100% Organic Cotton Fabrics
For home sewers, businesses, retailers, and anyone who gives a scrap!
Last week I flew to the Carolinas to visit my warehouse and to be there for the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) inspection. As you may have read in this post, Harmony Art has applied for GOTS certification through OneCert. Above is a picture of our fabric stored at our warehouse in Starr, South Carolina. We have been using the same warehouse for several years now and it has been wonderful. Peggy (who handles shipping my rolls) is a real gem! The shipments are tracked and shipped in a timely and thoughtful manner. I feel incredibly happy to have them on the Harmony Art team. Karlin was the certifier from OneCert who met us at the warehouse. The inspection took 3.5 hours. I knew Peggy and Michael kept a clean and well organized system so I was not at all surprised when in the exit interview under the section: Inspection Observations and Issues of Concern Karlin wrote, "Facility found to be very clean and records were organized and easy to trace. No issues of concern." What happens now? Well, it's a bit of a waiting game. Karlin will submit her report and someone else at OneCert will review it for approval. I am told this process will take 2-3 weeks. My fingers are crossed that we will be able to start the new year with Harmony Art being officially GOTS certified. Stay tuned. I promise to keep you posted.
NOTE: If you are in need of a good warehouse in the south, feel free to contact me. They still have room for a few more customers and as you can guess I would highly recommend them!
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Have you heard of Black Friday? The day after Thanksgiving which is legend to be the biggest shopping day in America? What about Small Business Saturday? American Express (who are the folks behind Small Business Saturday), are also offering a $25 statement credit for registered cardmembers who spend at least $25 at a qualified small business like Stitch Simple on 11/26. WOAH! Think about that.... a BIG bank giving you a $25 credit for spending $25. I'd call that a no brainer! As you would expect there are some fine print details -- here are links for more info- General Info (http://www.smallbusinesssaturday.com/). Card Registration (https://sync.americanexpress.com/sbs2011). Stitch Simple is a qualified small business and to celebrate and encourage you to take advantage of this incredible deal they are offering special products as well as FREE US Shipping. The Harmony Art Super Fat Quarter set (above) is one of these special products. It's comprised of 9 Super Fat Quarters -- $32.76 value but from 11/26-12/2/11 it's yours for just $25! A great deal! If you register your Amex card and use it for this order, you will automatically get the $25 credit for shopping a registered small business (Stitch Simple) on 11/26. Pretty cool, eh? This variety pack of organic cotton sateen prints and solids was selected so your holiday sewing projects could "take flight". Why not make some 3d ornaments for your tree this year? With 9 Super Fat quarters you will be able to let any crafting vision you may have soar. Some gift ideas are: fabric coasters, pot holders, gift bags, furoshiki (japanese fabric wrapping), placemats or whatever your creative self dreams up. Here's a easy link to get in on the action. To see the other special deals click here. Over the last 7 years, I have watched the organic textile industry evolve and progress. I have been keeping careful tabs on the labels and what they mean. Authenticity and accountability for the environmental and social impact of textile production are why I launched Harmony Art and it has definitely been a journey! Certification Status Report
2004 - OTA adopts American Organic Fiber Processing Standard (AOFPS). 2005 - Harmony Art organic design is founded. 40 different "eco fabric" standards exist. 2005 - Harmony Art chooses the OTA's AOFPS for her fabrics. 2006 - Global Organic Textile Standard - GOTS version 1 is finalized. 2007 - Harmony Art fabrics produced in India are 3rd party certified to GOTS. 2008 - GOTS logo (above) is introduced. 2011 - Harmony Art applies for GOTS certification!* *What does this mean? Nothing and everything. Nothing because the fabric has already been made and certified to GOTS standards. Everything because we (Fox-Rich & Harmony Art) will be the FIRST US distributors not only to sell GOTS certified fabrics but to BE GOTS certified. So, what does that mean? Well, for ANY product to carry the GOTS logo ALL of the "chain of command" upstream need to be certified. Example: If you were to make baby clothes and you sourced GOTS fabrics and wanted to use the GOTS logo on your hang tags, your fabric supplier (not the fabric itself) would need to be GOTS certified AND your facility would also need to go through the certification process. This step now opens the doors for any of our customers to pursue GOTS certification themselves for their end products. Why has it taken us so long to take this leap you ask? Well, two reasons -- 1. We wanted to be sure the certification had the momentum to be THE organic fabric certification 2. It's expensive! Why is this important? Well, remember "organic" food before the NOP logo? That's the stage we are in now and