So Long Art Is In Market

“Above all, be true to yourself, and if you cannot put your heart in it, take yourself out of it.” ~Unknown

As I mentioned in my last blog, this year is all about reinvention for the free to be yoga tees® line.

After much thought, soul searching and number crunching, I’ve made a big decision--I am leaving my retail space at Art Is In Market.  It’s been a wonderful experience, and I am so grateful for all that I’ve learned and the amazing people I’ve gotten to know--but it’s time for a change.

This is the last weekend you’ll find free to be yoga tees® at Art Is In Market’s Laurel Park and Partridge Creek locations.  Free to be yoga tees® will still be available at the Twelve Oaks Mall location in Novi through Feb. 26th.  Be sure to check out free to be’s Facebook and Twitter accounts for details of a BIG sale, coming very soon!

2014, a year of change--excited to see what’s next! :)

Until next time...

Namaste

Reinvent

“It’s not enough to be busy.  So are the ants. The question is: What are we busy about?” ~Henry David Thoreau

Welcome 2014!  Granted it’s halfway through January, I’d still like  to wish you all a very Happy New Year!

When I came across the Thoreau quote above some time back, I don’t think I really “got” what it was saying...but more recently, it really struck a cord and made me think about the direction of free to be yoga tees®.

Over the last year, free to be yoga tees® continued to grow, and like many small businesses, started experiencing “growing pains”.  The workload grew significantly, things started to become a little overwhelming and well, way less fun.

That’s normal...that is business...at least that’s what I kept telling myself!  And then I realized perhaps I was stuck in a rut.  If I am so busy that I can never get caught up, can’t afford to hire help and am slowly losing the joy and passion that free to be used to bring me, what am I doing?  

That’s why I’ve decided to slow down and spend the early part of 2014 refocusing on my goals and the direction I’d like to see free to be yoga tees® go this year and beyond.  There is no time like the present to reinvent, and I think that’s a great word to describe the year ahead.  More to come soon! :)

Until next time...

Namaste

Merry Miracles

“People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don’t even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child—our own two eyes. All is a miracle.” ~Thich Nhat Hanh

On behalf of free to be yoga tees®, I wanted to wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas and the happiest of New Years!  Enjoy the tiny miracles all around you this holiday season.

Namaste,
Julie

Free To Be Yoga Tees 2013 Holiday Gift Guide

Still looking for gift ideas? Free to be yoga tees make a great gift! Eco-friendly and proudly made in the USA, we offer a variety of styles for just about everyone on your list. Shop the collection now at freetobeyogatees.com!

Small Business Saturday

"Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you, and to give thanks continuously. And because all things have contributed to your advancement, you should include all things in your gratitude." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Small Business Saturday is right around the corner!  Celebrated on the Saturday following Thanksgiving, it’s a day when holiday shoppers are encouraged to patronize small, local businesses.

Fun fact--for every $100 spent at local small businesses, $68 returns to the community! As a small business, we sure hope you take this to heart and shop small and local on Small Business Saturday, and throughout the holiday season.

As a gesture of gratitude, all purchases of $40 or more at freetobeyogatees.com on Small Business Saturday (Nov. 30) will receive a FREE eco tote (while supplies last).  Plus, FREE SHIPPING through the end of the year! :)

Thank you for supporting free to be yoga tees®!  Wishing you and yours a very Happy Thanksgiving.

Until next time...

Namaste,
Julie

Tips For A Greener Holiday Season

“Cherish your visions; cherish your ideals; cherish the music that stirs in your heart, the beauty that forms in your mind, the loveliness that drapes your purest thoughts, for out of them will grow all delightful conditions, all, heavenly environment; of these, if you but remain true to them, your world will at last be built.”

~ James Allen

The holidays have arrived, and while it’s known as ‘the most wonderful time of the year,’ it also is the most wasteful.  In honor of America Recycles Day, free to be yoga tees® wants to remind everyone to recycle this holiday season, plus offer tips for a greener holiday season. 

America Recycles Day, celebrated on Friday, Nov. 15, is a nationally recognized day dedicated to promoting and celebrating recycling in the United States.

Did you know...

*Americans throw away 25 percent more trash during the Thanksgiving to New Year's holiday period than any other time of the year.

*In the U.S., annual trash from gift-wrap and shopping bags totals 4 million tons. 

*If every family reused just two feet of holiday ribbon, the 38,000 miles of ribbon saved could tie a bow around the entire planet.


*If every American family wrapped just three presents in re-used materials, it would save enough paper to cover 45,000 football fields.


*The 2.65 billion Christmas cards sold each year in the United States could fill a football field 10 stories high. If we each sent one less card, we'd save 50,000 cubic yards of paper.

More tips for a greener holiday season...

