Our March Newsletter

I was going to make this newsletter ode to all things blue (keeping with my color themes) but decided to switch it up a bit.  In January I got new floors in my living and dining room which meant I had to take EVERYTHING out!!!!  This was no small feat. But I actually loved the process of reviewing what I had and what I wanted to keep and what I wanted to let go of.  Now everything feels fresh and clean and new.  Just like spring! Which brings me to this months newsletter - spring cleaning.
It's the whole renewal of life in the springtime thing and it is REAL!

We have lots of products in store to make cleaning a beautiful part of your day (seriously).
One of the things I am most excited about are these totally green Nellie's cleaning products we brought in from a great woman owned business in Canada. We have laundry products including stain remover, dryer balls, and soap and an all in one soap plus tile cleaner. Still haven't had a chance to try them out but the reviews have been good so far.

And here is one of my all time fave cleaning products. I use it on my cutting boards, wooden spoons, and salad bowls.  Christopher Pourny is a high end furniture restorer in NYC who, over years, developed his own formulas for taking care of wood products..  I try to make his tonic a monthly ritual in my kitchen.  It's totally non toxic and your spoons will thank you.

And here's  an oldie but a goodie when it comes to the cleaning section of your home. This fir grapefruit scent is IMO the way you want things to smell when you're cleaning. I just can't get enough of it. In addition to the room spray they have hand soap, room spray, and surface cleaner.  Once you're hooked, there's no going back.

And finally spring cleaning can also be a little bit about throwing off the winter sluggishness and breaking down all those fatty foods we've been eating all winter.  For me it's green nettles! This fun, new book breaks nutrition down for health and beauty. It's pretty inspiring and highly recommended.

And if picking nettles isn't your thing, might we suggest these awesome fire ciders from Mind your Manna in Portland? They pack a real bite and are perfect for a spring cleanse. Happy Spring and Happy Cleaning.

Passionflower February Newsletter - An Ode to All Things Grey

February is always a crazy month at the store with Valentine's Day. Thank goodness, because, otherwise these dark, cold, dreary, grey, rainy days of February in the Pacific Northwest can really get me down.  I'm currently obsessing on grey which is probably due to the weather. Since I'm in a grey mood I thought I'd direct you to this pinterest page of all things grey.

 Some high notes from February - We had a couple of great write ups in the Eugene Wedding Magazine. Loved that this gorgeous bouquet Taylor made (above) got it's own page. 

I took a break from the New York show and went to Las Vegas Gift Show and found all kinds of awesome goodies for the store. Saw lots of neutrals and greys. I think this year it's either going to be all neutrals or lots of color. Click here for Elle Decor's pithy little blurb on color trends for 2017.

One of my favorite things I found in Las Vegas were these 90 hour hobnail candles. We've been carrying hobnails for just about ever it seems but they brought back an old scent nag champa in a beautiful grey shade!
If you're under 50 nag champa may not have the same connotations as it does for me, but it is a sandalwood based incense made famous by just about every guru and hippie burning it in the 70's. Click here to read more about the plants that go into making Nag Champa.    Get yourself as many candles as you can muster and try turning off the light bulbs and having an energy fast one night a week.

And the February madness was a reminder that a girl cannot survive on sweets alone! I've been taking one day a week and cooking up a storm which give me food to eat all week long. Actually seems to be working. I'm eating better and saving money. Plus a little self love is always a good thing. And in keeping with the grey theme, click here to see images of grey food!

Plus finally these locally grown Weber's parrot tulips remind me that spring really is just around the corner.  Come in and find some lovely blooms or branches to bring a little bit of spring into your house and dispel those dark grey days.

Yours in all things grey!

