Momtrepreneur is the latest buzzword defining a growing minority of talented women who've left the traditional workplace to have families and simultaneously start successful home-based businesses. Luckily for us many of them are using their entrepreneurial powers for good by starting eco-friendly businesses. 

Momtrepreneur Kira Solomon founded Baby LaRue, her eco-conscious baby boutique, after leaving a lucrative career in the fashion industry. With the birth of her baby daughter, Rowan (such a cute name by the way), fueling her passion for green products, Kira's focus turned towards healthy and safe alternatives to otherwise unhealthy products.

Baby LaRue's growing inventory includes bpa-free and phthalate-free baby bottles (Green to Grow) and organic and paraben-free baby wash and lotions (Little Twig) along with Kira's own line of hand drawn silk screened 100% GOTS certified organic cotton onesies.

Kira has a great eye for unique and adorable items and she is committed to selling only organic, recycled, handmade, fair-trade or locally made creations like these handmade monsta's made from recycled fabric and organic cotton.  For you busy moms who want stylish and responsible alternatives for your babies, Baby LaRue is a great place to get started!

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Images: Baby LaRue

Have you ever been jealous of a colleague’s business card? Remember the classic scene in American Psycho when a business card with a watermark made Patrick Bateman enraged with jealousy? Well, a simple watermark has nothing on these amazing business cards that act as a house plant. That’s right, you can actually put a small plant in your business card!

Jamie Wieck’s business cards have a small pocket in which you can grow a miniature house plant, alfalfa or watercress. These cards can also be put in water or soil if you’d like your mini plant to continue to grow. Most business cards look the same and are generally not very memorable, but these cards from Another Bloomin’ Designer will be the envy of all of your colleagues and keep you first in mind with your customers, or at least at the top of their business card heap.

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Image: Jamie Wieck via Trendhunter

If you're like me, sometimes you suffer from the recycled blah's. There are so many crafty products out there made from the same recycled items that over time it can get a bit boring.

This fantastic light fixture is just what I needed to pull me out of the rut. There is something very pure and lighthearted about the design. Composed of an old metal coffee filter and a jam jar, designer Angele Riguidel thoughtfully reproduced these items into a working light fixture perfect for a kitchen. With light as her inspiration, Angele seeks out vintage household items she can recuperate into what she calls ULO's a.k.a. unidentified luminous objects. 

Buy one of her ULO's from The Collection, a small French boutique, pop in an energy saving LED bulb and you've just relieved yourself of the recycled blah's! (85 €)

Image: The Collection

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While living in Cape Town, South Africa, Be Sweet founder Nadine Storyk Curtis became smitten with the creativity and beauty of the handcrafted goods she found there. Determined to bring these products to a wider audience, and create economic opportunities for these talented women, her colorful and compassionate business was born.

EcoSalon: I read that you were living in South Africa when the idea for Be Sweet was born, why were you living there and what was the evolution of Be Sweet?

Curtis: I married a South African and three weeks after our wedding, 9/11 occurred and we soon decided it was an opportune time to go to Cape Town for a year. We downsized our interactive design company and moved six months later. As soon as I got used to driving on the left side of the road, I became enamored with the innovative craft and design movement that is so prevalent in South Africa as well as the way that soulful men and women are empowering previously disadvantaged people to produce products. I was inspired to be a part of it all and bring wearables to the U.S. marketplace.

Who taught you to knit? Do you still knit? How does your own artistic expression inform Be Sweet?

My mother taught me to knit. She went to RISD for apparel design and has always designed and made clothing and textile products for a living. Absolutely I still knit - more than ever although I am a very basic knitter. Hats and scarves are the extent. My goal for the year is to learn how to crochet. My creative expression drives Be Sweet. I not only choose products that have a positive ethos behind them but that are beautiful and fun and innovative and will inspire others to be creative.


It would seem to me that it would be really difficult to do business in South Africa. What have been some of the challenges?

South Africa has first, second, and third world aspects. I am lucky to have a fabulous network of family and friends that help with some of the challenges of trust and communication. An unfortunate challenge for me in the beginning is when a group would hear my American accent, they would quickly raise the price quote for goods and services.

How has working with these women changed you? What have they taught you? What have been some of the biggest surprises?

My whole life has changed because of Be Sweet. I have learned so much about how difficult life can be and what the basic needs are of people. I am reminded of how important education is to improve the world. The women I work with in South Africa are so creative with materials. They are able to create things out of the most basic recycled objects - like a chip wrapper for filling in our Heart Brooch Pins or left over yarn that goes back into the production cycle to make our Knobby Balls.


The yarn is so beautiful and I was struck by the unique colors. Do you leave it up to the artisans to create the colors? What are the dyes and paints made from? Are they made from supplies indigenous to the region?

Yes, for the most part the artisans come up with our color palette. Sometimes I request a specific color or Magic Ball color combination.

For all of our yarns, we use the highest quality low-impact dyes that are imported from Germany.




In a way, you have created a global knitting circle with these women. How do you communicate this global approach in your everyday life?

I love that Be Sweet is an international company. We are supporting artisans in South Africa and inspiring creative people to be a part of the story around the globe. We just started exporting our yarn line to a store in Sweden and Austria.

Be Sweet is a dream project of yours and I am curious how you work to help these women reach their goals and their dreams?

Every year I visit South Africa and visit each of the groups that I work with. I have done a series of interviews to find out what their dreams and goals are. With the increase in sales we are creating more and more income that is directly helping our artisans better their lives. And we donate 3% of our proceeds back to a local school in the rural region where our mohair is produced to help fund educational programs that helps uplift the community.

