Really, this week it’s just a plug for bits and pieces of goodness I’ve come across in the past week. You know, little inventions and consumerables that make a difference, people sharing good stuff. That kind of thing. I’m in Canberra at Mum and Dad’s place, being treated to an open fire, daphne posies in my bedroom and runs with Dad (we’re training for City2Surf)…while I write my book. So, I’m off to focus. Over and out! x
1. TOM tampons.
I love the story behind these little wads of indispensability. Aimee Marks is 23. She’d had jack of tampons being ethically, environmentally and healthily low-grade. Tampons on the market today are either synthetic or cotton (cotton is one of the most heavily pesticide-sprayed crops on the planet). So she created her range of organic TOM tampons (Time of Month) . The pack is also smart…designed so that the little white pluggers don’t fall out in your bag. Did I mention she’s 23??? You can buy them at Pulse Pharmacies.
2. Love Conviction
PR chick Almira Pizovic has just launched online store Love Conviction featuring stuff for sale (accessories, homewares etc) inspired by LOVE. The charity sale section of the site features stuff by Almira’s Aussie designer friends – Cassette Society, This is Genevieve and Santos wish– who’ve donated things they love, with proceeds going to charity Inspire, which targets youth dealing with depression (they run Reach Out and the organisation used to be run by my dear friend Kerry). Nice conviction.
3. The Happy Tweeter
I met Mahei Foliaki and his partner Bridget Davis (the Internet Chef) on the weekend up at Qualia, Hamilton Island. Turns out Mahei is regarded as one of the happiest tweeters hanging on the wire. Huffington Post has written about him. And he has close to 40,000 followers. If you’re new to the sport, and want to see how Twitter is done well, he’s a good one to follow. He’s at Iconic88 (the 88 being an auspicious infinity symbol).
4. Some happy bloggers
Over the course of doing this blog, I encounter some great bloggers who share their thoughts on my site and put lovely links to my work. Like-minded. Doing sweet stuff. And with their own voice. This is crucial to blogging. If you worry about what others think, or if you wobble about trying to be all things to all people, or if you try to copy or mimic what others are doing, people can smell it in your writing. Blogging is an opportunity to be truly you. It’s the only way to succeed. Celebs who blog don’t necessarily do well. Everyday folk with stuff to say, do. If you’re new to blogging, these ones below – who have all supported me hugely over the past 7-8 months – are worth checking out…for inspiration.
Kooky and smart and loving: Gala Darling’s site is potently good, consistent and bold. Her weekly Carousel list is a gorgeous smorgasbord of great reads (countless blogs have copied her technique). She’s as kooky and whimsical as all get-up and has one of the most confident, defined voices. She looks forward, not back. She brings her own thing to the table. People can smell her authenticity. Ergo, her massive international following (several hundred thousand). She’s a kid doing her own thing. I met up with her in New York last month – she makes her living now from her Love & Sequins ebooks that she sells for $12. Smart. The real deal.
Pure and pretty, with conviction: Aran’s food blog Cannelle et Vanille is divine. She’s recently turned gluten-free and her recipes have reflected this. So pretty. So good. And intimate, too. The girl has a wonderful heart, too, and connects across Twitter from the US in the most generous of ways. We’ve become inter-webbed friends.
A girl with values: Erica at girl with a satchel also has a wonderful voice. She’s been going for years now – musing about media and magazines. Her voice has got stronger and stronger over the years. I know her from my mag days. She was always a gem.
She boldly meshes her musings with her Christian values. I like this. Good on her. Here’s a rundown of her “Core Values” from her “about me” section. Telling….
GWAS is not perfect, often giving into material temptations (oh, the pretty things) and partaking in the superficial pursuits espoused by the glossies (counting calories, celebrity gossip, coveting Chloé shoes…), but she’s confident that a life lived by glossy standards alone is a miserable one.
To that end, GWAS chooses to live by faith and God’s grace, seeking His approval and embracing the teachings of Jesus Christ, who valued peace, joy, humility, gentleness, sacrifice, kindness, submission, honesty and self control. It’s not easy being green, as Kermie would concede, but a girl (with a satchel) has gotta believe in something.
Small and new and pretty: Laura at life.beauty.laughter who writes lovely lists of things she likes and wants to do. She has a nice eye for pics, too. Like the one above. For a newby, she does a lovely, authentic job.
