Blog Image After searching for so long I finally found it at Soul Flower: the perfect summer dress. The first day I got the dress I put it on immediately. It was a beautiful day out so I took my dog to the park and had a picnic by the lake with my brother. The long tie-dye tube dress was so comfortable and free-flowing I could easily move about. This dress makes me feel so good about myself, it’s flattering on any shape and I love looking down and seeing the beautiful colors of the tie dye.
After a long day in the park I had plans to go to a show. Heatbox, a beat boxer from Minneapolis (hometown of Soul-Flower.com too), was playing at a local bar so a few friends and I decided to check it out. First off, if you ever get a chance to see him play – take it immediately, he adds a lot of funk to his beat boxing and it just makes you want to groove. The show was awesome and I looked great in this dress while still being extremely comfortable. It definitely did not cramp my dancing style.Blog Image The dress moves so well too, it swirls around you like a whirlwind and I can’t help but smile every time I see the stunning colors.
A final note on this fave – I also tend to have problems with strapless dresses because I’m always hiking them up; but since this dress has a halter tie you don’t have to worry about making sure the dress is up where it’s supposed to be. This dress is just so versatile because it’s casual enough for the day but it definitely makes a statement for night time as well. Enjoy!
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Our recycled Bicycle Earrings and bestselling Nomadic Good Soul Rope Sandals made their way into the green fashion-lifestyle magazine boho! Blog Image Blog Image Pick up a copy of the summer 2010 issue of boho at newsstands, bookstores (including Barnes & Noble and Borders), Whole Foods, or Target (among others).
Our Soul Flower Buds (that is YOU, our awesomely cool customers) sent us the best of festival tips for making the most of this live music season. We took all of the advice & compiled the most mentioned and best ideas into this list – here it is, what to bring to make it your bestie festie yet…
Attitude – Because it’s not what you carry on your back that really matters, it’s what you carry in your head. Bring a “free mind…hugs…free spirit, positive energy…open mind, warm heart, loving arms, and ….don’t forget to smile, smile, smile.”
Let the Music Play – Ah, yes, the music, what draws most of us here in the first place…lots of tips from your buds about the music – “get there early & mark your space” and “Get a festival schedule before you go, highlight your fest, and copy it to let you friends know where you will be.” And don’t forget to “breath deep, dance lightly & feel the earth beneath your feet”. A great place to find & preplan your festivals: jambase.com.
The Essentials – Most of our buds feel like Less is More, but there are a few essentials you need to let the good times roll…a tent (or a VW bus, which it seems a few of our buds can’t fest without…), earplugs, breakfast food, camping stove, camping chair, comfy shoes, a blanket/sleeping bag, sunscreen, dry socks, ziplock bags, lip balm, a flashlight or headlamp, a towel, a poncho, wipes (or wet washcloths in ziplocks), a flowing skirt, camera, band aids, refillable water bottle (full of water), a good hat, toilet paper, power bars, tarps, trashbag, cash & your TICKETS!!! Carry a few essentials with you in a small, easy to tote bag.
Beyond the Essentials – This part of the list is tricky, as some of our buds claim these to be essential. It really just depends on you, but here is the list to take your fest up a notch & make it the best eva. Bring hula hoops, glitter, bubbles, body paint, flow toys, Frisbees, glow sticks, a sunshower, cocktails, coffee, a costume (or two), a can koozie, nag champa incense, battery powered fan, a picnic table, fresh flowers or other homegrown goods to share with new friends, a journal, instruments (including drums, guitars, and an accordion), a flag to fly, a slip & slide, duct tape, and tapestries.
Pitch Your Tent – A good tent is very important and do a little test run before you go, especially if it is new! Then find the perfect camping site – look for shade or use a series of tarps to create your own. Camp with a circle of friends and definitely get to know your neighbors. Fly your own freak flag so your friends can find you easier…
Love your Mama –Respect what mother nature gives to you, whether it be the SUN (wear sunscreen, stay hydrated & find shade), the RAIN (tarps, ponchos, dry socks), and/or the little buggers like chiggers or poison ivy (bring the bug spray, lavender oil, & first aid kit). And most definitely bring a trashbag. Most fests have a recycling plan or bags for your campsite – find out about it when you enter.
Make New Friends – and keep the old. Go to your fest with good friends you trust & look out for each other. Stay safe. But also get to know your neighbors, creating your own mini community is the best way to enjoy a festival.
And a few extra tips:
-Freeze a jug of water so you will have cold, cold water for a few days….
-Taking the Kids? Here is a great link to the best tips on taking your kids along.
-Bring enough to share…karma goes a long way in this world. So when you can give a little bit, you will get back so much more.
So there you have it buds! Enjoy your festival season and look for our very own Karma Krewe out & about handing our soul flower goodies at festivals all summer long. Peace & Love, Your Buds.
