing the accounts, of trying to plan what to cook for dinner when really, the most important thing is to cut yourself some slack and get caught up in the moment of whatever it is you're doing!

For a while I've loved origami - something about taking a sheet of paper and animating it. We've had a box of old catalogues sitting around for a while and it seemed criminal just to get rid of them (as there really is no such place as 'away'). So it seemed to make sense - make stuff! Soon we'll be exhibiting EcoDepot in Austinmer (opening 28th November), there will be flocks of Catalogue 1 cranes hanging around to greet you. Planning also on selling the cranes in packs, all money will be donated back to bushcare. The cranes are such a joy to fold on the front verandah as the kids monkey about in their treehouse. We live in a fantastic part of the world, where the local bushcare groups do awesome work.

So it's nice being able to share something in return.

Garden Delights

2008-09-11T21:08:00.000-07:00

Found:
Soft and snuggly treasure from the talented hands of Chi Chi. Ben and I met her at a fantastic market in Sydney and were immediately drawn to her stall. All the hand crafted little birds chirped out to be patted and held. Zip open their tummies and there is a pocket to fit your phone/ cards/ cash/ secret notes. Each and every creation takes Chi Chi a good three hours to construct these pets from discarded fabrics and notions. We couldn't leave any of the flock behind, so if you'd like to see images of Orange Pops family, please leave a message.

Organic Expo - whew!

2008-08-11T19:32:00.000-07:00

What an event!!!Thank you to all the lovely people who popped in to chaeck out our range. We loved having the oportunity to have a chat, let people play with the wind up torches and gererally touch stuff. Ben and I had a ball, but we couldn't have done it without the help of the wonderful inlaws, keeping our 2 children out of mischief.

Organic Expo 2008

2008-07-22T05:23:00.000-07:00

It’s been a hectic couple of weeks in the lead up to Sydney’s Organic Expo in Darling Harbour. There have been a few challenges to overcome in the quest to do things in the Eco Depot way, but it is all starting to come together.

The first trick was figuring out the layout of the stall – 3m x 2m is not a lot of space to work with. Once that was sorted we needed a way of making it a reality with recycled, reused and rejected materials. So where do you start? Well at home of course – use what you’ve got, then go from there.

We managed to find two old doors, 4 sawhorses a bunch of pins, some old labels and a rug that would cover the floor nicely. That left the walls, tablecloths and some way of holding it all together, to still be sorted…. Second stop, Reverse Garbage in Marrickville.

If you are in Sydney and you have not visited this treasure trove of second hand, rejected and reusable delights then write it on your ‘to do’ list. Reverse Garbage and The Bower have a couple of warehouses full of fabulous salvaged items that will help with anything from refurnishing to renovating. Check out their website to see what they’re all about www.reversegarbage.org.au

There is also a bunch of new products we have been testing out and it is time for them to meet their market. One of the new ones we love are the ‘Jewels of the Tile’ range, lovely old domino and scrabble tiles have been rescued from certain burial at landfill and transformed into one-of-a-kind, painted and covered works of wearable art. Raffaella, the local artist who makes them has such a passion for her creations, and we love a person with passion – especially when it is an eco friendly one. They are not on the website yet, they will be at the Expo though.

Coledale markets

2008-06-19T19:30:00.000-07:00

Come one, come all ! Coledale Markets are on again this Sunday at Coledale Primary School. We'll be displaying our latest goodies - Tubeway Armie Warmers and Woolly coin purses, deliciously fragranced beeswax candles, Liana Kabel jewellery and some new treats from Tikimau.
Most scenic markets on the east coast - you'll also find yummy coffee, lunch (or breakfast) and loads of local treasure. Handmade delights, vintage pieces in fashion and homewares, and some that defy description.

