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Do you like awesome reminders to live free? Do you like wearing shirts that inspire people to break out in song? Do you look good in blue or black? (of course you do!) If you answered yes to any of the above, then this review is for YOU!

The new ‘Free Your Mind’ tee is the fourth shirt from Soul Flower to have made my face incredibly happy. They were all so diverse with the ‘feel’ being different for each one. The ‘Hunter Tee’ and the ‘Treehugger Tee’ were both very lightweight in construction, and maybe even a little stretchy in composition. The ‘Free’ tee is more like the ‘Soul Flower Block Print’ tee… it feels more like your favorite worn cotton t-shirt. Not too light, not too heavy, but broken in just right.

The design is awesome because it gives off the effect that your t-shirt has been spray-painted. Like, maybe you were just walking to your car one day when out of the blue, someone ran up to you, and tagged your shirt with some fun advice! The process of creation was recently explained on the Soul Flower blog here. The blue and white colors make for a wicked cool contrast. Both are vibrant shades and really Pop! I like a little length to my shirts and this one lands just below my pants pockets. No riding up going on here. It stays just where I like it.

The ‘Free’ tee is my favorite t-shirt so far. I am literally wearing it right now. You should be too. Then, we could sing to each other. ‘Free Your Mind, and the Rest Will Follow.’ You’re singing it right now, aren’t you? 🙂

High-fives, buds…
Cam

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Free Your Mind Tee
All Karma Krewe posts | All of Cam’s posts

We like 8|7 because not only do they deliver amazing results, they’re also local (to us!) and all-around great people. Check out their blog post interviewing our very own Mike, co-owner of Soul Flower.

And keep an eye out for our spring line!

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Peggy is wearing the Waves of Freedom Pants and the Favorite Fairytale Top.

Hope you are all enjoying the new year! We’ve got some awesome updates about one of your favorite & most-loved items, the Waves of Freedom Pants…

1. Awesome customers love awesome pants:
“These are so comfy and cool! I adore them. Dress ’em up, dress ’em down….can’t get enough!!… Another soul flower winner.”

“I LOVE these pants! … Compliments everywhere I go. They are warm and flowy, a perfect blend of funk and class.”

“These pants scream “wear me everyday!” …The brown color is a great neutral and will go with everything.”

“SO comfortable, flattering, and super cute. I am glad I splurged on these pants, they are my new favorites for sure!”

(Read all reviews of the Waves of Freedom pants)

2. Some customers are awesome tall:
The first time around, these pants ran short. Ya’ll wished they were longer. Well, now you can save your “starlight, starbright”s for world peace & more Nilla Wafers because we made ’em longer! In new shipments of these, each size will be 1 inch longer in length.

3. Long live awesome:
We’ll keep carrying these pants through Spring & Summer 2011.

4. Awesome version two (and 3 and 4 and maybe more):
Come April, keep an eye out for Waves of Freedom pants made in new colors and fabrics, so you can stay awesome even in warmer weather!

If you’re still not convinced that the Waves of Freedom pants will probably be the most awesome pants you’ll ever own, let Peggy show you how they look coupled with a couple of other Soul Flower favorites:

What do you think? If you own these pants, are they everything you dreamed of and more? 😉 What colors and fabrics would you like to see for spring?

Let me tell you about Soul Flower’s Peace & Love Tapestry, buds…

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Can you believe that this is my second tapestry ever? For years, I’ve had a problem narrowing down which one design I liked best, so I would just walk away from ordering one. It was a sad period in my life. When I saw the Peace & Love design, though, I knew that it would be a great addition to our living space. And, that is exactly where it is…draped across the back of our couch. Since our couch floats in the middle of the living room, facing the fireplace, the tapestry is the first place your eyes land as you come into the room. I think it makes a great focal point. It really sets the (jewel) tone of the room, haha!