Blog Image Our popular Recycled Pop Bottle Tees got a mention in the June issue of Whole Living magazine! (formerly body + soul magazine) Whole Living is a Martha Stewart production that focuses on healthy, kind living through body, mind, and soul. So it’s no surprise that the Playback Clothing brand’s 100% recycled tees caught their attention!
We love ’em, Whole Living loves ’em, and we know you’ll love ’em, too! 🙂
When our very own bud Jenn chose the name “Land of Forests” for this bag, we loved it! Think images of enchanted forest folk tales, elves, fairies….it is all too fitting for this look of this magical bag. Just ask Jenn, things just haven’t been the same since she started carrying this lovely patchworked piece – here she writes a little bit about the story of it’s workmanship and about the amazing comments & vibes this bag brings to all who use it. It is truly a special piece…..
This bag is hand-crafted by indigenous Mayan women in the hills of Guatemala (the land of forests) and is over sewn with a variety of cotton patches that have been organically dyed using only plants, flowers, bark, and vegetable waste. Unless you see this in person, it is hard to appreciate the quality and uniqueness of the over sewn patches. I’ve never seen anything like it! I have been carrying it for about a week now and have had so many compliments on it. Because of the dyes and materials, all of its fabrics are 100% biodegradable and earth friendly. How cool is that? There is also a cell phone pocket on the adjustable strap and an extra pocket inside to hold the smaller things that you need to get at quicker. The top has a magnetic closure that is sewn inside the fabric so you cant even see the magnet, but it works just great! You can feel the care, time and patience that went into crafting each detail. I highly recommend it, you wont be disappointed!!
Call them what you will – funky wall hangings or hippie tapestries or even a bedspread – we officially (or as official as your Soul-Flower.com buds get) call these great pieces of vibrant, beautiful cotton fabric “Tapestries”…for as many names as they have, they have as many different uses: a tablecloth, a bedspread, a picnic cloth, a curtain, or even just for sewing fabric… However you decide to use our hippie tapestries, it seems our customers have found many uses & many ways to feel the tapestry love. Take a look at just a few (and one sweet review from our bud Sarah):
Sarah, Mickey and the Soul-Flower Sun & Moon Tapestry
From Sarah: You can count on the sun and moon tie-dyed tapestry to brighten up not only your room, but your mood as well! The vibrant colors and tie-dye pattern will turn any frown upside down, just like the euphoric astronomical face that completes the tap. Flames and stars stem from each side of the sun and moon’s face, as day and night can both be bright! You can hang this tapestry on a wall to lively up any room in your home, or use it on your bed for a cool, unique addition to your bedroom. If you just “tap” into your imagination, you can find other creative possibilities as well. I was sick of looking at my boring white walls, and now I can explore the beautiful designs incorporated into this tapestry. I have the tap hanging in my living room and since then, my buds have noticed the evident addition of brilliance into my place. It emphasizes something special in my home, and it will surely tickle the fancy of all your buds, too =)
Thanks Sarah, we love that we can spread such great vibes. Peace!
Hey Buds,
By now you know about our Karma Krewe, Soul Flower’s own street team pounding the pavement (both virtual and actual) to help spread the word about Soul-Flower.com. Trish is one of our karmic mamas – and you just may see her on the west coast, at a festival or two or just out & about enjoying the never ending NM sunshine. Trish has been so kind to us – always sending smiley photos telling us about her sweet adventures. Since we keep getting updates about where she has been (over 100 shows a year), we thought it would be fun to share a few of her latest photos in the Down Low Hemp Hat, giving you the low-down on Trish in the down-low hemp hat from Soul Flower:
“I’ve been loving my Down Low Hemp Sunhat! I have received so many compliments and it keeps my skin happy when I’m out promoting.” ~*~ Trish ~*~
Hi Buds…I think you all know how much we love trees (a quick search for tree on Soul-Flower.com brought back 43 different treehugging, branch-loving, leaf-hearting items…) And since today (April 30th) is officially Arbor Day, we thought it a good occasion to celebrate our love for trees & tell you a little bit about our efforts to help with reforestation here in the good old U. S. of A….
Soul Flower has partnered with the Arbor Day foundation to help offset our paper use. We know we use it often in our business – invoices in packages, mailing supplies, and of course there is that one biggie -our catalog production. We always work hard to make sure we recycle & reuse paper. But specifically related to our catalog – we felt that since we were using so much paper, we should do something to offset that production. So starting in 2008, we began planting two (or more) trees for every one tree we use in catalog production. It just makes sense to replenish what has been taken – and the restoration of our natural forests is not just important, it is necessary.
