Southern Christmas Show

On Sunday Wayne and I took time away to visit the Southern Christmas show and check out some of the booths.  It was a TON of walking.  My goodness.  The booths never seem to end.  We ran into some folk we knew and chatted a bit and met some lovely vendors.  Below are some pictures I shot along the way.

Chara works in Tanzania on malaria prevention and education.   We purchased a gorgeous wooden carved frame.

They also had some lovely pillow covers that I would have purchased if I were not aware that Sparky would take that as a shredable chew toy.

I loved something about this tree….

And, as always, I am strangely drawn to iron work.

And another tree.  Sensing a theme?

This gentleman had a gorgeous wood mantle to display his wares.

We’re hopeful that next year we’ll be posting pictures of our booth!    🙂

ArtWalk Boone

Today Wayne and I drove up the  mountain to (finally) set up our products at the ArtWalk in Boone.  We always love any excuse to visit the mountains – it is truly one of our favorite places to spend time.

The ArtWalk is quite a fun shop.  It’s an Emporium-style setup with tons of artists and almost anything you can imagine available for sale.

Borrowed from http://www.artwalkboone.com

Last time I went, I spent a good bit of time wandering around and taking photos of various displays.   There were SO many that I loved….it was hard to choose which pictures to post!

Not pictured above is the vast collection of Derfla paintings that are just beautiful.

And finally, adding to the list of artists is, of course, Belle Terre!  Here’s our little shelf by the stairs:

To top off all the lovely items available for purchase, the staff at ArtWalk are quite nice and knowledgeable about the varied products.  If you’re in Boone, stop by and visit the ArtWalk – it’s worth the trip.

Eczema & Natural Soaps

Lately we have been getting a lot of questions about whether or not our soaps are good for individuals with eczema.  It got us thinking and so we did some research to find out if natural soaps themselves could benefit individuals suffering with eczema.  Before we go any further it is important to remember that we are not doctors or medical experts of any kind.  The information we will be sharing has been taken from online resources that we trust and will cite at the bottom of the post so you can do some research for yourself, which we strongly recommend.

Okay, now that we have that behind us, lets get back to the subject at hand.

What Is Eczema and Why Does It Happen?

Let’s start with a definition of eczema.  Eczema is a term for a group of medical conditions that cause the skin to become inflamed or irritated.  The most common type is atopic dermatitis.  Frequently, eczema is associated with other allergy related conditions such as asthma.  Symptoms of eczema include:

• Red to brownish-gray colored patches
• Itching, which may be severe, especially at night
• Small, raised bumps, which may leak fluid and crust over when scratched
• Thickened, cracked or scaly skin
• Raw, sensitive skin from scratching

The exact cause of atopic dermatitis (eczema) is unknown, but is likely due to a combination of dry, irritated skin together with a malfunction in the body’s immune system. Stress and other emotional disorders can worsen atopic dermatitis, but they don’t cause it.  Flare ups can be caused or exacerbated by irritants such as rough and itchy fabrics, harsh soaps and detergents, heat & sweat, dry skin due to dehydration or excessively hot or long baths or showers.  Basically, anything that is going to damage and dry out your skin can cause or worsen an eczema flare up.

How Do I Prevent or Treat Eczema?

There is a myriad of ways to treat eczema.  Before starting any treatment you should consult your doctor.  You can use otc or prescription strength creams to relieve the itching and reduce inflammation.  You may need antibiotics if you have an infection due to itching.  Oral antihistamines may help if itching becomes severe.  For more severe cases, oral steroids such as prednisone may be prescribed by your doctor.  If none of these treatments work then your doctor may prescribe Protopic or Elidel.  Make sure you discuss the possible side effects about these drugs as they have been given the FDA’s strongest “black box” warning.  These drugs have been associated with an increased risk of non-Hodgkins lymphoma in animals.  Further, these drugs are not permitted to be used in children under the age of 2 as severe adverse events have been reported.

As with traditional medical treatment, home treatments can vary widely.  If it is determined that eczema is a result of an allergy, the best treatment is to remove the irritant.  Beyond this, basic skin health is critical for preventing and / or moderating flare ups.  This includes avoiding itchy clothing, not taking extended hot baths or showers, avoiding harsh soaps or detergents, remaining hydrated and using creams or lotions to keep your skin hydrated.

