It’s not easy growing up in the lakes of Southside Philadelphia. You have to have smarts-Philly lake smarts to keep your head above water so to speak. Ronnie James is just such a jellyfish. He was born in the harshest of conditions and learned from a young age that a clear head and quick mind are the keys to keeping yourself straight in a tough situation.

when he was old enough he leveraged his love of music into a position as tour support for the powerhouse rock group Dio. It was his key to a better life. Once off the streets, Ronnie James was able to parlay his experiences into several self-published, self-help novels. His breakthrough work, "When Trouble Strikes, Keep Your Legs About You" sold nearly 2,500 copies and landed him an AM radio spot.

After a few years of radio time, RJ came to us hoping for a change an a simpler, less hectic lifestyle (of course we’re not quite sure how you can get much less hectic than AM radio), which we were happy to oblige him with.

RJ swears like a sailor, appreciates a good cheese steak and loves to filter feed in the bathtub.

Duuuuuuuuuuude.

Hi, my name is Geranium Rainbow. I was born in an organic kelp patch in the cold waters of Northern Cali, I thrived in an environment built on honesty, faith and freedom of expression. I believe in spiritual exploration that allows one to grow into the true color they were born to become, you know? I totally don’t get harshness, right? I am looking to be united in a family that believes in the code of color and love, you know?

peace

Three new friends: Opal, Gladys and Elliott. You can see the photos and read their stories on our Flickr page, and you can check them out on our Etsy shop.

Our new little friend Pico came to us from just south of the border. He made his way North after he was downsized from the entourage of the feared, mythic creature- El Chupacabra.

It seems that with all of the stress and strain on the global economy of late, people are not spending quite as much time in leisure activities and pursuits. This decline means that it’s become fairly lean, income wise, for creatures like El Chupacabra, Bigfoot, The Strawman and UFOs as more and more people are focused on dollar retention. And sadly, less vacations translates to less sightings-translates to less income-translates to Pico being on the streets.

So, what is a 6″ out of work monster to do? Well apparently, Pico caught one of our TV ads at 2:00am advertising our placement services and decided to see if we could help. After hiring a coyote to get him across the border, riding several box-car trains and hitchhiking his way through the West Coast, he ended up on our door step looking fairly disheveled.

It has been a couple weeks now, and we are happy to say he has his wonderful orange glow back. He has started working on his memoirs, “Mi Chupacabra es su Chupacabra”, and is looking for a safe, quite environment to add the last chapters to his seminal work.

All we can say is “Mitch Rocks!” And you know what? Ms. Keane thinks so too!

(uh, if you like powerpuff girls, you’ll know what we mean!)

Huddled outside in the pouring rain we waited. And waited. And waited. Our contact was late, as usual and we were getting impatient, but leaving was not an option. The legendary gang of three had finally been released and we had taken on the role of safe keeping the villainous trio.

Meet Lucretia, mistress of evil, with an ear piercing scream that has been known to shatter even bullet proof glass. Then there’s middle man Mike, the lookout. He’s perfect since his large blue antennae provide the necessary distraction to those who may stand in his way. And last, but certainly not least is Stevie. Although he looks harmless, he is in fact the most dangerous of the three. The brains behind every operation, and cunning in his calculations-he’s not to be underestimated.

At last, our contact arrived, with our three new house guests in tow. We were not disappointed-they were every bit as monstrous as we had been led to believe. As the driver pulled away, we were faced with the unnerving reality that we were responsible for them now. What had we gotten ourselves into?

As we headed for home, I could see Stevie planning-plotting something in that rotten head of his. Mike began giggling and Lucretia nodded in agreement.

Agreement of what? I fear for our safety. That is why we are reaching out for help. We cannot in good conscience keep these three stinkers together. Separation is the only alternative! Are you strong willed? Can you be diligent in training and learn to sleep with one eye open? If you feel you may be up to the task, please contact us immediately-I think I hear one coming now!!

You can see them on our Etsy shop.

We were to thrilled to receive our half of a trade we recently initiated with Dawn Ramerman of Look What I Can Do. Jill contacted her on the off chance that she might be willing to share one of her wonderful creations with us in exchange for one of our pieces. Thankfully, she was up for the trade. Patty the owl came to us a few days ago in the mail, and we just love her. The craftsmanship (craftswomanship) of the piece is top notch and her choice of fabric was wonderful.

The art of the trade is something that is essential to the DIY/craft experience. There is so much wonderful and talented work out there that if two artists are in mutual admiration of each other’s work, it’s wonderful when a trade can be arranged between the two to foster that mutual appreciation.

If you are interested in seeing the piece we sent Dawn, you can check out her post on the Hanetori we sent her and all about here work on her weblog. Better yet, after you’re done with that check out her Etsy store to see what she has available for sale. Her pieces would surely be a welcome addition to any home.

Thanks again Dawn!

Here are a few of the pieces we’ve put together for the upcoming 2nd Sunday Sustainability Fair being held in Portland on February 10. All the pieces we are bringing with us will either be made from mostly recycled and/or reclaimed materials.

Jill and I have learned quite a bit about the extent to which we can push certain types of reclaimed materials while getting ready for this show.

There were several designs that we made it quite far into the process with, only to be abandoned because of limitations and flaws that surfaced due to the types of reclaimed materials we were trying to use. It’s also allowed us to take some mental notes on our processes and eliminate certain types of reclaimed materials because they are simply too hard to work with.

Our newest friend up on our Etsy shop.

A little back story perhaps? Sure:

Percival is extremely fond of techno, dub, trip hop and downtempo music. He’s been known to attend a variety of rave and house style parties, spending days grooving to the hypnotic, repetitive musical structures while hopping around in a semi-trance like state alleviating his cares and concerns.

He’s extremely mellow, widely read and loves to talk about a variety of subjects. Despite being a bit squinty from a variety of strobe light induced corneal burns, Percy is extremely friendly and outgoing.