In 2009, we continued our efforts with the Arbor Day Foundation to plant these “offset” trees by helping with an amazing project to plant 125,000 total longleaf pine trees in the Manchester State Forest in South Carolina. This longleaf restoration project is an effort to restore longleaf pine to its former natural range. Approximately 1/4 of the 258 acres was replanted in the winter of 2008-2009 & the remainder is scheduled to be replanted this year.
To find out more about the Arbor Day Foundation & its programs, go here. And have a happy tree day <3.
p.s. (added 5/6/10) Hi again buds! We just found out that our last contribution in 2009 went to Pine Plantings in the Okaloacoochee Slough State Forest, an awesome replanting effort in south central Florida…check out details here.
Usually when surfing the Soul-Flower.com site I go straight for the dresses but this time the Tie Dye Earth Vee Tee caught my eye. The mellow cream color of the tee really helps the colors of the tie dye pop and catch the attention of any passerby. This tie dye pattern is so unique and unlike any other kind of tie dye I’ve ever seen before and that makes this tee one of a kind. I was immediately attracted to the earth heart graphic in the middle of the tee because I love my Mama Earth and love to show it off. This tee is super soft and comfortable and the deep vee flatters any neckline. I guarantee that anyone who rocks this tee will absolutely love the sweet message and coziness of this cotton vee neck tee.
Here is a testament to Soul Flower’s latest natural body product – The Happy Hippie Head to Toe Shampoo Bar – by Heart of Iowa Handmade Soaps. Thanks to Cam & her son Dylan for trying out the sudsy, yummy, patchouli scented goodness…
It’s getting warmer outdoors, so our family is always on the go. At the end of the day, it’s nice to just jump in the shower & have a bar at your disposal that can do the entire job of getting you squeaky clean. When I first got the Happy Hippie bar, I took it out of the package, and sat it on the tub. I came back a couple of hours later and noticed that the entire bathroom had a nice patchouli scent to it. Not overwhelming, just right. I thought about ordering several bars and hiding them throughout my house!
I was a little worried about trying a shampoo/soap bar because I have naturally curly hair that is prone to tangle. Awhile back, I went on a mission to rid my house & family of exposure to toxic chemicals, and found that an ingredient in almost every shampoo & soap, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, has been linked to several serious health concerns. Basically, this ingredient (and all the ones closely related/closely named) is NOT a healthy hippie’s friend. I was shocked that every single shampoo & soap I picked up at department stores had this ingredient listed. I decided to check out brands claiming to be ‘Natural’, and still found this sneaky little chemical hiding in the label. The organic/homemade shampoo that I did try just dried my hair completely out. It was the closest experience to dreads that I’ve ever had. My hair almost never came untangled. So, going into this new experience, I had some lingering trust issues with a shampoo bar.
I used it on the first night, and thanks be to Iowa, my hair did not dry out! SCORE! It lathered up, and got the job done without stripping my hair. And, I did not smell overly perfumed after drying off. It leaves only a light scent behind. My guys used it after me, and immediately swiped it! It has since been claimed as their own. They find it very convenient to use one bar head to toe, and they like the way it smells. I must admit, my husband now smells very earthy & hippie dude-ish, and I really like it!
If you plan to be on the go this summer, it’s great to pack just one bar to get you clean. Think of all the bag space you’ll save! If you’re into saving money, you get your soap & shampoo combined at a steal of only $6.50. And, if you’re a healthy hippie, the only ingredients in this bar are Castor Oil, Olive Oil, Water, Coconut Oil, Palm Kernel Oil, Sodium Hydroxide(lye), Jojoba, & Patchouli Essential Oil. No scary and unnatural names there!
So, buds, I give The Happy Hippie Head to Toe Shampoo Bar two squeaky clean thumbs up! Thanks Soul Flower!
Hey there Soul-Flower pal’s. It’s loudog reporting to you today on the great Two Tone Highland Sandals, made by Nomadic State of Mind. If you have been to any large music fest in the greater US of A you have probably encountered one or more of the nomadic state crew – they happily promote peace, love and good times. And they feel that if you insist on wearing shoes, you must try nomadic sandals.
So if you think they look cool, but wonder how they feel on your feet, they feel great! These shoes are very light weight. It’s literally like your walking on air or nothing at all. They are the best at festivals, the mall, walking the animals, around the house, right out of the shower or at the beach and in the water! Plus they float. How cool is that?
These shoes are made of the best poly pro rope material and made thoughtfully . Which makes them so soft and easy to care for. No matter how dirty you get playing in them, you can hand wash or machine wash them. I would suggest just setting them in the sun to dry. They are held together with glue, so no dryer. They run true to actual size, so if your a half size, you can round up to the next size. Anyplace I were mine I always get compliments. Remember as well, Nomadic means Wanderer so wander away. Thanks again Soul-Flower for bringing us another great product!