The magic of shops

2008-06-16T18:52:00.000-07:00

I think the magic for me started growing up in a general store in a small country town. Rows and racks of stationery, groceries, souvineers and not forgetting the lollies! So many delights! A well thought out store can truely inspire. How many of us have been so overcome that we've splurged on the impulse buy, being sure it would make a great gift and then not being able to part with it. (Happened to me recently)
From here I'll be keeping you updated on the treasures we find for EcoDepot , where we will be making guest appearances and what inspires us.

Be well, Sarah

This vision was from our trip 2 years ago whilst travelling along the east coast before jumping into EcoDepot with a youngster and another on the way.

Chapter 5 - Its Not What You Know, It's Who

2007-11-16T01:39:00.000-08:00

In order to convert a diesel van to run on straight vegetable oil you must know more about mechanics and auto electrics than I do.

The basic theory is pretty easy. Set up the car/van to have two fuel tanks, one for vege oil, one for diesel (or biodiesel). Divert the radiator fluid through a heat exchanger in the vege oil tank (so the oil can get hot and flow more easily) and have a solenoid (switching device) to swap from one fuel to another.

Then there are a couple of extra little tricks. First, make sure your engine does not run on vege oil when it is cold or the oil is cold. Second, always drive the last 10 or so minutes of your trip on diesel or biodiesel to flush the vege oil out of the fuel lines. And finally make sure you are feeding your engine good oil. If it has too much water in it, is too acidic or alkaline or has not been filtered properly then you will trash your motor pretty quickly.

There is stacks of info out there on this stuff. The best book I found was Josh Tickell's "From the Fryer to the Fuel Tank". Plus the websites like Greasecar (www.greasecar.com) have links to everything you need to know.

This aside, it would take me years to learn all the skills necessary to manufacture all the bits I needed and then a few more years to work out how to install them. That's where friends come in. You gotta love friends.

Richard used to be a bus mechanic and now runs a team of guys designing and constructing mining machinery. He was definitely the man for the job. I called him up and after laughing at me for a while he eventually realised I was serious and said to leave it with him to do some research.

I knew I had sparked his curiosity and since I would be funding this folly I felt sure he would be happy to have a tinker.

A month later and he was ready to have a look at the van and figure out exactly what needed to be done.

Chapter 4 - The Good Oil

2007-09-03T05:24:00.000-07:00

So we are travelling around the East coast of Oz and amazing things are happening. Serendipity is on overdrive and life is as simple as the van we are in and the stuff within it. I loved the fact that we were driving on biodiesel and yet I was amazed at how many people had no idea what it was.

As I kept explaining the whole biodiesel thing to those we encountered, I started to think more and more about trying to run on straight vegetable oil (SVO). We kept hearing rumours of people doing it, tractors running on it, old diesel cars, yet to actually find a person who we could talk about it with was not so easy. As always, the internet had lots of information, although a lot of it was conflicting, with many sites saying SVO is too hard and others saying it is too easy and totally do-able. Confusing.

The more I read about SVO systems the more it seemed like the truly carbon neutral way to drive. Sure there is the Prius Plus which you could charge from a solar panel, or even the solar panels that can now be fitted on the roof of a Prius but you have to fork out the stack of cash for the car first and then the extra options second (and these options will then void all warranties you had from the manufacturer). If you have a tough old indirect injection diesel engine and a source of relatively good waste vegetable oil, then this may be a way to go.

So we made the slightly irrational and totally emotional decision to sell the lovely comfy and rather expensive VW van and use the money to fund a vegetable oil experiment.

Question: How hard can it be to convert a diesel van to run on vegetable oil?
Answer: Much harder than I thought…

The fact that I’m neither a mechanic, auto electrician nor rev-head may explain a fair amount of the difficulties experienced though.

The Cost of Going Green.

