Welcome! I'm a first time mom, busy wife, former model and "mompreneur" forging my way through this crazy maze called life. I share my insights on motherhood, marriage, cooking, and starting/running my clothing swap business called Gumdrop Swap. Who needs sleep? (*Raising my hand)
Gumdrop Swap will be an exhibitor at this festival for the 3rd year! It takes place at Taylor Farms (near Calf Pasture Beach) in Norwalk, CT on the weekend of September 15-16, 2012. Here are photos from my tent in 2011. People assume Gumdrop Swap Children's and Maternity Boutique only sells used merchandise. That's so not true! We carry lots of new merchandise as well. Plenty of gift options available and I make custom gift baskets.
I will have a booth for this 2 day festival to expose more people to Gumdrop Swap's unique spin on kids & maternity consignment. This unique service keeps the most important "green" (money) in your wallet. It's a FREE EVENT if you are on foot and $5 charge for each car to enter so if you must drive - carpool!
Do you have a business that is eco-friendly or family friendly? I highly recommend you being an exhibitor at this event. The organizers are very accommodating and organized. Live Green Connecticut gets better every year! They have entertainment, a kid's tent, food, discussions and of course a variety of vendors with products and services. Contact Daphne or Scot and make sure you mention Gabby from Gumdrop Swap sent ya!
Even if you can't come but you want to learn more about Connecticut's green movement, get involved or promote yourgreen efforts (no matter where you live) you should to sign up for free at GreenTowns.com. Search by state and city to see what's going on in your area!
Get paid to recycle? Well, kinda. Everyone knows recycling is "good" but how many of us think its easier to trash something instead of finding a recycling bin? Would a monetary reward entice you to make a better effort to recycle everything you can? Recyclebank sure thinks so!
Recyclebank is working towards a world without waste by rewarding people for taking everyday green actions. It’s free to join and as easy as 1, 2, 3. Earn points for taking everyday green actions, redeem them for great rewards, and learn ways to save money and live greener every day!
I am such a fan of this company! And I appreciate their Primary Sponsorship of the FREE community event in my town of Bridgeport, CT on Saturday, May 19, 2012! The 2nd Annual Eco Kid Bash will take place, rain or shine, inside the historic Arcade Mall in downtown Bridgeport at 1001 Main St. Learn about local green efforts like BGreen 2020, the greening of our local public transportation GBT, crafts, seed planting, and more. The event takes place from 1pm-4pm. This event is brought to you by Gumdrop Swap and Pryceless Consulting with the support of the City of Bridgeport and DSSD (Downtown Special Services District). Learn more at http://EcoKidBash.com
Gumdrop Swap will be an exhibitor at the "Party for the Planet" event at the Beardsley Zoo in Bridgeport, CT on April 21, 2012. This is in honor of Earth Day. This is a perfect opportunity to let my local
community know of Gumdrop Swap and my mission to keep kids clothes,
books, and toys out of our landfills. We "recycle" damaged clothing into
new apparel, accessories, and quilts. This is my 3rd year as a participant!
The Zoo is offering environmental education activities, amazing
animal encounters, and fun for the whole family. This conservation
themed bash will take place on Saturday, April 21 (Sunday, April 22 is canceled due to expected rain) and will shine a light on initiatives that
make our planet a more sustainable place to live. This event is FREE
with paid admission to the Zoo.
"Party for the Planet is the largest Earth Day celebration in North
America and we want everyone to get in on the action by visiting the Zoo
this weekend!" said Gregg Dancho, Zoo Director. "It's up to all of us
to play our part in saving the planet and making our community a
healthier place to live for people, animals, and all living things."
Party for the Planet encourages local, organic, earth-friendly
choices as a way of promoting better health for our planet and
ourselves. Environmentally friendly vendors will be on hand with
everything from green cleaning products and recycled fashion accessories
to better lawn care for humans and wildlife. The Mudpuppies and by The
Environmental Hootenanny with Tom Calliman and Ann Shapiro will perform
at the Peacock Pavilion.
To highlight the Zoo's ongoing connection to nature and support of
the arts, Kim Kuzina has created a large sculpture of the earth, which
greets visitors at the Zoo's front entrance and will remain outdoors
year round. Kuzina, a Middletown resident, creates art that honors the
beauty she finds outdoors.
UPDATE: Here is a photo from 2012 event. It turned out to be a beautiful day!
I love this company's mission. Similar to TerraCycle's but reclaiming the hard-to-recycle coated cardboard cartons for juice and milk. If you're looking for an stylish, eco-friendly, and affordable (ONLY $10?) wallet, buy this!