In our previous post, you got to meet the Dew Krewe: Chad, Jenn, and Joe! In this post, you’ll get to meet everyone else involved with the Soul Flower company.
Blog Image 10am – 6pm The Glue Krewe is so named because these are the people that hold everything together day in and day out. Daily, the Glue Krewe picks and packs all of your orders! We also keep the warehouse running efficiently by keeping it clean, tidy, and by keeping all the products organized and stocked on the shelves.
We love it when we can keep our members of the Glue Krewe for a long period of time, but we understand that everyone is growing and changing. So the team members of this krewe come and go, but we will always remember everyone who worked here! Currently, we have 2 full-time members of the Glue Krewe, and 1 part-time member.
Let’s meet ’em!
Leiah My name is Leiah and I grew up in southwestern Minnesota, but now live in Minneapolis with my best friend and boyfriend of 4 years, Rob. I recently graduated from the University of Minnesota with a degree in Studio Art, and now am working at the U of M as a graphic designer and also working part-time at Soul Flower! I enjoy printmaking, bookmaking, drawing, photography, graphic design, sewing, collage, and collecting. Besides art, I also enjoy pizza, blank journals in book stores, hot tea, shopping, reading, and warm winter mittens. Your Favorite take-out food: Artichoke Dip from Pizza Luce! Your Favorite flower: Poppies Your Favorite shoes: (besides my mukluks from Soul Flower), my Minnetonka moccasins
Britt Hello all, I am Brittany, currently the shortest employee here at Soul Flower. At work I take care of all your orders, picking and packing each one, and most likely shipping them out with an original sketch by me. Each night when I leave work I love to go home and make a big Italian dinner, and then eat it of course. I usually burn all those calories by taking walks to shops, hiking, and biking around the lakes here in Minneapolis. I am an avid fisherman, “just like making them late” as Mitch would say. I enjoy taking my pet turtle out in the summer, he likes it too! I love live music and dancing, road tripping is my favorite, but I enjoy watching local artist as well. I love westerns, Tombstone, Unforgiven, Young Guns…you know. That’s it for now. Favorite Flower: The Tulip, Pretty. Simple. Favorite Vacation: Road Trips!!! Tie between Miami with my sister, or unknown small town with mom and dad to oldest outdoor movie theater. Favorite Soul Flower Find:SOL034 Music is Life Eco Hoody. P.S. I love getting all of the nice notes from our customers in the “gift message” area. Keep them coming!
And that concludes our 4-part Meet the Soul Flower Krewe series! We hope you enjoyed getting to know us and our workplace a little bit better. Soul Flower is a small company devoted to giving you, the customer, the very best!
In our previous post, you got to meet the True Krewe: the founders of Soul Flower! In this post and the next 1, you’ll get to meet everyone else involved with the Soul Flower company.
Blog Image 9am – 10am 9:00 a.m. is when the morning crew (Dew Krewe!) arrives at the Soul Flower warehouse. The members of the Dew Krewe rotate between our 3 buds Chad, Jenn, and Joe. These three have been with Soul Flower the longest, and know all the ropes around the warehouse. In the mornings, they open up the customer services phone lines to your calls, take a look at all the orders that were placed on the website that night, print invoices, organize the books, and get everything ready so that the packing can begin!
Introducing…
Chad I’m Chad and I’ve spent the last 5 years running Soul-Flower’s operations, and doing my best to make Soul-Flower the best possible place to shop and to work. I live and play in Minneapolis with my wife Liz. Outside work, my favorite hobbies are building things from wood, puttering in the garage, and home improvement, plus listening music, and watching sports. I very rarely miss a Badger or Viking game, and I love to catch a favorite band on a Saturday night. Your Favorite Band: Phish Your Favorite Soul Flower find:PLA002 Recycled Stripes Hoody Your Favorite website (besides Soul-Flower.com of course): espn.com Your Favorite tree: family Your Favorite take-out food: pizza Your Favorite person: wife Liz of course! You think she doesn’t look at this about us page? Your Favorite bird: Scarlet Macaw Your Favorite flower: white whole wheat Your Favorite color: forest green Your Favorite shoes: 1996 Doc Martens Your Favorite hat: bad ass fedora from NYC Your Favorite team: Vikings. Shut up. Your Favorite piece of jewelry: wedding ring, otherwise not a jewelry fan Your Favorite Snack: emergency beef jerky from my glove compartment (when eaten in a non emergency situation) Your Favorite Blog:http://elliotgraven.blogspot.com Your Favorite Facebook Friend: anyone I’d never hear from otherwise Your Favorite Tweet you have ever seen: what the hell is a tweet? Sounds lame Your Favorite fruit: cherries Your Favorite Vegetable: do I have dip? If so then broccoli, if not then yellow pear tomatoes Your Favorite Vacation EVER: Europe 1972, wait that’s a Dead album, Europe 2000 Your Favorite live show EVER: Phish 12/31/99 midnight to 7 a.m. never sat down, only went to the bathroom once.
