Return To Nature With us
I create with a commitment to Mother Earth. It starts with sourcing of ethical materials, sustainable daily operations/practices, to the eco-friendly packing that arrives at your door. I believe in building trust through transparency. Below you will see exactly what sets us apart in our practices and material providers.
Porcelain and Stoneware: I use Laguna Frost 6 Porcelain WC-437 and Bleeding Speck Stoneware, a Laguna Clay. This company manufactures clay in the US but does import some minerals from abroad. For this porcelain they import kaolin from New Zealand. Although mining natural resources is not sustainable and does use up the earth’s supply, the mining practices themselves are not unethical. Porcelain and stoneware are materials that can return to earth, and biodegrade over time. I believe it’s important to think of the end-of-life cycle of the materials we use, unlike polymer clay that pollutes micro plastics into our waterways. I also recycle clay scraps by rehydrating the clay, turning it into useable clay. Unfortunately, not all potters recycle their clay remnants.
Metal jewelry findings and packaging: Rio Grande has a program for jewelers to recycle precious metal remnants, from which they melt and form new jewelry findings. Whenever possible, I select necklace chains, earring hooks, and the like from this program. Jewelry boxes are made from 100% post consumer/recyclable material. Rio Grande, as stated on their website: “Rio depends heavily on the natural environment for the raw materials our business needs. We believe this dependence carries a responsibility to be a good steward of these resources, and we take that responsibility seriously. In a variety of ways, we strive to minimize any negative impact to the environment and its resources, and we actively work to have a positive influence on the world around us. In doing so, and by passing along this information, we also help our customers be mindful of where their materials come from, and how they can in turn minimize their own environmental footprints to the extent they wish.”
Shipping Materials: Cardboard boxes are made from 100% post-consumer material and are recyclable. I use water activated- reinforced- paper shipping tape that can be recycled with the cardboard box, or biodegrade.
Business Cards and Promotional Material: Moo states on their website their, “Cotton Business Cards are made from 100% recycled T-shirt offcuts – stuff that normally gets thrown away.” I selected this since cotton is bio-degradable and it’s a fun way to keep it tree free.
Green Energy: I work out of my home studio, which is powered by a green energy provider. I look forward to the day when I can have solar panels of my own to run my electric kiln. I do not use a gas kiln.
Rain Water: I collect rainwater to clean my materials with in the studio. This elimantes the use of ground water from our well, and reduces water run off.
*If bubble wrap is used in your shipment, this is from material I have collected from personal orders or have been passed onto me from friends that I re-use for certain delicate sculptural work. I never purchase bubble wrap or plastic shipping material. Participating in a circular economy is also a sustainable practice. Please shoot me a message if you would rather I omit this in your order of any sculptural works or wall-art. Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Repurpose.*