certification is an important step in keeping organic fabrics authentic and easily identifiable to the end consumer. This week I submitted the 20+ page application and a large check to OneCert. After reviewing the documents, an inspector will be sent to our warehouse in South Carolina and the certifying will begin. I look forward to keeping you posted through the process. I am happy to introduce you to the new organic fabric web site on the block! American Grown• Spun•Milled is the brain child of long time organic fabrics sellers and supporters NearSea Naturals. Their mission is to help bring back USA textile manufacturing which has been shrinking dramatically in recent years. In fact 2 of the first printers Harmony Art used have now closed shop, so we personally have felt the effects of this shrinking local economy. All fabrics sold on our American Grown•Spun•Milled site meet the following criteria unless expressly noted in the fabric's description:
Please give them a warm welcome! We are happy to have them selling our 100% made in the USA, heavy weight Chili Pepper Red flannel on their site and wish them oodles of success. When there is a fiber-reactive GOTS certified (ideally wide-width) USA printer, please let us know!!! We look forward to helping support this movement.
My customers and friends know I end most of my emails with the quote from Margaret Mead, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." That small group committed to organic cotton just added a BIG NAME endorsement with the impending release of: Organic Soul by Amy Butler for Rowan. The collection contains nine prints on 44/45" wide organic cotton fabric. You don't have to wait very much longer; the fabric will be shipping to retailers in mid August. Here are some photos of the loveliness in action . . . Amy is a dear friend and so this is EXTRA special and exciting for me. I thought I would take the opportunity to ask Amy a few questions... Why did you decide to release an organic collection? It's something that I've wanted to do for years, and we finally found a great source for high-quality, GOTS certified organic cotton. It's close to my heart, and I want to support it in any way I can. I'm hoping that by supporting the industry through making choices to buy organic, that it can eventually become "the way" and not the exception. What does organic mean to you? I want to live my life and run my business as sustainably as I can. It's a consciousness that we have in our home and studio. Simple choices we make like raising our garden organically, buying local organic foods, walking or biking instead of driving, just being healthy and living simply. How we affect our surroundings gives us an appreciation and respect for ourselves. Supporting the organic movement to me is not revolutionary, it just makes sense for the long term health of everyone. I feel that choosing organics whenever I can supports an optimistic vision of my future, our future, and every little bit helps. Thanks Amy! I am hopeful that your commitment will get the attention of many more people as we strive together to make sustainable living/eating/crafting/dressing/being the norm. I too agree that it is the simple choices repeated daily that create our lives and the world we live in. If you are interested in learning more about why organic textiles are a sustainable option, please visit these 2 informational pages on the Harmony Art web site: Why Organic Cotton? and The (r)evolution of textiles. In the spirit of sustainability, please leave a comment about what small step(s) you are taking to live a more environmentally thoughtful life and you will be entered to win a selection of Amy's sewing patterns. Comments must be posted by Tuesday, August 2nd for a chance to win. Thanks Mallory for organizing and including Harmony Art in the blog tour! Be sure to continue Amy's blog tour as she visits with the ladies at See How We Sew on Tuesday, August 2nd for more information about her new Voile fabrics! My friend Trudy is truly amazing. I can never remember how old she is because it never makes any sense when I hear it. I know she is in her 70's but she has more vitality, zest for life and joy than just about anyone I know. She is spontaneous, wise, loving and always a pleasure to be around. This year has been a tough one for Trudy. Her son died after a valiant fight with cancer and in the middle of his last days she was hit by a car while in a cross walk. The accident left her with a major gash in her leg that had to heal before they could do reconstructive surgery on her knee. Tough stuff... but Trudy is tougher. When a member (and friend) in our local quilt guild suggested that a comfort quilt be made for Trudy, I immediately jumped on the team. It was definitely a collaborative effort with design input from Misses Stitches, The Green Bag Lady, myself and Mirka (the leader of the group). The quilting was done by Suzanne Friedland. Mirka gets the award for most time and effort and for pulling it all together (a couple of times). To be able to work with such thoughtful women to create something meaningful was truly a joy. I was really happy with how it turned out. I am happy to report that as of this week Trudy can now put 50% pressure on her recovering leg and will be swimming, driving and traveling again soon.