Jenn My name is Jennifer and I have been happily working at Soulflower for about 8 years now! Im sure I have talked to many of you on the phone and via email. I also take a lot of the photos you will see online and in the catalog and help to find cool new threads for you! I live and work in St Paul, MN with a couple of my best friends and my dog Kodiak. I love playing outdoors, hiking the woods with my dog, biking, kayaking. traveling, and exploring new things. I also spend a lot of time with my family and friends, camping, going to see live music, collecting vinyl records, and getting comfy with a good book. My Favorite Soulflower find: My Revolutions Eco Yoga Pants and my Make Music Not War Eco Hoody. My two wardrobe staples. My Favorite Vacation EVER: Backpacking Thailand/Cambodia My Favorite Tree: Banyan (Ficus Benghalensis) ; )
Joe Hi! My name is Joe. I am a Minnesota boy born and raised. I spend my work days swimming in the ever changing pools of customer satisfaction. Between picking, packing, shipping, doing returns, quality and stock control I get to be a Soul-Flower elf! When not working, I enjoy being at home fixing up the duplex I lord over. With that my roomies and I enjoy gaming on multiple different systems but fun most certainly ensues. You can also find me out biking the lakes (weather permitting, I’m not that hardcore), kicking a soccer ball around, trying new cooking ideas/foods, going to see live music and whenever possible having bare feet. Environment is everything so I certainly try and follow the respect, reduce, reuse, recycle mantra whenever possible. My Favorite Soul Flower find: Has been the SOL072 pants. I have had all three colors since we introduced them and will wear them until they fall off and then get some more! Followed closely by our hoody selection. My Favorite Color(s): Is the entire spectrum that runs from green to blue. My Favorite Band: Right now – The Wailin’ Jenny’s My Favorite Band(s): I could never choose just one but UM, SCI, Phish, Grateful Dead, The Beatles, Keller and Guster are ones that dominate my CD player time and time again. Special thanks to our customers for their positive vibes, stories and love and to my co-workers for making/sharing in a place where a job doesn’t have to be all work and no fun. THANK YOU! 🙂
In our previous post, you got to see a tour of our Soul Flower warehouse, a.k.a. the place where we all work! In this post and the next 2, you’ll get to meet everyone involved with the Soul Flower company.
Let’s take a look at a typical day at Soul Flower…
Blog Image 6pm – 9am 6:00 p.m. is when we close up the warehouse, and between that time and 9:00 a.m. when we open the next morning, things still get done! The website is always up and running, and that’s probably when you do a lot of your online shopping at Soul-Flower.com.
The True Krewe (as I like to call them!) consists of owners Mike & Peggy. They are the true founders and the original team members of the Soul Flower company. These two are always working on things to keep Soul-Flower running smoothly. They are in charge of selecting and ordering products for Soul Flower, designing the original Soul Flower line of products, finances, marketing, the website, catalogs, wholesale, and everything else running a business entails. Let’s meet them now!
Mike Hi buds – Mike here. My role with Soul-flower is to be a good multi-tasker; I deal with the marketing and finances for Soul-flower. I also work with our design partners and go on buying trips. One of the best parts of my Soul-flower life is getting to go to St. Paul and hang with our incredible crew. When I’m not working you’ll find me enjoying family time with Peggy, Siera, and Dakota. I love to eat good food (Vegetarian), go see live music, enjoy a good beer/wine, play golf, and hang with my friends. Favorite Take-out food: Thai Curry Favorite Tree: any LIVE one Favorite Songwriter: Bob Dylan Favorite Singer: Jerry Garcia (especially when he plays a Dylan tune!)
Peggy My name is Peggy, I live & virtually work in my home town, Des Moines IA, my business Soul-Flower.com is in St Paul MN. I spend most of my work days on my computer designing clothing, bits of our website & finding cool, new things for Soulflower. When I am not working, I love hanging out with my family (2 kids,a cat & a husband, Mike, who is also my biz partner). My favorites beyond work are my kiddles, great food (cooking), good books, and live music. Your Favorite Band: right now – Michael Franti & Spearhead. Your Favorite Soul Flower find: My Zoey Wrap Dress with the green mandalas. Got it over a year ago & still wear it all the time! Your Favorite website (besides Soul-Flower.com of course):http://www.etsy.com
Mike and Peggy both work from Des Moines, Iowa, but since our warehouse is located in Saint Paul, Minnesota, we have a few more important faces for you to meet! Both of these krewes keep all the behind-the-scenes ops and the warehouse running smoothly. Coming up: Meet the Dew Krewe and the Glue Krewe!
