5 laughs to stay light-hearted during this election year.  Besides, it’s only the state of the union on the line!

	These Anti Establish Mints are deliciously strong peppermints in a Delcroix designed tin. The freshness of hope and fresh minty flavor from these gourmet mints. . . $3.95
	If you’re stressed with the state of the our politics, Try our Smush Bush Doll and let out a good squeeze; this squishy little devil will be useful for years to come! If it’s your friend Fido that needs a boost, consider sharing your Smush Bush Doll.  I’m sorry to say there’s nothing quite like seeing Smush Bush Doll between some canine teeth with a wagging tail. . . . $5.95
	Here’s one funny bunny! Have you ever wanted to reach out and connect with a politician?  How about to touch or pull or poke or even grope a politician? Well, now’s your chance.  Pat the Politician is the political “feel good” book  of the year!  Based on your childhood favorite touch senstion, enjoy the latest, greatest way to get to know Pat the Politician . . .  $9.95
	How about one for the ladies?  Accoutrements has transformed Rosie from an inspirational icon on a WWII poster, into a fantastic hard vinyl action figure! Standing proud and powerful, each Rosie the Riveter comes with a lunchbox and a spring-action rivet gun. Illustrated blistercard.  WE CAN DO IT! . . . $8.95
	Perhaps the cake topper: ”A super-fine magnets set,” of Pimpin Presidents. “From world peace to a piece of ass,” ask fly-looking Jimmy Carter, Reagan, Clinton- is it as fun to hold the free-world as it is some fine tail? Does your fridge need some Pimpin Presidents bling?!. . . $11.95

For weeks I have been waiting not so patiently for goodies from Little Otsu to arrive - hands down one of the best companies Scribbles carries.  Every day giddy me waited for the UPS truck to pull up, the excitement almost paralleling the level it reached when I saw Woody Allen play in Montreal.  Woody Allen - you know this product must be the bees knees!

Finally . . . it came!

Little Otsu is small outfit of environmentally inclined, animal loving designers who have created an entirely vegan line of journals, day planners, greeting cards, postcard sets, calendars and more!  In addition to using recycled paper and veggie based inks, Little Otsu prints all of their products down the street from their San Francisco store at a family owned print shop - three cheers for original design and small, local businesses sticking together!

I had super pleasure of interviewing Little Otsu founders Yvonne and Jeremy.  Here’s what they had to say:

SCRIBBLES: We’d love to know how Little Otsu got it’s start - from seedling to pretty paper flower!

LITTLE OTSU:  In 2002, Jeremy had been laid off from a dot com and we decided we wanted to go into business for ourselves. While figuring out what we wanted to do, he had the idea to make a planner, having been inspired by the fun randomness of Slingshot and the practicality of Franklin Covey. While he made some progress with his friend drawing a template, plans to open our store Otsu in San Francisco’s Mission District took precedence. With the store opening in October, the planner got pushed aside and never got finished (also because he’s procrastination king). In 2004, we finally got serious and asked an artist to draw one and help get it done and after that Little Otsu was born (the name “Little Otsu” came from a nickname our intern Kate had for us). We also met Lart [Berliner] (our most frequent collaborator) right at that time and it all kind of snowballed from there. Now we work on the publishing business full-time after moving to Portland last November and still have our store in SF as retail headquarters for all things LO.

Some tips to green your wedding:

• Use tree free or recycled paper for your wedding stationery
• Donate your unused food to a local shelter or charity
• Choose a caterer and a florist who use local and organic goods
• Pass along your flowers to a seniors home or local hospital
• Compost unused foods and Recycle everything you can
• Use outdoor space for natural light
• Request digital photo proofs
• Buy dresses, shoes, and glassware people will reuse after the ceremony or consign with a thrift store
• Offer a carpooling service/shuttle to transport guests from place to place
• Enjoy one of many luxurious eco-friendly resorts on your honeymoon

Whether or not you believe in global warming, the fact remains that over consumption damages the planet and we have limited resources.

Accrue good karma at your wedding by observing these simple principles: reduce, reuse, recycle!  It makes wedding planning creative, fun, and sustainable.

Consciously greening your wedding will will lighten your impact the planet, at lease for one day, and influence others to act the same way.  With enough deliberate action, through truly minor changes, we can replenish the earth.

This weekend my partner Tanner and I headed to stunning Waitsfield, Vermont and the beautiful Bundy Center for the Arts to participate in the wedding of our close friends’, Jaime-Lynn Taylor and Jay Blanchard.  It was absolutely wonderful!  The ceremony, officiated by Scribbles employee and my twin sis Jane, was touching and honest, the venue was atypically awesome, the food darn tasty, and mother nature decided to shine upon the whole thing by withholding any rain!  From the whole Scribbles family (who helped Jaime-Lynn and Jay with their lovely Prentiss Douthit wedding invitations), CONGRATULATIONS!

