Nancy's comments

Very fun event last month....looking forward to it!

I love to listen to music when I cook or create art and am convinced that what I create always turns out better because of the music I love. The CD's in the turn table change, as there aren't just certain artists or CD's that inspire me. Here's what I've been listening to while cooking and painting in the last few weeks...

• Jamie Cullum - Twentysomething
• Sara Bareilles - Little Voice
• Missy Higgins - The Sound of White and On a Clear Night
• Harry Connick Jr. - When Harry Met Sally Soundtrack
• Brandi Carlisle - The Story
• Meiko - (Self titled)
• David Gray - White Ladder and A New Day at Midnight
• Feist - Let it Die
• Lyle Lovett - Live in Texas (Although any Lyle Lovett always hits the spot!)

Other favorites to check out...Everything but the Girl, The Waifs, Amos Lee, Blue October

Nancy

Hop to Signaroo

Lorayne,

I'm afraid I have to cancel my RSVP. This looks so interesting though, so I hope you run this workshop again. Nancy

Here's link to green product reviews from Consumer Reports and a link to household cleaner recipes from Consumer Reports. According to Consumer Reports, sadly some of the eco-friendly companies are not labeling their products honestly and some do contain petroleum or don't biodegrade as claimed and have been called on it, so check out the facts and reviews on the first link above.

America's Test Kitchen recently rated Method as the best brand for dishliquid (for washing dishes by hand). Don't know if they have a version for the dishwasher, though. Method is available at Target and some grocers.

Costco now has an eco-friendly laundry detergent, which I believe is also free of dyes and perfumes. I will be picking that up in the near future and giving that a try, as I have been using their regular dye and perfume-free detergent for a while. I've never really noticed a difference in laundry detergent other than the smell and if it makes me itch.

I suspect there is a site somewhere which rates eco-friendly cleaners. I can access the Consumer Reports site (you have to have a subscription). I will see if there are any reviews there and send you the info if there is, Kevin.

As for all purpose cleaners...I have always loved Murphy's oil soap (or the generic brand), which you mix with water (for washing floors, etc.) and there are always the old stand-bys that you mix yourself with ammonia and vinegar, etc. (Recipes all over the web.) They're much cheaper than buying commercially made products and if you mix them up in the same spray bottles each time, you are keeping another evil plastic bottle out of the landfills! This book has some good recipes for eco-happy cleaning products and eco-friendly/non-animal tested beauty product suggestions, too...not relevant for you Kevin, but for the ladies!

One of my favorite cleaning recipes from that book is a fruit and veggie wash which removes dirt and pesticides from fruit and veggies:

1 cup water 1 cup white vinegar (buy the gallon jugs at Costco super cheap) 1 tablespoon of baking soda 20 drops of grapefruit seed extract (this is available at Seattle Super Supplements and health food stores and has many amazing medicinal uses, too)

Mix in a large bowl to accommodate the volcano effect of the baking soda and vinegar and then pour into a spray bottle. Spray on fruit or veggies and let them stand for ten minutes before rinsing.

Finally, I would email Sage Cleaning and the other Green Cleaning companies that are in Biznik and ask them what they recommend.

That concludes my public service announcement for today! ;0)

Nancy

Hop to Signaroo

Sounds like a celebration with beautiful traditions and beautiful meaning behind the festivities. Thanks for sharing and for the well wishes, Anita! Wishing you a happy and prosperous Deepavali, too!

So glad you're offering this again, Corbet. Looking forward to meeting you and participating in your workshop!

Sounds groovy...I'm game.

Great idea, Art!

John,

I hope you host this again, as I'll be at the website hot seat event that morning. I've always wanted to eat at Fare Start...such a great idea you had to support a great cause!

Nancy

Hop to Signaroo

I'm on Twitter here. I doubt that I'm using my Twitter profile to it's best advantage. Maybe someone would want to host a Twitter workshop (Leif?...Joe?...hint...hint.).

Nancy

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Yippee!! :0)

Nancy

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Hee hee hee! Good job, gentleman!

Nancy

Hop to Signaroo

And I saw the commercial on the nightly news ;0)

Happy B-day, Lobster Man!