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Besides being a Soul Flower Karma Krewe member, blogger, and homeschooling mama, I’m also a budding natural-light photographer. I knew that the Peace & Love tapestry would make an excellent prop. And, I was right because, so far, I’ve taken several awesome pictures with it! At the Grand Canyon, sunset on the California coastline, and surrounded by beautiful colorful fall leaves in my mama’s yard. I cannot wait to continue finding creative photo ops for it!

The fabric is a sturdy cotton. It really feels like a heavyweight bed sheet. The colors are very saturated, and haven’t faded in three washes. There are little loops attached at the top two corners to make hanging it up on your wall a snap! The Soul Flower catalog compares it to a stained glass window, and I think that is a perfect description! The browns, burgundies, reds, blues, and purples are really rich, vibrant colors.

Whatever purpose your tapestry needs are, the Peace & Love tapestry from Soul Flower is definitely the solution! Another solid reason added to why I love Soul Flower! Peace, Love, and Tapestries, buds!!

~Cam
Read more from Cam at her blog, Free Spirit Chronicles

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Prairie Home Skirt

I also love the fact that this skirt is part of the fair trade movement. I know when I spend my money on fair trade clothing, the artists that hard work went into making it were compensated fairly. It is important to me to not only take care of mother earth, but to take care of our fellow brothers and sisters as well. Another reason I love shopping at Soulflower! They make it so easy to fill my wardrobe with super cute, eco-friendly, fair trade clothing that makes me smile 🙂

Your bud,
Trish

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I have a new favorite Soul Flower item!
Okay, okay…I know I say that every time, but they just basically ROCK! 🙂

I love, love, love my Sadie Tunic!!

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The Sadie tunic is so versatile! Wear it by itself on warmer days, throw a t-shirt on underneath it for days with a slight chill, or pair it with your favorite long-sleeves for colder days. It works in any weather! On my recent Route 66 trip, I wore it when there was snow & ice in the Grand Canyon and on a sunny day in San Francisco! My sister even wore it as a dress with cowgirl boots, and she looked amazing! My favorite way to wear it, because I live in warm coastal Georgia, is with a t-shirt and jeans. It makes one awesome combination!

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Once again, Soul Flower shows love to Mama Earth in the construction of the fabric. It is made up of 55% hemp & 45% organic cotton. You can feel good about the kindness of your purchase! The color is definitely more of a gray tone than beige. I was expecting it to be more beige. It is a sturdy fabric that has held up (without shrinking!) for a couple of months now. I am about 5’5″, so you can guess by my picture about what the length will be on your frame. The wood buttons have the coolest scroll design, and are almost a copper-ish color. The hood comes in handy for anytime the weather gets inclement or you just need a few minutes incognito. 🙂

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I’ve been getting compliments on it, wherever I go. I throw on my green jeans, the Sadie tunic, and my mandala bag to match. Tres hippie chic, buds! You should order the Sadie tunic for any lovely lady in your life, and be sure to include one for yourself!

~Cam

While the 12 Days of Christmas actually refers to the twelve days after Christmas through January 5, at Soul Flower our busy holiday season picks up around November, so we’re not gonna wait!

We doubt you’ll be wishing for any of the gifts from the 12 Days of Christmas song (except maybe those 5 golden rings!), so check out this Soul Flower spin on the days. Maybe these will better fit your must-haves for the holidaze.

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Now that we’ve got you feeling inspired to give your true love the 12 Days of Soul Flower Xmas…
Take 12% off any of these 12 items by using code 12DAYS at checkout. Good through December 20.

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It’s OK, I’m in the Band(ana) Skirt…
My I’m in the Bandana Skirt is my favorite Soulflower item! Autumn is one of my favorite seasons and its all about color! I have had so much fun accessorizing this patchwork skirt because there are so many bold colors that I can really mix it up and create so many different looks! I dressed it up with my favorite autumn boots for a crisp autumn day of meandering along Philadelphia’s famous South Street. South Street is super artsy, eccentric, and colorful, so it was great to be able to feel so comfortable while also rocking amazing style!