Be Sweet donates 3% of proceeds to The Shaw School which has provided computers, paint and a new floor to the classroom. How is the school doing now and what are the latest improvements?

The school has four new computer systems and a new copy machine. Recently, we were able to provide keyboards for helping the younger children learn how to type before they are on the computers. We have also been able to fund and facilitate the final classroom improvements including security bars on all of the doors and windows to prevent theft of supplies. Our goal for the end of this year is to start a lunch program for each student.

Is there anything we can do locally to help provide for this community or others like it in South Africa?

Be Sweet has a Shaw Park page on our website - Be Sweet Products - where we accept donations for the school.  All is much appreciated and goes directly to the principal of the school to pay for programs we have assigned.

Lastly, what are some of your eco-friendly habits or anything that you are doing in your community to spread the eco-love? And do you have any guilty eco-oopses that you can't live without?

Well, my family and I are landscaping our yard and we have opted to plant low water usage plants like thick grasses and succulents to limit the amount of water we have to use. I'm a big water drinker and so we just installed a water filter on the kitchen tap to cut down on plastic bottle usage. I'm afraid to say that I'm terribly guilty of forgetting my to-go cup at the coffee shop. I look forward to that morning ritual of a stopping for a cup of joe.

Thank you for stopping by, Nadine!


Note: Be Sweet has been accepted into the Fair Trade Federation.

Images: Be Sweet

Images: Hau Nauz and Beklina

I'm feeling nostalgic these days as my husband and I prepare to leave San Francisco after what has been the best 12 years of my life.  We are moving to Utah for an exciting job opportunity. From what I've heard mountain living has its rewards, especially in a state with some of the finest powder skiing.  I am really looking forward to our adventure in the Wild West, but I'll be leaving California with an ache in my heart.

I've been perusing the internet recently looking for a special gift that a certain someone, who may or may not be married to me, could give me as a reminder of our time in California, and San Francisco in particular. I believe I've found just the thing with this special bracelet from artist Stephanie Lindsey.

The signed, limited-edition bracelet in sterling silver is made from a vintage 1940's postcard of the Golden Gate Bridge. I may be leaving San Francisco but this bracelet will always remind me where I left my heart. Available through The Artful Home for $555.

We are big believers in hang drying our clothes as an easy way to save energy after washing. Sadly, the image of your grandmother's bloomers blowing in the breeze is what most people think about when they think of line drying their clothes.

The clever design minds behind Casamania by Frezza, an Italian furniture brand, have come up with a contemporary twist on the old clotheshorse with these snazzy tree-like structures.  Made from lightweight plastic with a painted metal base, they are water and sunlight resistant. Available in ivory, blue, yellow, green and orange with four laundry lines, they would look great in a modern garden or add a playful point of view to any landscape.

With these clothes lines  you can do your part to save energy and look cool doing it. Visit the Casamania website for more information.

Where to begin with this line of environmentally friendly hemp products? For starters, the traditional linens are made from a combination of recycled vintage fabrics and hand-woven hemp, using the same weaving and embroidery techniques that have been used for generations by the women in Transylvania.



Textile designer Cara Spinelli is the woman responsible for bringing these products to a larger audience. A fair-trade arrangement guarantees that the artisans, as well as the small, family-run farms where the pesticide-free hemp is grown, are all paid a living wage.  Not only do the artisans benefit, but my picnic table does too!


But what about carrying home the leftovers? You can find these wonderful tote bags made from vintage grain sack through Rare Device for $65.


And clean up those spills without resorting to throwaway paper products. These soft, absorbent striped kitchen towels from Branch are just $19 each.

Learn more about Transylvanian Images here.

Image: *susie*

My older sister was the epitome of preppy-cool. She was blessed to have been named after my Dad's favorite college professor, Dr. Britt, and was therefore left a trust fund to use towards her education. So off she went to boarding school in Connecticut while my younger sisters and I waited with bated breath for her return. On her visits home, she would grace us with her presence and invite us into her closet. She taught us about all things preppy, like L.L. Bean moccasins, barn jackets and the quintessential preppy handbag: the Bermuda bag with its removable and reversible covers. 


These handbags by Dutch designer Tineke Beunders reminded me of those great summertime bags with their bright colors and fun patterns. Inspired by her fascination with wool blankets and the large collection she was amassing, Tineke turned them into handbags made from her re-used wool blanket collection.  Each unique bag has a colorful cotton lining and a smooth birch wood handle. I believe Britt might say these bags are very eco-preppy. I couldn't agree more. (Available through Ontwepduo for €75.95.)

Image: Le Souk

Does wearing lipstick ever make you feel like planting a frisky kiss on someone you love? You might not feel so desirable if you knew your wax-coated lips could potentially contain ground up shellfish to give it that shimmer or even blubber to help glide on your lips. Have you ever noticed that most lipstick labels don't list the ingredients that are used to make their products on the package? A little suspicious I'd say.

Luckily for those of us who like to get dolled up for a night on the town and kiss a friend (or two), there are products like Kitten Vixen.  Kitten Vixen comes in three perfect shades of peach, red and pink gloss all made with essential oils and organic flavoring.  They are free of synthetic materials often used to flavor and fragrant other brands and contain zero parabens and petroleum. For you kitty lovers, like myself, they are not tested on animals either.  Buy them now for $16 at the Kitten Vixen online store.

Image: Kitten Vixen