Have you ever been involved in a "comfort quilt" project? I recently learned of this project: do. Good Stitches and was really impressed with what they are doing and creating. I do believe that acts of love and kindness are priceless gifts -- like friendship. In case you are curious, the fabrics used in this organic cotton comfort quilt are: Vein, Thirty-nine, 10 Flowers, Fields of Honey, Morning Dew and Solid Scarlet. The summer issue of Living Crafts magazine contains the "Complete Guide to Organic Fabrics." -- In this 12-page article by Fiona Duthie, you’ll find out about the leading brands of organic fabric companies, where they are produced, where they are printed, their certification(s), as well as a nice list of organic fabric retailers. In addition, they offer you a side-bar on Selection Criteria by Tara Boyd and Winnie Culp of Nearsea Naturals. As someone who has been working since 2005 to break organic cottons reputation of beautiful shades of oatmeal and granola this was one of those issues that warmed my heart! This multi-page spread features 13 different organic cotton fabric companies! Big thanks to editor Pardis and writer Fiona for taking on this project and helping educate and promote the use of organically grown fabrics. To help you find them all, here's a link to the 13 companies mentioned in the article: www.birchfabrics.com www.spiritex.net www.harmonyart.com www.cloud9fabrics.com www.monaluna.com www.oliveiratextiles.com www.oecotextiles.com www.daisyjanie.com www.swankyswell.com www.livetextiles.com www.oliverhenry.etsy.com www.alabamachanin.com/studio-store www.1014organictextiles.com Please pick up your own copy of Living Craft magazine. In addition to features on each of these companies they have a section about the equally important organic fabric retailers as well as lots of other crafty articles.
As more and more big names enter the organic arena, our movement gains traction and energy. Big LOVE to all the designers and companies who have put their fabric where their hearts are. You make me very, very happy! At LONG last, the solid Aqua Twill has cleared customs and arrived safely at our warehouse in South Carolina. The color is GORGEOUS and definitely worth of the wait. If you are looking for individual yardage head to Stitch Simple (it's so new they may not have it listed yet but you can definitely still order from them). If you are wanting a full 50+ yards contact me.
ALSO... DATE CHANGE!! SHARK TANK featuring our own Hot Mama will air THIS FRIDAY April 22nd at 8pm ET on ABC. I know where I will on Friday night! Our latest print: Morning Dew has arrived at our warehouse and is now available for purchase! Additionally we have Eyes of the World and the solid Lime Green Sateen back in stock. We designed Morning Dew to work with the two new fabrics: 10 Flowers and Thirty-nine. Here's a picture of the 3 of them together. Don't they look yummy?! I can't wait to see you bring them to life. Feel free to post photos on our facebook fan page.
I often tell people I have the best customers in the World. I mean it. Here's one example of just how wonderful they are. Above is a picture of how the Pure Coverz products are shipped. Each order is packaged not in plastic but in a reusable fabric bag. It's classy, it's thoughtful and it is one more example of just how lucky I am to have the privilege of working with such a great group of like-minded businesses.
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Harmony Susalla
Founder of Harmony Art organic design. Archives
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