This post is the first in a series of 4 posts about the Soul Flower warehouse and the people who work here. We are starting with an introduction to where we work – our warehouse:
If you’ve done some exploring around this Soul-Flower Blog, you may have come across a blog post from July 2008 about the Soul Flower warehouse. We’re still in the same building we were two years ago, but the times they are a’changin’ and we’ve made some big changes to the warehouse and our process.
In this post, we’ll take a tour of Soul Flower North (a.k.a. the Soul Flower Warehouse), and in the next 3 posts, you’ll get to meet all of the SF buds!
Let’s start the tour!
Blog Image This is the hall of Soul Flower fame! All of our previous catalogs are framed up on the wall, right next to our favorite concert/band posters. Blog Image The hallway is decorated with Soul Flower memorabilia and notes from our customers! If we love your handwritten note (and we always do!) you can count on it being tacked up on the wall some place!
Blog Image We love music. And we listen to it all day long! This shelf is filled with our favorite CDs, so there will never be a silent moment… (and if there is, we can all count on Joe to say “HEY! Can we get some tunes?”)
Blog Image All of our SF merchandise is delivered right to the warehouse via our old skool elevator lift. Some days we’ll have dozens of boxes waiting to be sorted on to the shelves! And see that stack of cardboard in the background? That stack is ready to be taken to recycling: we reuse or recycle all of our big ol’ cardboard boxes.
Blog Image Blog Image Blog Image Blog Image Here it is: the main room of the warehouse in all its glory! We’ve got shelves and shelves of products, all sorted by type and product id number, so we can quickly and efficiently pick everything to be sent out to you! Our walls display some old tapestries to keep it lively. You can even see Joe in the last photo, rushing to pick out all the bags to be sent out!
Blog Image Blog Image We have a separate room for accessories (it is temperature-controlled so our body balms and soaps don’t melt!). This room also doubles as our lunch room, which is a sweet place to kick back (with tunes, of course!) and chow down.
Blog Image Blog Image In the two opposite corners of the warehouse, we store some pretty important stuff. In the one corner is tubs and tubs full of extra product that doesn’t fit on the shelves, and in the other corner is where we keep packaging supplies (boxes, envelopes) as well as our huge bins for recycling! As you probably know, here at Soul Flower, we think, work, and live green. And we recycle absolutely everything possible that comes in our door– this includes takeout dishes, pop cans, Tyvek envelopes, paper, and more!
Blog Image Last but not least, here is a glimpse in to where all the packing happens! In this beautifully-sunlit room is where we spend most of our day putting together the orders and packing each one up to be sent out. It’s a great place to work: notes from happy customers on the walls, Soul Flower goods all around, and tunes flowing– every day!
Hi Soulflower buddies! I had my eye on the Watercolor Tie-Dye Skirt for a few weeks and just received my skirt yesterday – it was so comfortable that I wore it out last night!
The material is calming and soft, with an almost organza or tissue feel to it. The garment is colorful, yet subdued due to earthy hues of umber, blue, and olive. This flowy skirt is beautifully dyed and I look forward to wearing it to both casual and also more dressy occasions. My husband and I are free spirits. We live by the moment, so we frequently decide last minute to go to concerts, take road trips, or head into Philly to meet up with friends. This skirt is perfect for my on-the-go lifestyle because I don’t have to worry about what to wear. With so many colors, you can easily make this skirt a staple piece in your wardrobe, mixing and matching it with different shirts, scarves, and even sweaters or shrugs. As soon as it arrived, I tried it on and hunted through my closet to see if I had anything that matched. It was easy to find several different looks just using other pieces that I already had in my closet.
When my neighbors decided to have an impromptu get together last night, I was excited to try out my new gear. It was a fun evening and I felt great because my skirt was so comfortable and I knew it looked cute as well.
In the past, I have had difficulty finding clothes that fit properly because I am frequently in between regular sizes and plus sizes. Sometimes plus size clothing can be unflattering if it isn’t tailored to your body type, but let me tell you folks, this skirt is a PERFECT fit! I ordered the skirt in the plus size from Soulflower and it looked great on me! I am thrilled that Soulflower decided to carry plus sizes! I would recommend this skirt to anyone who is interested in unique feminine bohemian style.
We get asked a lot of questions by our buds, some we can’t answer easily, like “Hey Soul Flower, I have been wondering what is the ONE must do festival this summer?” (that is a debated issue here & a different blog topic for sure….).
Some questions are a lot easier – “Hey Soul Flower, what is that awesome smell inside my package you sent…?” (it is nag champa incense).