*Reduce the number of bags thrown out by bringing reusable cloth bags for holiday gift shopping. Tell store clerks you don't need a bag for small or oversized purchases.

*Remember to save or recycle used wrapping paper. 

*Send recycled-content greeting cards to reduce the amount of virgin paper used during the holidays. Remember to recycle any paper cards you receive. You can also try sending electronic greeting cards to reduce paper waste.

*Turn off or unplug holiday lights during the day. Doing so will not only save energy, but will also help your lights last longer.

*Approximately 33 million live Christmas trees are sold in North America every year. After the holidays, look for ways to recycle your tree instead of sending it to a landfill. Check with your community solid waste department and find out if they collect and mulch trees. Your town might be able to use chippings from mulched trees for hiking trails and beachfront erosion barriers.

*Consider the durability of a product before you buy it as a gift. Cheaper, less durable items often wear out quickly, creating waste and costing you money.

*When buying gifts, check product labels to determine an item's recyclability and whether it is made from recycled materials. Buying recycled encourages manufacturers to make more recycled-content products available.

I’d like to highlight that last tip, as I completely agree with that point!  :) As you may already know, recycling is an important part of the free to be yoga tees’ line.  Some of our styles are made from recycled materials--take for example, the unisex t-shirts and hoodies.  They are made from a blend of 50% organic cotton and 50% recycled plastic bottles. In addition to tees, free to be’s eco tote is made from a blend of 80% recycled cotton and 20% post-consumer recycled plastic bottles.  Even the shipping materials are made from 100% recycled material--from the envelopes to the tissue paper.

So as we enter the hustle and bustle that comes with the holiday season, lets not forget to be kind to the earth.  While we might all want a white Christmas, a green Christmas is just as important.

Until next time...

Namaste,

Julie

Sources:  US EPA, CBS.com, RecycleWorks.org, Use Less Stuff, AmericaRecyclesDay.org

An in-depth look at the Fall line, including the newest ‘charitee’ style

“Don’t ask what the world needs.  Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it.  Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” -Howard Thurman, PhD

Last week I introduced some fresh new styles to the free to be yoga tees® line for Fall, and I’m excited to share an in-depth look at each of the new tees with you.

The design I am most excited about is the new women’s v-neck long sleeve elephant ‘charitee.’ Made from organic bamboo (nature’s most sustainable resource) and organic cotton, the tee features a mama and baby elephant along with the Hippocrates quote:  “The soul is the same in all living creatures, although the body of each is different."  It’s available in sizes small through x-large.

My favorite part about this tee?  Free to be yoga tees® will donate a portion of sales from each of the women’s long sleeve elephant ‘charitees’ sold to charities supporting the efforts to save elephants and prevent wildlife crime.

I recently read an article on TreeHugger.com that said:  “Every 15 minutes, an elephant dies at the hand of a poacher.  Last year alone, 36,000 African elephants were slaughtered for their tusks, to fuel the ivory trade.  Unless something is done, elephants could become wiped out in the wild within the next 12 years.”  Once that sunk in, I knew I had to make the next ‘charitee’ style all about the elephants.  Even if it just helps create awareness and to get people talking about it, then I know I’ve made a difference.

If you’d like to learn more about this ‘charitee’ style or read more on elephants and wildlife crime, click here.

Another addition to the Fall collection is a new women’s v-neck short sleeve shirt.  The tee, in purely natural, is made from organic bamboo and organic cotton, and features a tree and the word “namaste.”  Namaste is derived from Sanskrit and literally means “salutations to you.”  The gesture represents the belief that there is a Divine spark within each of us that is located in the heart chakra, and is an acknowledgement of the soul in one by the soul in another.  (Source:  Wikipedia)  This style is available in small through x-large.

I’m also very excited to add to the ‘free to be baby’ line!  The new long sleeve infant one piece is made from 100% organic cotton, and comes in canary (which is great for a baby boy or girl)! The design, called “BEE the change,”  features a happy little bumble bee and is available in 3-6 months, 6-12 months, 12-18 months and 18-24 months.

And last but not least, a free to be yoga tees® favorite, the unisex ‘Peace Love Detroit’ tee, is now available in shadow (black).    Made from an organic cotton/RPET blend (RPET is recycled polyester made from recycled plastic bottles), this style has won over the hearts of many since it’s inception last fall.  The ‘Peace Love Detroit’ tee ranges in size, from x-small to xx-large.

To check out the Fall line, visit freetobeyogatees.com!  The entire collection is also on sale now at all three Metro-Detroit area Art Is In Market locations:  Laurel Park Place Mall (37700 Six Mile Rd.,  Livonia, MI 48152), Twelve Oaks Mall (27500 Novi Rd., Novi, MI 48377) and The Mall at Partridge Creek (17420 Hall Rd., Clinton Township, MI 48038).

Until next time...

Namaste,
Julie