(*copied from Milkmuny's Press Release)
The creative Portland start-up wants to spread awareness about the challenges of carton recyclability, raise funds for struggling non-profits and promote a new kind of ‘trashion’ statement all at once.
More than 510,000 tons of milk and juice cartons are generated every year in the United States, but sadly, less than .05% ever get recycled according to an EPA report of (MSW) Municipal Solid Waste). Paper cartons ARE recyclable, however, “because of the wax lining, are not universally recycled. Each locality is different, depending on their recycling process capability”, says the (NRC) National Recycling Coalition.
That’s what got the Portland based industrial designer, John Schreiber, thinking and how Milkmuny.com was created. The first two initial lines of wallets, in 22 styles (from the reclaimed cartons of recognizable brands of both dairy and juice manufacturers) are available online and at specialty retailers. Milkmuny is already designing other lines of recycled products, as well, to be released by the summer of 09.
“There is considerably talk these days about ‘green’ design but the vast majority of design, both graphic and industrial, is still about promoting consumption”, says John, who is also Milkmuny’s founder and creative principle. “It’s ironic that we continue to dispose of existing products and materials like computers or radios in order to purchase ‘greener’ ones. I wanted to challenge traditional design thinking and create a mass produced product that didn’t expend more energy to create or require more resources to produce but was also aesthetically pleasing and uncompromisingly functional. It’s a amazing idea to think that on one hand; here is this ubiquitous but seemingly inconsequential carton so routinely discarded and yet on the other, something that with a little creativity, has the potential to raise money for schools, be an example of innovation in design and reusability – and even create jobs.
Please go read this simple tutorial on Sophisticate Style's Blog on how to turn your empty cereal box into a mailer. Perfect for mailing your small crafts for you Etsy and craigslist sellers!
I love to support other companies that make sustainability a priority. Green Giant is a brand we are all familiar with. I recently learned their initiative to be more eco-friendly for the next 50 years. Read about those efforts here. By making changes to their packaging and a large donation to the Nature Conservancy to encourage greener farming practices, they are setting an example for other corporations. I am not being compensated in any way to mention Green Giant. I'm sure this company doesn't know I exist. But if they ever discover this blog and want to send me some free veggies or coupons, I wouldn't turn it down :-)
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Are you part of TerraCycle yet? Why not? It's free and easy to join and you can earn cash for your favorite charity or to support your child's school. From now until May 8th, for every 5 Target plastic bags you (or anyone who is part of your collection team) send to TerraCycle, you will receive a coupon for $1.00 off any Target reusable bag. For program details, click here(PDF).
TerraCycle has teamed up with Target to help save our resources and continue TerraCycle's commitment to the environment by converting plastic shopping bags into reusable bags.
Happy Earth Month!
TerraCycle Brigades Team
*Limit one coupon per household. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Customer Support at customersupport@terracycle.net or call 1.866.967.6776.
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When I started Gumdrop Swap, I expected to work out of a warehouse of sorts. I would fill internet orders and have limited contact with customers. But when I began telling local people about the business, they wanted to come see my inventory and drop of their items instead of sending through the mail. That made sense but I didn't have a presentable set-up. I was blessed that my husband's childhood friend had office space he wasn't using and offered it to me to save some overheard. My husband helped me purchase my initial merchandise from a kids store that went out of business. Once I added in donations from friends and family and the things I saved that my daughter no longer needed, I was ready to take customers.
After a few customers, I quickly realized that I was going to outgrow the borrowed space I was in. It was only a temporary anyway. I couldn't store my inventory at my home so I looked for a new office. I found that for what I would pay for sq footage for office space I could get a smaller retail space for about the same amount per month. This changed everything.
I had to change the business plan to be more retail. But I could now attract new customers by being more visible and accessible. I lived in Read's Artspace in downtown Bridgeport, CT for over 2 years so I was familiar with the area. They have worked to revitalize the once industrial and municipal zone into a thriving residential/retail area. I love historic architecture. After researching the developer, GDC, on BridgeportBuzz.com, I knew I wanted to be part of the Arcade Mall project. Only a few year prior, I could look out my bedroom window at the Artspace lofts and see the workers restoring the glass atrium ceiling. Now that natural sunlight will illuminate my storefront in a few weeks. It's amazing how things come full circle! They have chosen energy saving building materials and geo-thermal heating which supports my business' eco-friendly mission.
The bamboo flooring has been installed. The lighting is in and walls are waiting to be painted. We are ordering fixtures. Then the merchandise can be displayed. I expect to open in early March and cannot wait to write the next chapter!
This is the view from the back of store towards the front.
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