Jewel

January Musings

Welcome to the brand new Passionflower monthly newsletter in which I wax poetic about things that move me and share ideas for things to move you.  It's a kind of what to do in the garden this month newsletter.  Hope you enjoy!  I love January. The excesses of the holiday season are behind us and it's a time of renewal with bare branches, buds, and hints of spring everywhere. January means:

Getting Organized - Get yourself a datebook, an agenda book, download a new app, or buy yourself a big wall calendar, whatever helps you best keep track of things. Janaury is also a great time to contemplate and write down your goals  Or make a goals collage. Or get a beautiful piece of artwork you can look at every day to help you remember them. Plus snow days are perfect for cleaning out that closet or junk drawer.  Click here for one person's experience following Marie Kondo's decluttering program.

Getting Cozy - A warm robe, a cup of tea, toasty socks, and some good books or magazines make for perfect January activities. Also get yourself a new cookbook and try out some fun new recipes.  One of my  2017 goals is to spend Sundays cooking and planning food for the rest of the week. Click here for some fun recipes from our partner in all things salt Jacobsen's up in Portland.
 

Getting Outside - Just dress warm and do it! My current obsession that gets me outside is birdwatching but simply walking is wonderful. Pick yourself up a little this and that on your walks and soon you'll have a beautiful nature table.  Or pick yourself some branches and bring them inside to force.  Click here for a handy little chart on forcing blooms in the winter.  

Going Shopping - This January is particularly hard for many with the political scene being so chaotic.  Might we suggest a little retail therapy?  Not joking. If any a situation calls for it, this one does. No pink pussy hats at Passionflower but we have a great selection of pink socks from Lisa B. to match those hats.  Put on those pink socks and take the bull by the horns! Click here to shop at your favorite online store! :)  Happy January!

Back again

 

It's been so long since I posted and so much has gone on.  I thought to just let the blog move on into the internet ethers in a dignified way and focus on instagram and facebook but I realized, sometimes I have more to say than just a soundbyte or a few hashtags. So I'm back to pontificating on the blog.

The Joy of Jewelry

A shout out to the uber talented Athena Delene who has been taking some awesome photos for us.
We love the one below so much we're using it for our Susan Goodwin Trunk Show image!
And Athena's going to be a the show taking pics for us of everybody in their  bejeweled fabulousness

So yes Susan Goodwin Trunk Show - Friday May 6th (right before Mother's Day) starting at 3 pm!
Plus it's First Friday and there's several great art shows on our block.

Spring Cleaning Part 3

I love my wooden kitchen goods, a big wooden salad bowl, some great wooden spoons , and of course the cutting board which serves as cheese platter, breakfast plate, and good old utilitarian chopping block. Which is why I was totally psyched to find these wooden care products from Christopher Pourny.  First question to them was, "Do you use petroleum products in your wood finishing products?"  And they had the right answer, "Absolutely not, we've been in the furniture refinishing business for 25 years and have developed these non toxic care products based on traditional old time formulas!"  Sign me up.  But the proof is in the pudding and I couldn't be happier with how the cutting board tonic is performing.  A little bit goes a long way and now oiling my wooden utensils is just one more pleasure of being in the kitchen.

 

Stephanie Pearl, she of Marche/Provisions fame, once shared with me the formula for seasoning a new wooden bowl or implement and so I'll share it with you.  She suggests you oil your new piece once a day for a week, once a week for a month, and once a month for a year.  After that, I typically oil as needed. Pick yourself up a bottle of this oil next time you're in and guaranteed your wooden spoons will thank you.

Spring Cleaning - Part 2

             

                                        

So excited about these handmade brooms we just brought into the store.  Made locally using old time tools and techniques, each handle comes from brush cutting up near Brownsville.  And they're just right for our spring cleaning display where we've amassed all kinds of goods to make the whole cleaning experience a little more magical.

These brooms will last a super long time.  So sweep out the old and make room for the new.

Love them as a housewarming or a wedding gift.

Spring Cleaning Part 1

  

I am really committing to serious spring cleaning this year.  Spiffing up my bedding, cleaning my windows, polishing all my wooden utensils, my goal: no nook and cranny goes unturned.And of course, I need a little reward for all this organizing.  Usually that takes the form of gorgeous flowers everywhere but I just might put this great doormat from Sugarboo designs on the list too. What a great way to say yes to spring cleaning. 