And some questions deserve a little explanation & a couple of sweet photos, like “Hey Soul Flower, what is the must have piece right now from the Soul Flower line?” Hands down, if you must only get one thing, it is the Spring Buds Reversible Skirt. It has a bit of a higher price tag for Soul Flower ($68) but once you see its versitility, beauty & uniqueness, you will understand…
And she is wearing the same skirt in both of the photos in this post.
First one is straight up.
Second one is inside out with the colorful side as a roll-top waist.
And this is what Sarah has to say about the skirt –
The Spring Buds Reversible Skirt will surely turn heads! Its unique look and inclusion of bright colors throughout the primarily black and gray skirt give it great energy. It’s a simply lovely piece for any occasion. You can wear it inside out on the black side, and even fold down the top, adding a colorful band around the waist. This variety of possibilities makes this skirt an awesome choice!
For me, it was love at first sight. I am very fond of bright colors, busy prints, and most of all, I love trees, so this skirt so perfectly has a few of my favorite things all rolled into one. The tree is portrayed leafless, but with the brilliantly colored buds in bloom, it embodies new beginnings and steady growth into a beautiful entity, much like the way we humans are growing each day. This skirt tells a story, and when I wear it, I am full of life!
Have you checked out polyvore.com? It is a sweet site where you can create your own collages inspired by all kinds of fashion sites around the web. We have had a few customers tell us about it but just recently checked it out ourselves….and we fellin love with the great background images, the fashion galore, and the DIY vibe. So we decided to spread the love this week: we are running a contest at Soul Flower –
1-go to polyvore.com.
2-create a Polyvore set & be sure to use some soul flower goods.
3-post your set on our facebook wall or here on our blog.
4-one random winner will get a $50 gift certificate to Soul-Flower.com.
Post anytime before this Friday (3/19) & our winner announced by saturday. Happy Polyvoring! And in the meantime, enjoy a few of our faves that have been uploaded already:
We so love this photo of Kristen in the Soul Flower baja hoody dress. It shows how a piece of clothing can match your personality – simply put, it’s a perfect fit. Here’s Kristen:
I love classics; classic cars, classic rock, etc. and that’s why I love this new twist on an old classic. I have always liked Baja ponchos but I love the new feminine touches on the Beach Bummin’ Baja. There are so many more colors in this hoodie than the picture on the website portrays. While it’s mostly earth tones it’s also got deep purples, reds, and yellows. This Baja is a statement piece and trust me; this hoodie-dress will get you lots of attention and lots of compliments. I was walking down the street one day and got stopped at least four times by people telling me how much they liked what I was wearing.
Not only is this hoodie stylish, it is unbelievably comfortable. Baja ponchos always look like they would be really itchy but this hoodie is soft as can be. Not only is this one of the most comfortable items of clothing I own, but it’s also extremely practical. I work for a concert production company and putting on a show requires a lot of hands on work. With this Baja I can go from stage set-up to the show to tear down and load out comfortably and while looking pretty groovy. This laid-back hoodie dress is perfect for my on-the-go yet laidback life.
Hey fellow Soul-flower Buds! Let me just start off by saying I have yet to purchase an item from Soul-flower that I was disappointed with and the Remember When…Boho Patchwork Backpack is no exception. I am absolutely in love with this backpack! The colors and designs vary somewhat, as the one I received is a bit different from the one pictured. However, it is just as beautiful! Besides, waiting to see exactly what mine would look like was half the fun and excitement! It has four different sized, zippered compartments on the outside and one small one on the inside. There is so much room in this bag! I have been carrying it around with me for a couple of weeks now and it’s holding up wonderfully. The hand-sewn fabrics are durable, but I don’t recommend carrying many books or other really heavy items in it. I have thrown my laptop in it a few times and so far, the weight of it seems to be fine.
The moment I laid eyes upon this bag, I knew it had my name written all over it. I love just about anything with patchwork and embroidery. I just wish I had owned this backpack last summer when I took my cross-country road trip. It would have been perfect. Traveling is one of my favorite things and I am really looking forward to taking this bag on lots of future trips with me. Hopefully it will accompany me on my vacation to Mexico and the Mayan Runes this summer.
Hiking is also something I really enjoy. From this point on, whenever my boyfriend and I hit the trails, you can expect to see me with the Tapestry Patchwork Backpack and him with The Wanderer Bag (which by the way, is also an excellent Soul-Flower item!) I am anxiously awaiting the warmer weather and the many adventures in store for me with my new backpack. Thank you Soul-Flower! You are and will continue to be my favorite store. ☮Peace.
Blog Image It’s not often you find clothes to match the car you drive – in Trish’s case, that car is her recently purchased VW Bus. And those pants are the Soul Flower Retro Patchwork Pants – one of our latest additions for Spring. Each pair of pants is uniquely patched with a varitey of soft cotton jersey fabrics in funky prints & have a soft, lycra waist band. Comfort & coolness rolled into one. Just like a VW bus 🙂
Here is what Trish has to say: These patchworked pants were literally shouting my name! I have always been a huge fan of patch work and I loved all the bright, funky patterns and colors in these pants. Plus they match our new VW bus!