How Can All Natural Soaps Help?

If you are currently using a regular bar of soap from the grocery store there is a good chance that it is doing more harm than good.  Most of these soaps, especially the heavily scented ones, contain harsh chemicals and detergents that smell good and last a long time in the shower.  While these are admirable traits, they don’t do anything to help your skin and can do a good bit of damage.  All natural soaps are typically made using olive oil, palm oil and coconut oil.  Some soap makers use other oils but these are the most common.  These natural oils, especially olive oil, are great for helping your skin retain its natural moisture.  Further, some of these soaps contain additional ingredients such as shea butter or tea tree oil which can benefit individuals with conditions such as eczema.  Shea butter is well known to help moisturize skin and tea tree oil helps to kill bacteria and fungi which can infect cracked and irritated skin.   Many natural soapmakers, including Belle Terre, handcraft soaps that include each of these items.  We offer a Lemongrass Shea butter soap that has a wonderfully clean scent.  We also make a soap called Evening Glow which contains tea trea oil along with rosewood, sweet orange and clary sage essential oils for a relaxed citrus scent.  Finally, we are also working on a Eucalyptus Tea Tree oil soap that will be ready in a couple of months.

In short, switching to all natural soaps will not cure eczema.  However, using all natural soaps, like the ones made at Belle Terre, can be part of a healthy skin lifestyle which can moderate or reduce eczema flare ups.  We hope this post has been helpful and informative.

The medical information found in this web post was found at:

http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/eczema/default.htm

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/eczema/DS00986

Grand Opening

The Grand Opening of the Union Square Emporium was Friday and everything went splendidly.  It was a big day for us and many other vendors who are officially opening our very first stores.  There were tons of free goodies, giveaways, and people milling about.

Here’s a video from WBTV where Sam explains his goals for the location:

Here’s some pictures from the big day:

Pictures of our booth

Grand Opening Pictures

Update: video from the Grand Opening:

Many thanks to everyone who came out to visit!

The Great Unveiling…

I’ve been waiting oh so patiently to share with everyone the booth that we’ve put together at the Union Square Emporium in downtown Hickory.  We’ve been working on it since labor day, and I think it’s been worth the wait.

To provide a bit of background: the Union Square Emporium (USE) is an attempt to bring local artists and vendors in touch with customers.  It’s set up much the same way as the Woolworth Walk in Asheville.  Each vendor rents a booth that he or she decorates according to his or her choosing and fills with product.  There is one main cash register at the front that checks out all vendors.  The idea is that small businesses like ours have the chance to gain a storefront without all the hassle of manning the store.  As Wayne and I both work full time, it was an ideal way for us to have product available to customers all year long.  To make the deal more appealing, the Healthy Home Market, a lovely health food store, picked up spots at the back of the building and is opening an express version of their store!  It’ll be so nice to have healthy food options readily available downtown.

Now, on to the fun part.   Here’s the booth as we chose it.  I adored the mod design and felt it was quite a shame to paint over it, but it really didn’t fit with our look.

Wayne cut a board and attached it into the corner to try to draw it out a bit.

We had a lovely artist, Scott Keilar come in and do the walls for us.  He used drywall mud to produce a bit of texture and give the walls some interest.

Here are the walls after a couple coats of paint:

Here’s the reason for the board in the corner.  I love our logo and we wanted it to be the focal point of the booth.

Next up was adding lettering.  I wanted the lettering to match exactly so, after much debate, I ordered custom lettering from dalidecals and was ecstatic with the result.  For anyone who is thinking about doing this, be prepared to be very, very patient while applying.

Finally, we added shelves…

….worked on the table….

….and added the soap and lip balm.

Here’s a closeup of the half bar wall.  I love the cookie jars as display pieces.

Here’s the finished booth.  Doesn’t it just look fantastic?

We can’t wait for the October 1st opening.  USE is planning a full day including product sampling, giveaways, and other surprises.  It should be quite the event!  If you’re in the Hickory area, please come out and visit.

And, once again, many thanks to the Kuklas for all their help.  I’m convinced they missed their calling.