A personal favorite of mine were the table markers that Jaimie-Lynn and Jay decided upon - totally clever.  In addition to numbers and place cards (in the form of printed, framed signs), they used some of their favorite artwork and matched it to the personalities of the folks at each table.  Ours was an deliciously disturbing piece by Oscar awarding winning designer H.R. Giger (the genius behind the original artwork for Alien).  The works ranged from Klimt to Degas and added variety and color to the reception!

I also loved the pie bar.  Brilliant.  Pie.  I love pie.

Congratulations again to Jaime-Lynn and Jay - you two had a simply beautiful wedding.  I just know your marriage will be as full of love and friendship as this very special weekend was!

All my love,

Jenn

Hi I’m Jane.   

My parents Deb and Joe Jarecki own Scribbles.  They moved the family to Vermont in 1994- the same year they opened Scribbles and Jenny and I dawned our aprons.  As eleven year olds at the shop, we enjoyed displaying, bagging, and homework in the office.  We grew from salesgirls into managers, buyers, community advocates, and agents for social change, proud to fight for independent business and downtown vitality.  

 I love my work.  In addition to Scribbles, I teach yoga and co-create the Liberate Music & Arts Festival.

Ben Lanza and I partner to create the Liberate Music & Arts Festival; which like Scribbles, exists to support our family, our community, and our world.

The 1st Annual Liberate Music & Arts Festival occurs this Saturday!

at the Bundy Center for the Arts, August 23, 2008, Waitsfield, VT. 

10 a.m. - 10 p.m 

Festival Goers can enjoy myriad local organic food and drink vendors, yoga, healing arts, eco-workshops, fire dancers, African Drum and Dance, a local Artist’s Market, a magical children’s play area (Kid’s under 12 are free!), an art gallery inside the Bundy, nature and more!

The lineup includes, “Vermont’s Best New Band,” as voted in the recent Seven Daysies awards: Rubblebucket Orchestra as well as Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad, Spiritual Rez, Twiddle, the Dead Sessions, Gordon Stone Band, Jeh Kulu African Drum and Dance, DJ Fattie B, DJ Craig Mitchell, Upsetta Vermont and more!

 Alongside the Magic Hat offerings, attendees can bike their way to a VT SOY smoothie, taste the Northeast Organic Farmer’s Association’s wood-fired pizzas made with fresh organic local produce, and eat Leonardo’s Gelato. Famous Burlington vendors Samosaman and Ali Baba’s falafels will be serving their specialties, alongside Parvin’s Indian Kitchen.  Be sure to try invigorating Vemma Vitamin energy drink, Awake Coffee and more!

Catch Scribbles donation to the festival and when you’re at Liberate- write a letter to a soldier.

One dollar from each ticket benefits Local First Vermont.

Visit www.liberatevt.com for more information and to buy tickets.

I’ll let you know how it goes.  I’d like to thank Ganesha, who is the remover of obstacles and our icon, spinning turn tables for Liberate.

See you Saturday!

Hello everyone -  welcome to Scribbles’ blog, we’re happy you’ve joined us!     Our stationery-loving-kitsch-toting bloggers will cover everything from the loudest cat’s meow in wedding invitations to the latest card designer who’s caught our eye.  We’ll feature artists with whom we’re smitten and innumerable crafty, paper loving topics across the board.  What better way to start than A - Z: the address book!

In a sad turn of events for the address book, blackberrys, cellphones, and email have been gaining speed, electronically threatening: “hey, pretty hand bound book, your pages are numbered!” (The address book replies “well, no, actually they’re alphabetized” but we’ll save that conversation for another post).  Yet Scribbles supports traditions in paper that are worth a teence of effort (like owning a mom and pop shop in the not so Golden Age of the Box Store) because these traditions often lead to artfulness and creativity.  We suggest keeping all of your important names, address, numbers, faxes, birthdays, and related notes in one of our fabulous address books.  This way if you’re traveling in a place without cell service you can rely on the usefulness of your address book or, if you happen to damage your electronics, your contacts will be safe, sound, and beautifully kept.  And for the plain simple fact that address books are totally rad.

Be it spiral bound (the impressive Redoute Tall), pocket ready (Botticelli’s stunning mini), or from Vermont (Heron Dance’s inspired watercolors) Scribbles is stocked with choices to keep the address book alive!  Oh - and might we suggest writing in pencil?  Best way to maintain these lovely books for even longer!