These pants are so comfortable. The soft knit design is not only superior in comfort but is also very flattering with the wide waistband and slight flare of the leg. These pants will definitely be a year-round staple for me on all my new adventures. If you’re all about comfort, and like being different; then you’ll love these pants. I know I do! Thanks Soul Flower!
This is our team of enthusiastic & fun-loving customers who are helping us to spread the soul flower vibe across mother earth. Watch for them out there: handing out stickers & catalogs; talking about Soul-Flower.com; and writing product reviews and stories right here on our blog. (more…)
This bag review comes from our bud Cam. She recently received a Mandala Hippie Bag one of Soul Flower’s ongoing favorite bags. This bag is beautiful, well constructed and continues to stand the test of time. We could go on, but we will just let Cam tell you about it. Here she is:
The decision came easily when it was time to choose my first Soul Flower item – I went for the mandala bag. I received it a couple of weeks ago, and honestly, the catalog picture just doesn’t do it justice.
On the page, the color comes across as being muted, almost beige, but when you have an actual visual, it is a saturated shade of deep green. The threading that you see on it wraps all the way around the shoulder band, down the sides of the bag, and underneath it. The mandala is so awesome in person because you can see the detail, and different shades of thread! My first impression? This bag sure has a lot of threading to not see a strand out of place! Not one single little thread running amok! Somebody really took their time to construct this bag solidly, and it extends to the mandala design.
Blog Image I also noticed that the shoulder strap at the top is very wide, so it will distribute the weight evenly. For someone whose bag gets heavier throughout the day, that is an added perk! The outside fabric is sturdy. I haven’t been exactly easy on it so far, and I see no snags or tears. Something else I like, there are zippers on both inside panels. One in the front, and one in the back. So, you get one big open space in the middle, but also two zippered compartments if you choose to use them. I like having separate spaces for the things I carry that I don’t want others to see if I have to dump my purse out to find my keys because they have disappeared down into the abyss again.
I chose the bag as something I would like to test out, and then spread the word to my buds, because I’m a mom. Most of my friends are moms. And, moms usually require some stylish storage. When I am out of the house there are things I have to carry with me. For instance, right now I have: two organic apples in case my son or I need a snack tomorrow, a book for those moments I get to sit & read somewhere, my camera, my MP3 player because my son loves to listen to it, a small journal, ink pens, two guitar picks, a flattened penny from a machine on River Street in Savannah, and my change purse. The best part about all that stuff being in there? The bag doesn’t even appear crammed full. So far, the response I’ve had from others has been really positive. I can’t wait to choose my next item, and add to my Soul Flower collection! Peace, buds! (btw, click here to see the bag on soul-flower’s site)
Stacey first got in touch with us at Soul Flower by writing some amazing reviews on our website. Then we noticed she had soulflower in her email address &, there you go, the timing was right & the bond was formed 🙂 Welcome Stacey! We are excited to post your first review here on the blog about the Remember When… Boho Backpack.
Hey all you Soul Flower buds! My name is Stacey and I currently reside in Leominster, Massachusetts along with my mini lop-eared bunny, Terence. I recently turned 21 years old and am still in the process of figuring out exactly what I would like to spend the rest of my life doing. As of now, I work at the Leominster Public Library and play trumpet professionally for weddings, funerals, and special occasions.
I have 43 dreadlocks, am a vegetarian, and care deeply about people, animals, and the environment. I enjoy traveling, plants, bonsai, music (listening and playing!), reading, writing, poetry, cooking, making jewelry, and spending time with my wonderful boyfriend.
My Favorite Band: Dave Matthews Band My Favorite Person: My amazing best friend and love of my life, Ricky. My Favorite Vacation EVER: This past summer, my boyfriend and I took our first road trip across the U.S. It was a life-altering experience. I had no idea how beautiful my own country was!
After searching for so long I finally found it at Soul Flower: the perfect summer dress. The first day I got the dress I put it on immediately. It was a beautiful day out so I took my dog to the park and had a picnic by the lake with my brother. The long tie-dye tube dress was so comfortable and free-flowing I could easily move about. This dress makes me feel so good about myself, it’s flattering on any shape and I love looking down and seeing the beautiful colors of the tie dye.
The dress moves so well too, it swirls around you like a whirlwind and I can’t help but smile every time I see the stunning colors.
The dress moves so well too, it swirls around you like a whirlwind and I can’t help but smile every time I see the stunning colors.
Leiah 
Britt 
Chad 
Jenn 
Joe 
Mike 
Peggy 