2007-08-23T05:16:00.000-07:00

OK, so you feel bad about driving around in a gas-guzzler (even if it does look fantastic) and you decide to do something about it. Step one would be to find something that guzzles less and still meets your needs. In this case it had to be something that would fit both a surfboard and the family, so a decent sized hatchback was as small as I was willing to go. I knew of biodiesel and after doing some research it seemed the most carbon neutral way to go. I’ll explain…

Biodiesel is basically vegetable oil and alcohol mixed together with a couple of bits then removed after their mixing and reacting. The actual process can be done by anyone who’s not afraid of a few chemical symbols and is able to follow a recipe. In brief, the oil and alcohol (either methanol or ethanol) are carefully measured and mixed in the presence of a catalyst (potassium hydroxide or sodium hydroxide) and then the by-product of glycerol removed. What this does is it essentially makes the resulting mixture behave more like dino-diesel, (that’s the stuff you buy at the servo) so you can shove it in your tank and cruise off, just don’t try putting it in a petrol engine – diesel engines only.

Personally, even though I used to teach chemistry I have no interest in making this stuff. The alcohols are toxic, the hydroxides caustic and the mess involved is just not my scene – best left to the professionals I reckon. Biodiesel is becoming more common in this country and is pretty popular in Europe with most diesel being sold there having a 5% biodiesel 95% dino-diesel mix as a minimum standard. This is known as B5 and the proposal is to have diesel as B10 (10% Biodiesel) by 2010.

Unfortunately there are some complications. Some older diesel motors are not ideal to run on biodiesel because it is such a good solvent that it will slowly dissolve rubber parts of the motor and hoses so you need a car that has only synthetic parts in it, which is most of them made after 1993. There are a few more issues, which are discussed on a heap of web sites – just choose your preferred propaganda slant; positive reports from biodiesel manufacturers and subtle rubbishing from oil companies and their mates.

The biggest hitch for me was that if I wanted to run biodiesel, I needed a diesel motor, which meant I needed a new car. Now for me a ‘new’ car means a second hand car and after a lot of hunting around, I settled on a VW Transporter TDI. Her name was Bo and she was once a country ambulance. After some serious renovations she was kitted out with a bed and was ready for a tour of the East coast.

I found a couple of sources of biodiesel, got a stack of old 25 litre chemical containers and we set off on a low impact research tour hunting for eco-products that could be sold via our planned online store – EcoDepot. It felt good to be driving around in an eco-friendly way, you wanted everyone to know, to spread the word, to get people pushing for this option to become mainstream.

I had come a long way since that day at the conference and felt I was doing well. Then I started thinking about how I could go further and that is where the whole ‘SVO’ or Straight Vegetable Oil system reared its head…

Gas, Green or Gone?

2007-07-22T21:03:00.000-07:00

Chapter 2 – Gas, Green or Gone?

The conference is over and my mind has been altered whether I like it or not. I sit on the train, heading home and look at all of the cars motoring along. They remind me of my new desire – to know the facts about what my car is really doing to the world. I knew that it was not good, the question was how not good?

When in doubt, ask the Internet. Just remember to ask it a few different ways, check the sources and read more than the first search result….

This I did and the results all said pretty much the same thing. A car takes a bunch of energy to make and an entry in Google Answers reckoned the average is 70 – 75 Giga-Joules, we’re talking 70 billion Joules. Now according to the Canadian government 1 Giga-Joule equals the amount of energy contained in about 30 litres of petrol, so making a car uses around 2 100 litres of petrol worth of energy - if that makes it a bit more comprehensible. It also works out that the amount of energy used to manufacture a car is usually less than 10% of the energy it consumes in driving around during its lifetime, depending on how long the car lives of course.

OK, so my shiny, lovely, stylin’ car was not the planet’s best friend, what were the options? After a bunch more of research there were three viable choices; Convert to gas (LPG), sell the car and not drive anywhere, or get another car that was more eco-friendly.

The gas option is a pretty good one. Rebates for conversions are helping people chose this slightly-better-than-unleaded-fuel option (although the Australian Greenhouse Office reckons it’s only about 3% better in terms of carbon dioxide emissions). Also LPG is often burnt as a waste product of oil mining and it is a by-product of oil refining, so using something that could otherwise be wasted is always a good thing. Unfortunately though it is still taking Carbon molecules that were innocently locked away in the ground and pumps them into the atmosphere. So the verdict was: better but perhaps not best.