The I’m in the Bandana Skirt has a light-weight lining that provides a bit of extra warmth which make this the perfect skirt for the cooler seasons. This skirt is also great for more casual looks. Throw on a cute hoodie, and some clogs and you’ve got a great casual Autumn look perfect for heading to the orchard to pick a pumpkin!

In 2 weeks, the hubby and I have a wedding to attend in Northern Florida and then we’re road tripping down the east coast of Florida to Miami. This skirt is the first thing on my list to pack! The weather will be uncertain and my I’m in the Bandana Skirt is great for both warm and cool temperatures. Boots or flip flops!?!? I don’t have to choose because both look great with my I’m in the Bandana Skirt!

~Sheila

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Brrrr! Autumn in Philly sure got chilly quick this year! My new Bring On The Funk Jacket is super warm and soft. What more could you ask for?!? The cozy fleece makes this the perfect outerwear for the cooler seasons. Friends have been having so many impromptu get togethers this holiday season, and my new Bring On The Funk Jacket has kept me looking fresh with no effort on my part! This jacket looks great with jeans, and is also a great match to my SoulFlower “I’m in the Bandana Skirt”! No matter what I’m wearing, I can quickly grab my Bring On The Funk Jacket and head out the door knowing I’ll be in style. The wood buttons on this jacket are so hip & funky and I love the unique patterns on each button! The large collar is my favorite part because the festive colors & detailed patterns celebrate the holiday season.

Winter in Philly is usually a sea of neutral colored peacoats and individuality seems to get lost in the mix. I love that SoulFlower allows me to express my creativity by offering such amazing and unique gear! I get so many compliments when I wear this jacket and I’m sure to tell everyone to visit Soul Flower.

~Sheila

Recently, one of our buds on Facebook asked if we carry any cool maternity clothes. While we don’t specifically stock “maternity” clothes, we do have a lot of items that would work for mamas-to-be.

We’ve created a new Pregnancy Clothing Ideas category on the site with a selection of tees, tanks, skirts, and pants that’ll work for you when you’re expecting (and even when you’re not)!

When choosing items to be pregnancy-friendly, we looked for stretchy fabrics (that retain their shape after washing), long tunic-style t-shirts, forgiving waistbands, and flowy tops that aren’t too constricting. If you’re a hippie expecting mother or just love that boho style, we hope you can find something that works for you at Soul Flower.

As always, if you have any questions about fit or sizing, contact us.

Now we’ll throw it to all the mamas out there: What items from Soul Flower would you recommend for pregnancy? Did you have any favorites while you were expecting?

Blog Image Even though I’m a student I haven’t used a backpack in probably six years. Most of them I’ve seen are pretty unattractive and bulky. But while browsing through some of Soul Flower’s new goods I came across the “Da Bomb Tie Dye Backpack”. It was instant love for me. This bag has tons of room for pretty much anything you need as well as two front pockets for those little things that get lost in a big sack.

Blog Image I love how versatile this bag is too. I take it to class, over night trips, even festivals and this bag will definitely make you stand out in the crowd. I just went to Kansas City this past weekend to see Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros and I brought my Da Bomb bag along for the trip. I fit everything I needed for the weekend with room to spare! I can’t even tell you how many compliments I’ve gotten on it already and I’ve only had it for a few weeks.

Blog Image Most backpacks I’ve had throughout my career as a student make me feel like I have a box attached to my back. But since this is a soft bag you can barley even tell you’re wearing it which I love because I hate being weighed down by the bag I’m carrying. Fortunately I don’t have to bring many books to my classes so it’s perfect for me, but if you have to lug around a ton of text books this wouldn’t be the ideal bag for you. This is such a funky bag and you will absolutely love all the attention you get from it.

~Kristen

As a mother I am always on the lookout for clothing that is as unique as my children. Soul-Flower always solves that dilemma and the Take a Hike shirt is no exception. When I saw that they also had the same print in adult sizes, I was ecstatic! I had visions of dressing my husband and two year old in the same outfits and well, look for yourself how that turned out!