Nancy

Hop to Signaroo

Anything that's interactive helps get people in the booth. Is there something that participants could "play" with in your booth? I agree that having members of both sexes running the booth is a good idea. No more than two people total though, as people don't want to feel ganged up on. I have done only one trade show for my current biz but sold my art for years at art sales and farmer's markets. When people enter the booth, say hello and engage them in some other brief banter to establish report (comment on something they are already carrying or wearing, etc.) before launching into your pitch.

As a side line, if you will be ordering a vinyl sign to hang in your booth, Kinkos has the best prices...surprisingly cheaper than Costco printing and online options. Good luck!

Nancy

Hop to Signaroo

Hi Courtney, I also think you need a "hook" that makes you different....and like you said in a way that isn't a cliche. You certainly can take inspiration from others, though. I saw a piece this week about a Seattle-area coffee stand in West Seattle called Red Cup that uses solar power to run the stand. They have made a serious commitment to reducing their carbon footprint by doing this as well as using supplies made from recycled and biodegradeable materials, discounts for hybrid drivers, etc. In this economy, if people are going to continue their coffee habit, they want to justify it and can at least feel better about doing so in an environmetally friendly way, and that's likely helping the coffee stand owner's biz in tough economic times in eco-friendly Seattle. Maybe tap into that niche. I'm sure there are lots of media outlets that Red Cup missed, that would cover your story.

I remember hearing about another coffee shop (again in West Seattle) that posted photos of single customers before Valentine's Day and then the participants decorated boxes like we did in elementary school and customers dropped valentines in others' boxes if they were interested in them. Cute! Again, a niche market...a shop where singles started hanging out and mingling.

Let's face it, any new biz is a gamble at this point but I think if you came up with a unique twist and, as Amy said, have a great location, you'd do well. The natives don't seem to be giving up their "joe" completely!

Nancy

Hop to Signaroo

Rebecca, I gave you the condensed version of how to create a live link in a post. Here's the method for siting the link by it's name and having the live link embedded. Have fun!

Gosh, Rebecca...not inappropriate at all! That's what Coffee Break is for...anything! I hope your post generates some attention for this worthy cause! :0)

Also, put parenthesis around your links (in front of the http and after the last number or letter in the addie) to make them live links and easier for people to click over to. Let's face it, some of us are too lazy to cut and paste! ;0)

Nancy

Hop to Signaroo

Congrats on this, Leif. You will rock! I'll try to tune in! :0)

My suggestion (I've mentioned him many times in other threads)...the hilarious and oh-so-knowledgeable Dan Pink

Nancy

Hop to Signaroo

I agree about Paypal being the worst on communication. It was the main reason I was looking into using a different company last year. I logged several hours trying to resolve a very simple problem. In one case I was on hold hor more than hour only to get an outsourced agent in another country to read from a script and had absolutely no ability to answer anything that was not covered in the script. Argh!!!

Nancy

Hop to Signaroo

Krisha, Roger Brockway and his family were in my Hop to Signaroo class a few years ago. I've never hired him as a contractor but Roger and Abby are great people and very ethical! She paints murals and he is a general contractor. Check them out at He Saw Her Paint

Nancy

Hop to Signaroo

Banu, it depends on what type of Paypal account Laura signed up for. I use Paypal on my online shop and there is no monthly fee...just a fee per transaction. It's a good option if you do not have a huge volume of transactions. Bob had many of the facts right about the different account options. I have used the Virtual Terminal option w/Paypal before and yes, there is a $30 monthly fee plus transaction fee and what you are paying for is the ability to take credit cards at a location (without a wireless card swipper) and enter them on your computer after the event. I have used this for one-time events at remote locations in which I know I will rack up a lot of sales (like a convention or such) and have taken the risk of using this w/o a handheld device to get an authorization code (and, knock wood, have not been burned). With the most basic Paypal online account, you can choose the Virtual Terminal option only on the months you need it.

Art Torelli is indeed a great resource for other credit card processing options and he can hook Laura up with any number of companies and options. I talked with him last year but ultimately stayed with Paypal as I why online sales didn't warrant the switch yet. Also, Amy Lang did a lot of research and found a company she is thrilled with, and she does not do a huge amount of CC processing, either. You could ping her. Finally, search the topic in Biztalk as CC processing comparisons has been discussed in at least two other threads, as I started one last year and think there was another after that.

Nancy

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