10.23.2008

Be RIGHT, be CLEAR, be HONEST, and be GOOD...just to clarify


We have so many really talented and unique collections this fall and it's so exciting to offer them all to you. If you are a Nonchalant Mom customer you may have received one of the emailers that I send out each week keeping you up to date on what's new. When we get new collections into Nonchalant Mom, and at this time of year you are getting an email from me each week to announce new collections! (in slower times you get less...) I have a hard time remembering who likes what collection so I just email all of you about each collection...

Recently I received an email from someone who was a bit irritated that I would send an emailer out in this difficult and unsettled economy - she was mostly concerned about the price of some of the items on Nonchalant Mom. Believe me, I listen to NPR all day long and I am highly aware of what is going on with the economy. But I also feel that this is a very important time to continue supporting local artists, designers and generally crafty people! It is just this type of economy and general fear that can make a lot of these small and creative groups just disappear altogether. One of my favorite collections has just closed it's doors, when I started Nonchalant Mom in 2004 one of my favorites was Paulina Quintana, she made these great colorful t-shirts, I loved them and sold them like crazy! it is so hard to see someone so talented close down.

I started Nonchalant Mom in 2004 because I knew there were collections that I had access to in NYC and elsewhere that I wanted the whole world to know about. It was just my intuition perhaps, but I figured that many other parents would love to dress their kids in something unique and often hand-made with organic clothing whenever possible. Believe me when I tell you that Nonchalant Mom is not out to just make a BIG BUCK and that we are certainly not interested in following the usual pattern, my motto is that we are just trying to make our monthly mortgage, just like most of you.

I think this is a time that we should support small companies, but I think it is part of a bigger picture that is a way of life. Because the economy is difficult now, I hope that everyone doesn't just start running out to the average Walmart of the world...this kind of retailer is not fundamentally supporting our country and all of its great potential. I think that if you are necessarily worried over spending your money I would suggest doing what I have always advocated: buy less and buy more consciously, trade basics and hand-me-downs with your friends, start sewing and make some things yourself. In essence, be more creative than just thinking I need to buy more really cheap clothing for your kids.... Many of the things we sell here at Nonchalant Mom are made to last, and not to just throw away - they are items that are not ordinary. They are things that you'd be proud to keep or to give to close family or friends!

I am not about to dictate what you should do, but this is a time to look at making the right choices and supporting smaller businesses. It will make our society much more interesting if we support the little guys that are making things at home or in small studios or workshops, here in the USA and abroad. What we want to teach our children, even with the things we buy for them or have around them, is very very important, my dad used to instill the importance of being conscious of where you are spending that dollar and who you are supporting, because it means a lot. The message is important - and that is why I started Nonchalant Mom - for my kids.... and yours!


Be right, be honest and this world will be a more friendly and capable place! (also, eat better food and it will help too!)..ha!!!

In the coming weeks I am going to make more of an effort, through my blog, to present to you the face of many of the small companies that I deal with, so that you too can see where the heart of our society really should be focused. The emphasis should not be on cheap and mass produced items - it should be on well-made, stylish and ethical items first and foremost. It is the reason we are in business and it's what we believe in - I put so much effort into searching for unique things for Nonchalant Mom! I can't tell you how many times, as a designer myself of Nonchalant Kids, I have been tempted along the production line to cut costs here and there just by using cheaper quality products or utilizing cheaper production facilities, it is missing the whole point of being in business. And, I think it is one of the greatest things about the internet - that we can bring such unique things right to your front door wherever you might be located, and to that end it is such a great resource for a young designer. You are what you eat... and you are what you wear... who said that!?