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What I love most about the shirts are their vibrant fall-like colors and the fact that they fit true-to-size. My 2 year old is very large on top but some 2Ts fit well and some 3Ts are too small. This shirt was perfect in a 2T! My husband’s large was also a perfect fit. We went out and about for the day with the boys in their shirts and they sure got a lot of compliments. I am sure it has nothing to do with how much they look alike 😉

Dexter, being 2 1/2 is really starting to come into himself. He is noticing everything and is talking a whole lot more. Nothing gets passed him really. When I first opened the box that contained the two shirts I told Dexter that I had a surprise for him in there. He is so used to seeing packages come for the new baby that he was ecstatic to see something for him. He first pulled out my husband’s shirt and he looked at it weird and said “no me shirt” and I said, “no, thats Daddy’s shirt” He looked puzzled until I gave him his shirt out of the box. He immediately looked at it and then turned and looked at the bigger shirt. He then looked at me and yelled “Dada Dexter same!” It was priceless.

~Maggie

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Hey buds! We’ve recently introduced a new section to our online store over at Soul-Flower.com, and it’s called Shop Outfits. In this section, we feature several complete outfits made entirely with Soul Flower gear! Those gorgeous mugs you see in the photos are our buds, and they are wearing outfits they have picked out themselves… with no styling help from us!

We wanted a way to show off the different ways that items from Soul Flower mix ‘n’ match. You really can create an entire wardrobe!

So be sure to check out the outfits our buds have picked out, and don’t be shy to revisit this section often, as we will be adding to it as often as possible. If you’ve created an awesome outfit using your Soul Flower gear, we want to see it! Send it to [email protected], or upload it to our Facebook fan page.

Peace,
Your Buds at Soul Flower

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The pendant is of medium thickness, not too thin & not too bulky. The circle around the tree almost has the appearance of twisted rope. It’s wicked cool and very dimensional! Deeper lines start on the trunk of the tree and extend up the branches. Five polished beads are lined up on each side of the pendant. The beads have a little spotted color to them, giving them a neat-o variegated appearance. The necklace itself is also not too thin, or thick, and likely to endure. It is also not too scratchy, which some hemp necklaces like to be. Luckily, one size fits all, and it is completely apropos for both gals and guys. It might even be 100% kosher, so all of our bases should be covered here. 🙂 All buds can enjoy this one!

I sure am gleeful and chipper to own this one, so order one today for yourself, or as a gift to someone else you want to see get chirpy! High-fives, Soul-Flower…this one ROCKS!

~Cam

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~Kristen

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Siera & Dakota have been around Soul Flower since they were just babes. Really – they both spent their earliest years in our old shop on Grand Avenue. And even though they moved, they still love to visit the warehouse whenever they are in the Twin Cities, creating havok among the aisles of clothes and riding around on our warehouse carts. They especially enjoy chase, hide-and-seek and coloring your invoices. Once in a while, they even help weigh your packages, with Brit’s support of course.

These two have grown from our Baby Buds to Soul Flower Kids. Check out a few of photos of Siera & Dakota from our catalog shoot at their house in DSM:

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The word is definitely out now…I am a little bit in love with Soulflower! When Peggy shared a link on Facebook about their new Soulflower Screenprinted Tee, I knew exactly what I would like to review next. I think I’ve mentioned before that, to me, even just the word ‘soulflower’ gives off such a positive vibe. In my mind’s eye, I see this gigantic cosmic bloom. So, when I had the chance to really let my Soulflower love~light shine…I went for it! And, you know, if you are really passionate about a design, or company, there is no better way to spread the word about them than to just turn yourself into a walking~talking billboard. This tee has definitely opened up more dialogue with others. And, I’ve given away more catalogs while wearing it than ever before! It’s totally win-win!