Mexico was so Inspiring

I'm still dreaming a little bit about Mexico and going through my pics. 

  

Thought this one would be just right as I love this color palette of naturally dyed yarns I spied in a weaver's atelier in Teotitlan de Valle. Kind of putting me in the Easter mood.  Two soft colors and two brights together - it's really working for me.  

It's a Pink Thing

What a beautiful mild spring we are having in the Pacific Northwest....and between the plum and the magnolia and the ornamental cherries, it's just pink everywhere.  And it's okay to play favorites right? Because the magnolia is one of my all time FAVORITE flowers!  We've had them for several weeks now as we they make great blooms for forcing!  Just a single branch or two is so dramatic.  So come and get 'em when you can because spring is flying by.

The Luck of the Irish

We put together a fun St Patrick's Day table of goodies  for you.
We made little bitsy leprechaun bouquets and  you'll find lots of other things to bring
you some good luck.Who couldn't use a little luck?

Flowers of Mexico

I heard Oaxaca calling my name and so I headed down for a short trip.

And I took some picture of flowers for you....it's a whole different tropical world.... 

lots of trees are flowering before they have leaves on them. 

Terrarium Love for Valentine's Day

A whole lot of fun terrariums being made at the store these days.

Enjoy!

Valentine's Cards and a love of the Handmade

Thanks so much to everyone for coming out to our First Friday calligraphy/letterpress event.  It was a super blast.  Loved pointing out to people that the above text was actually hand lettered not picked from a list of fonts on your p.c.  The Valley Calligraphy Guild folks charmed us all by telling people that doctors whose patients get prescriptions that are calligraphed do a better job of taking their medicine.  And a calligrapher from China who is now living in Eugene was thrilled to meet fellow calligraphers. These are the things that happen that make me love running a retail store.  

Swag bags

I had fun putting together little party favor bags for our staff party.  There's something I love about lots of little smalls

Plus everyone got a lottery ticket!

Handmade Artist Cards at Passionfloewr

 

The uber talented Becky Tonkin, oh she of the black hair and the blue eyes, whom you might remember as our beloved store manager for many years before she moved to Astoria, has graciously agreed to put together a little body of ephemera in honor of Valentine's Day!

 Can hardly wait to see it all.  IN the meantime, here's a sneak peek. We'll also be selling artist's cards by Rogene Manas, Bev Soasey, & Judith Sparks.  These are all super talented women working right here in Eugene and I could not be more happy to be selling their work.

First Friday Event at Passionflower

 It's my store and if I want to spend ridiculous amounts of time working on an event because I'm pretty excited about it, well that's my perogative right?  Which is all a long winded way of saying that I hope you will find it in your heart to come visit us before Valentine's Day and find yourself a lovely handmade artist's card.  We have, once again, invited the talented folks from the Eugene Calligraphy Guild to come down and hand address your cards with your choice of red or pink ink. Plus Kristen Walker from Twin Ravens Press will be here letterpressing Valentine's tags like the one shown above(except with red ink).  Edie Robers from the Guild calligraphed the text and Kristen set it and printed them.  I just think it's a lovely collaboration.  They'll both be here on First Friday in February from 5 to 7:30! Please join us.

 

Lindsay rocking some jewelry in a quieter moment

Having a Pendleton Moment

Enjoy.....

Something warm and cozy on these cold winter mornings.

Shopgirls styling the Pendleton!

Stone Soup or Designing Flowers in the Deep of Winter

It may be the middle of winter and our flower selection might have been a little thin but Taylor was able to work her magic and pull a rabbit out of a hat to make this beauty for the State of the City address over at the Hult Center. It didn't hurt that there was a big white amaryllis plant just begging to be cut and used in this arrangement.  Happy first arrangements of the New Year.