whiney

a month a half into this, and I'm thinking, blogging's hard!!! harder to be a blogger than it is to be a blog reader. maybe it's summer. yeah. that's it. here's what I've been up to:: I got a surprise visit from my bf last week. about five days of slacking off, and then i poured it on over the weekend. I'm cleaning up the apartment in order to do a photo shoot for design*sponge. I'm thrilled to be chosen to do a sneak peek for this great, great blog. I also shipped out a new batch of earrings for ritual adornments and have added a few new pieces to the site. I visited with rena tom before she left for sf, and also bade farewell to beryl, one of my stockists which is closing up shop. while the bf was here, we had the great fortune to meet up with one of my british customers and her man. the web really does bring people together! more later, i'm tired. whine...

summer offer

For those who would like to join the molliedash.com mailing list, I'm offering 20% off any full-priced item on the site. The offer is good for new and existing mailing list members, and is valid until August 12, 2007. If you're skittish about joining mailing lists, I'll add that my mailings are infrequent and unobtrusive. You'll receive details on redeeming the discount in your confirmation email.

sneak peek

merger

i stopped by sodafine this evening and brought the lovely miss erin a new collection. she is the only one who sells my earring singles (sorry, no photo) and they are damn dramatic. i've been moving in slo-mo this summer, a little burnt out i fear, but working my way through a recovery. going to the beach does amazing things. if you live in nyc and have yet to explore the nearby beaches, it's really worth getting out there. i visited long beach on monday and totally loved it. i took the J train to the jamaica LIRR station (sutphin blvd. on the J) and thanks to austin corbin, the train runs all the way to the beach. if you buy your ticket online or at the LIRR station, a day beach pass is included in the ticket price for $1 extra. the usual price of a beach pass is $10. i am going to quote myself in a recent email on why I loved long beach:

"a) nyc transportation friendly-no transferring to buses required. it's about a half hour ride on the LIRR from jamaica. b) nice mix of old, young, city folk, long islanders, different races, families, discreet partiers, etc. [by this i mean people quietly drinking beers so as not to attract the beach patrol, and the beach patrol not bothering them] c) clean beach with plenty of rest rooms. the beach is narrow enough that it doesn't draw the enormous crowds. [but then again i went on a monday] d) nice friggin beach. nice water. nice sand. a little rough for swimming, but it feels sort of like of like a spa because the water is constantly moving."

basically, it's close enough to the city so that you're not traveling all day, but far enough away that it feels like nature. it's just so miraculously relaxing to get out of the city, hop on a train, and arrive there.

so two of the stores i sell with, sodafine and rare device, will be sharing rare device's south park slope shop as of august 1, and the williamsburg sodafine store will remain open. i will continue to sell at both stores as usual. i am looking forward to seeing how the shop is transformed by erin's carefully chosen collection of independently designed clothing. rena tom will be returning to her beloved bay area, and plans on opening up a second rare device there.

see how that works?

new bracelets

don't throw it away

The Department of Sanitation of the City of New York has a resource page listing orginizations that help the public recycle all kinds of goods. One of them is the NYC Stuff Exchange.

bracelets

in various states of completion.

on using cloth vs. paper

I like this post from No Impact Man.

going grey as an environmental choice?

My mom starting going grey when she was in her 30's. Being a pretty low-maintenance person, she's left it natural. I remember an uncharacteristic outburst from her one night at the dinner table when I was a kid. Her hairdresser had convinced her to try a "rinse," and none of us in the family had noticed. This was enough fuel for her to never try coloring it again. Taking after her, I saw my first few grey hairs when I was in my late 20's. But being far more vain than my mom, I've been keeping my secret under wraps with dark brown or black dye ever since.

As the years go by, my hair continues to get greyer- a shocking reminder that, try as I might to hide it, I am getting older. The coloring habit becomes problematic in that it creates an addiction to looking a certain way- a way in which my friends, family, and coworkers become accustomed to seeing me. I've considered going natural many times through the years, but feared the thought of all the attention it would bring- "oh my god! your hair! it's grey!" is not something I've wanted to hear or have to explain.

I have several reasons for wanting to go natural. Coloring my hair is a pain. It costs money. It ruins clothing, towels, and pillow cases. It dries out my hair and gives it a strange texture. It makes me feel like I'm trying to be someone I'm not.

Dyeing hair promotes ageism by perpetrating a societal myth of eternal youth. It devalues the virtues of being an adult such as maturity, wisdom, and patience. It encourages us to be in denial about something over which we have no control- the fact that we will all get old.

And hair color has its environmental drawbacks. Let's face it- it is a wasteful process. Despite the fact that I use plant-based "natural" color, it's packaged in non-recyclable plastic bottles. And far more people use chemical hair color, a potentially harmful practice I'm allying myself with if I continue to do this.

So this time- as I've watched my roots grow in grey- I'm deciding to give it a shot and see what my natural color looks like. I had my hair cut today into a cute bob, making the process a little less scary.

So now I'd like to hear from you. Is there anyone out there who has made a similar choice? Are you tired of being tethered to a practice which runs counter to your own ethical or environmental beliefs? Have you been inspired by Helen Mirren? I know I have! Or are you one of the brave ones who has never colored your hair? Do you think it's harder for women to go grey than it is for men? Let me know what you think!