One of the things I dig most about the tee is something that happened before it ever arrived. There is such a creative process in its construction. It seems so old school to actually carve out a linoleum block as a template, and then to roll the ink onto it. Everything they used came from an art supply store.

When the tee arrived, I noticed an apparent goof on my part. I thought this was a woman’s size tee when I requested it, but it isn’t. I got online immediately to see if there had been a mistake in shipping, and saw straight away that I had failed to see Junior on the sizes! I have a pretty small frame, but this Large is very snug on me. I definitely should have asked for the XLarge. The good news is…I’ve washed it three times (just to be sure) and it did not shrink at all. It isn’t as lightweight as the Treehugger tee, but it not a thick tee either. It’s still in the 90’s down here in Georgia, and the tee has been perfectly fine to wear out. It hits me about midway on my jeans zipper, and it stays there. No problems with riding up, unless you are jumping on a trampoline, which I occasionally do. There is plenty of room, even with its snugginess, for my neck & arms. The color on the website is pretty right on. It isn’t lighter or darker, you get what you see. All in all, it’s another sweet tee from Soulflower. I recommend it. 🙂

I’m heading out on a Route 66 trip across America soon, and my Soulflower threads will be the first thing I throw in the bag to take with me. Based on this tee alone, you’ll definitely know it’s me if I come to a town near you! Don’t be afraid to walk up and give me a high-five!! Peace, buds!

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Note from Your Buds at Soul Flower:
Unfortunately, the Duffle Pack is no longer available 🙁 But if you’re looking for a cool hippie-style backpack, our Twice as Rice Backpack has been a bestseller for months!

Thank you all for your wonderful comments on our brand new Soul Flower blockprint t-shirts!

We picked 3 random winners from those of you who commented on that blog post, and here they are:

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Congratulations Julie, Laura, and Frankie Dee! To claim your prize, email the following info to us at [email protected]: which tee you want (men’s or women’s style), which size, and the address you want it sent to.

And enjoy your new block print Soul Flower tee, on us! 🙂

For everyone else, the tees are for sale on our website for only $15!

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I also happened to wear this dress when I took a road trip up to Minneapolis with some friends to see The National. I can’t even tell you how many compliments I got on my dress when I was up there. After the show in Minneapolis we booked it to Chicago so we could work Lollapalooza. Even though I was stuck working the Perry’s Stage (the dj stage) all weekend I did manage to escape for a few hours and see Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros as well as Mumford and Sons. And again, I got compliments galore at Lolla, everyone kept telling me how I looked like a flower child, which is a very high compliment in my opinion. This skirt is a something that every fun loving, concert going lady needs to have in their closet, I guarantee you will get much use out it and so so so much joy from wearing it, I know I do.

~Kristen

One of our new t-shirt designs for fall is this Soul Flower block print shirt, available in women’s and men’s styles.

The design is meant to look like a traditional block print. So how did we do it? By carving into and printing a real linoleum block, of course! 🙂

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Blog Image Blog Image When the block was ready to be printed, water-based ink was rolled out on to a slab (piece of tin foil = easy clean up!)

Blog Image Roll the ink on to the block in an even layer.

Blog Image Block has a shiny, sticky layer of ink on the surface.

Blog Image Got our paper ready (a thin rice paper is best for block prints), and grabbed a wooden spoon.

Blog Image Blog Image Lay the paper on the block, and burnish with a wooden spoon so the ink sticks to the paper and leaves a good, dark print.

Blog Image Blog Image Then we peeled the paper off, starting by peeking under a corner to make sure we burnished the ink down enough.

Blog Image Finished print!

Blog Image The next step was to scan the print into the computer, do a little adjustment so the design was completely black and white (no grays), and blow it up so it is larger than the original small size of the block. Send it over to our screenprinters (another cool printmaking process!), and you get an awesome final product!

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Wanna win one?
Leave a comment on this post if you’re interested in scoring one of these tees (either women’s or men’s) free! We’ll randomly pick 3 winners on Friday, August 27.