Sell the car and walk/cycle/public transport everywhere was another option. Great if you live in the city where there is some decent public transport infrastructure, no good if you live where I do. Cars cost a heap of cash when you add up insurance, registration, fuel and mechanical stuff, and when you're talking a 40+ year old car, you get to know your mechanic well enough to invite them to you BBQs – true story.

A 2006 study by the NRMA (http://www.mynrma.com.au/cps/rde/xchg/mynrma/hs.xsl/2856.htm?cpssessionid=SID-3F5768EC-B646E169) reckons that when you take into account all the costs of having a car it works out to be between $110 and $370 per week. Obviously little cheap-o hatchbacks that run on the smell of an oily rag are at the lower end of the scale and chunky 4WDs are at the other. Mine worked out around the $150 mark as depreciation was no longer an issue, in fact it was heading up in value due to collect-ability.

I guess the moral of the story here is; would you spend more than $110 bucks per week getting around in buses, trains and cabs?

So that left the option of finding a more eco-friendly car…. Bugger.

Tune in for Chapter 3 – The Cost of Going Green.

Deep Fried Cars

2007-03-29T12:58:00.000-07:00

Life’s good. I’m sitting amongst my peers at a Sustainable Schools conference in NSW Australia and we are nutting out new approaches to the task of transforming schools into models of environmental excellence. It's been a good day and my brain is cooperating nicely with good attention spans and the odd idea worth noting. The afternoon rolls on and we are introduced to a guest speaker - Sue Lennox from OzGreen. Things are about to get complicated.

Now Sue is not your average Aussie chick, not any more. She tells us of her pleasantly conservative and safe past life, which turned a backflip worthy of a major party politician. She visited India, saw the state of their waterways and decided the best thing to do was sell her house and use the money to start a not-for-profit organization aimed at helping educate and restore India’s revered (and very seedy) rivers.

So how does this relate to running a van on waste vegetable oil? Patience, enjoy the story and trust that I’ll eventually get to that.

We are all sitting there thinking how comparitively we are all selfish and useless, when she asks for a volunteer to demonstrate a technique for identifying and working through problems, blockages and general bad stuff in your life. Of course everyone has a sudden attack of the “gee that's an interesting spot on the desk” and as the silence gets to the point of squirming I say, “yeah, I’ll have a go”. Being the youngest in the room I guess I have the least to lose.

So there I sit in middle of this boardroom at the head office of the Department of Environment & Conservation with forty or so top environmental educators and I am asked to start exploring my feelings… The only feeling I have is that of alarm. My cheeks and neck start blushing whilst my face does its best to suggest that really everything is mostly OK and I am not really really really nervous all of a sudden.

Sue asks me to relax (Hah!) and try to think of one issue in my life that is troubling me. I ask her if the present situation counts and that cheesy joke helps me and everyone else loosen up. So I attempt to follow her instructions and into my head comes a dreaded thought – my car, Bek. My beautiful, shiny, stylish 1961 EK Holden Station Wagon, which I’d spent months restoring. Bek is so chromed, so retro and so not fuel-efficient.

I had tried justifying Bek with arguments of embodied energy and conservation of materials but deep down I knew I was clutching at straws. Before I could stop myself, out it came, the tussle between being an environmentally aware person and wanting to keep that bright, shiny object. Sue listened and asked me how I felt about that.

Then she asked me to describe not only the feeling but where it sat in my body. The best description I could give was that sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach, when you know something bad has happened or is about to. That was the low point.

Sue let it sit for a while and then asked me what I could do to change the situation. Just one action, one little thing you can do to start heading away from sinking stomachs and moving towards a smile. I thought of various options yet they all ended in me parting ways from my beloved chariot in the near future, until I realised that what I really needed to do was to get all of the facts together. Figures had to be compiled from a bunch of sources, data collected and the lords of the Internet consulted. I had a plan....

I was allowed to leave the seat of self persecution and return to the safety of my colleagues.